Certain plants (info follows) can help curb insects that become annoying (mosquitoes, anyone?) Some may even be helpful against ticks. We aren’t saying any of these will guarantee your dog is safe from fleas, ticks, etc. but they help. In combination with our selected products, we think this approach is worth consideration.
Of course, the area you live in and the activities your dog participates in are game changers. Monica’s dog is a rescue with ‘issues’, and tends to hang out at home, in his backyard, or walks in the neighborhood. One of Jody’s dogs walks in wooded areas from time to time and is in another part of the country. Every situation is unique, so the exposure to fleas, ticks et al can mean different solutions for different dogs.
However, we try to keep to natural products where possible and these items are what we found helpful for the backyard.
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Beneficial Nematodes provide natural pest control that’s safe for people and pets. Kills fleas, grubs and more. We like this brand because a) it works! and b) they ship in an insulated box with some ice to ensure quality. This amount if for about 400 square feet, so it’s good value.
Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth (DM) helps against slugs, fleas, ticks and more. The key is to use it every time it rains because it will get washed away otherwise. We sprinkle it on and under any outdoor plants that attract slugs (our Hosta is proof that we have slugs because the leaves have holes from them, but also proof the DM works because the leaves are untouched after using DM) Also under trees, bushes and around the perimeter of the yard. The idea is to include it in shaded areas since ticks seems to prefer those.
Cedarcide is our very favorite product to spray all over the yard including up and into trees and bushes. It’s managed to keep a lot of pests away and while there’s no way to know if there would be a tick problem if we didn’t use it, we don’t want to find out! Neighbors have mentioned ticks and we haven’t had that issue, so we’ll just continue what we’ve been doing.
This is super easy product to use. Comes with a sprayer and the quart bottle is a concentrate that gets diluted with water, so it goes a long way. We spray once per month and go through two bottles (economical!) between May and Sept. Of course it depends on the size of your property.
Herbs/plants that mosquitoes don’t like:
Lavender, lemon balm, mint, sage, and lemon grass are usually in the ground and in planters in the yard. Small pots of rosemary are on outdoor table (no risk of dogs eating it) You may be able to find these at the local garden center, but we’ve been finding it challenging to get all the ones we’d like, so we’re looking to on-line shopping since we can order before outdoor planting season. We like non GMO seeds (because we use them as culinary herbs, not just pest control) like this!
There are several citronella candles on the market and they can help deter mosquitoes. We like this 4-pack of candles in particular because they actually work better than others we’ve tried. They can be reused as a travel tin, so there’s no waste. We’ve brought these as gifts for backyard parties and they’re always a hit. Bug-free (or at least far fewer bugs) zones are appreciated!
These hanging plant bags are great for growing things you don’t want your dog to eat. Tomatoes as per the product description (click pic to be redirected) aren’t the biggest draw as compared to being able to plant the herbs noted above. Bonus: You can place the bags anywhere – on a fence, balcony, post, gate et al. We simply added our own potting soil and used some bags for herbs, others for flowering plants.
These planting bags are the perfect way to combine both flowering plants and herbs in one eye catching presentation. Once the plants have grown, the bag is invisible and simply allows for super easy maintenance of this tiny garden space.
