ALERT: Unusual Method To Safeguard Against Ticks In Massachusetts

March is around the corner and so is tick season here in Massachusetts. Tick borne illnesses can be debilitating. Infections can sometimes be cleared up with antibiotics, others can rebound later in life.

Tick Season in Massachusetts Starts in March and Runs Through November

• Although tick activity is weather-dependent, there are two peaks during the year; the first begins in March/April and lasts through August, and the second occurs in October-November.
• The majority of cases of tick-borne disease occur in June through August.

We live in a small town in western Massachusetts in the middle of the woods, so tick checks are a big part of our routine in the spring, summer, and fall months. It's a pain in the butt, but we've got to do it! We were contemplating getting some chickens this year and one of the benefits of doing that is that they eat ticks.

Chickens eat Ticks

Will chickens completely solve your tick problem? No, but they sure help. You've got to let your chickens run around the area of concern, keeping them in the coupe all day and night won't help much.

Not everyone wants or can get chickens, though. What else can you do to prevent ticks?

• turkeys eat ticks
• guinea fowl eat ticks
• mow the lawn often
• get rid of debris piles (wood), of leaf piles
• get rid of that birdfeeder, ticks love birds
• create a rock barrier around your short cut grass
• get your yard sprayed

The size of ticks add to the difficulty of preventing infection

Nymph ticks are so small you might not even see them.

Beware of ticks this spring in Massachusetts! They can really mess your day up!