Here are 14 plants you can add around your SC home to keep ticks away
Ticks are a year-round problem in South Carolina but now is the time you can do something to keep them out of your yard.
Plant flowers and herbs they don’t like.
There are many.
Here are 14 recommended by Southern Living, Martha Stewart Living and others to up your tick game.
Flowers, plants and trees
Lavender
The fragrance you love repels ticks.
Marigolds
The beautiful yellow, gold, orange, and red flowers add vibrant color to your yard and they contain pyrethrum, which is used in insect repellents. The strong scent sends ticks packing.
Eucalyptus
Tall and lush but considered an invasive species, eucalyptus produce oils that ticks don’t like. Eucalyptus is often used in many insect repellents.
Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums “come in a stunning array of colors, from pink and red to purple, white, burgundy, and more, making them a fantastic choice for spring planting,” Southern Living said. They contain pyrethrins, another compound ticks don’t like.
Wormwood
Wormwood contains absinthin, a bitter tasting plant that ticks will avoid.
Geraniums
They contain geraniol, but be aware this can also be toxic to pets.
Pitcher Plants
This is the topper of them all. These plants are carnivorous, meaning they’re not repelling, they’re eating. They trap and digest all sorts of insects.
Plants for your herb garden
Lemon grass
Lemon grass contains citronella oil,” a well-known insect repellent that has a citrusy scent,” Jan Johnsen, a landscape designer and principal of Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, told Martha Stewart Living. Mosquitoes don’t like either.
Oregano
Great for cooking and also great for sending ticks packing. They don’t like oregano’s natural oils.
Mint
A fragrant herb that makes your outdoors smell fresh is another that repels ticks.
Rosemary
Great smell, a kitchen staple, oregano is not a favorite of ticks. Deer don’t like it either.
Catnip
Catnip repels ticks as well as mosquitoes and other animals and can be used in salads, teas and soups. “Typically green, it can produce small blooms in shades of white, lavender, and pink,” Southern Living said.
Thyme
Thyme’s natural oils are often used as a do-it-yourself insect repellent. It’s slow growing and easy to care for and ticks don’t like it.
Garlic
Ticks don’t like the strong smell of garlic. “If you’re looking for a practical, flavorful addition to your garden that also helps keep these tiny bloodsuckers away, garlic is a must for your spring planting list,” Southern Living said.
Different ticks in SC
Clemson University says tick bites and tick-borne disease can occur year round. They are generally found near the ground in forests and in areas with brush or tall grass and weeds. Ticks cannot jump or fly.
South Carolina has six species of ticks
Longhorned tick
An invasive species first seen in the United States in 2010 in West Virginia. In South Carolina it was seen first in Pickens and Lancaster counties on dogs in an animal shelter in 2020.
“These ticks are of great concern as females can replicate quickly without males, a process called parthenogenesis, and can infest the environment in a short time,” Clemson said.
It can cause anemia and possibly tick toxicity and carry a variety of diseases that affect companion animals and livestock.
Lonestar tick
The most collected species in South Carolina can cause red meat allergy, ehrlichiosis, and Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness.
Black-legged tick
Not common but found across the state, it can transmit Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, and anaplasmosis.
Gulf Coast tick
This tick can cause Rickettsia parkeri, a recently identified and emerging new disease.
American dog tick
The American dog tick can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Brown dog tick
The brown dog tick also can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.