Tick Control

To help keep ticks away from your yard, keep in mind that they need moist environments to thrive. If you lay down wood chips or gravel in a strip between your lawn and wooded areas, you create a dry barrier that can reduce the number of ticks that will make their way onto your lawn, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other tips from the CDC: Keep your lawn mowed, clear away brush and leaf litter, keep the ground beneath bird feeders clean and stack any wood neatly in dry areas of the yard.