Be Warned: The Popular Garden Feature That Could Be Attracting Ticks

You can't go wrong with many of the solid benefits of having a bird feeder in your yard. For one, birds enjoy eating insects, which can eliminate pests around your property naturally. At the same time, you shouldn't dismiss possible downsides. For example, while a bird feeder can attract birds to your yard to help with garden pests, that same feature might also be why you're suddenly finding one of the worst pests around: ticks. Ticks, which can transmit diseases, like Lyme disease, are a nuisance you don't want to see multiply in your yard.

The bird feeder itself isn't attracting the ticks. Rather, the ticks are possibly finding their way to your yard via other visitors, specifically, small mammals. Squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, and other pesky critters like to raid bird feeders, and when they do, they may bring with them ticks, an even more unwanted pest. At least, this is the theory. Ticks also may arrive on the backs of the birds themselves.

But don't start tearing down your bird feeding stations just yet. A study in the Journal of Medical Entomology from 2003 indicated that bird feeders did not impact tick densities in residential lawns. The same study reflected on how proper maintenance of bird feeders, along with the creation of "microhabitats," might have influenced that result. 

Some mistakes you're making with your bird feeder, such as infrequent cleaning, could be indirectly related to more ticks in your garden. But proper maintenance of your bird feeder may alleviate your tick-season woes. To start, always keep the feeding station neat and tidy, as too much spillage of seed beneath the feeder can attract even more critters – and with them, possibly ticks.

You can also try various deterrent methods, such as a baffle, to keep the bird seed exclusively for birds. When it comes to choosing garden features to attract birds, there are many different types of bird feeders to select from. If you want to keep other critters away, consider an option that deters them like a feeder that uses counterweights to only allow access to featherlight birdies. Another tip is to keep bird feeders away from the house, which in turn keeps any critters and ticks away, too.

You could also try creating a "microhabitat" around your feeder that is inhospitable to ticks. Ticks thrive in moist, shady conditions. Keeping the grass surrounding your bird feeder mowed and cleared of weeds makes your garden less attractive to pesky ticks. Other suggestions include bringing out food only in fall and winter when ticks are less active.

In the end, you might decide to place just a bird bath in your garden to avoid the ticks headache altogether. But if that is the case, be warned that this garden feature could attract more mosquitoes to your yard instead!