lawn weeds & pesticides

So our lawn isn't really a lawn. It's only green because of the weeds lol. But everything in the said "lawn" lol is great for rabbits. Clover, dandelion and plantain. It's loaded with rabbit goodness.

Problem is we live in an area with lots of ticks. 3 deer ticks have already been found on my family-just in the last 24 hrs! Living in CT, lyme disease is a very real threat. And I don't care what the experts say, it doesn't matter if you keep you lawn well mowed!

We want to treat the yard for ticks, but if we treat the yard. Will I be able to pick the weeds for the rabbits? I would wash them really good. I have no clue what we will use. Sometimes it's a spray we hook to the hose. Sometimes it's a granule. I've even thrown small handfuls of food grade DE around the property line (in the brushy stuff) we do it about 2-4 times a year.

So yeah, would it be OK if we washed the greens? I'm hoping it would be OK because the lawn is perfect for rabbits. But if not I'll just keep buying the greens so we can help keep ticks at bay.

Ty

It will probably depend on what pest control you use. This one is approved for use in Organic production and contains pyrethrins, so should be fine if you washed everything well http://www.planetnatural.com/product/mo ... ck-killer/

Or, you could just get some chickens or guinea fowl, and let them take care of it for you. :roll: Not that I want to foist chickens on every body I meet...but, fresh eggs... no ticks....

How often do you have to spray the lawn for ticks? Having pesticides, even organic approved ones, isn't ideal, but I would think after a good rain or good watering, and a couple days of sunshine (most herbicides and pesticides break down very quickly in sunlight) it would be ok.

Even better, maybe you could treat the yard in sections so that you're never harvesting greens that have been sprayed less than 5-7 days prior.

If a predator like chickens isn't an option, you're right to chemically control the ticks. I used to live in a Lyme danger zone and I contracted it when I was about 15. Bad times.

I wish I could have guinea hens, been wanting them for a few years due to ticks. But they are definitely not an option at least not as of yet. We live next to my father, step mother and their 3 kids. They do not like the idea of chicken poop in the lawn. We have a busy road in the front. And the other neighbors...I don't see them enjoying a chicken in their yard... lol eek!

Also I don't want to spray the lawn in sections. We have dogs that won't know what sections are safe.

What ever spray we buy I always make sure it's safe for pets after its dry. Not that we have rabbits, I'll just have to look for one that allows you to use on fruit/veggies.

Out of curiosity, anyone live in a high deer tick zone? If so, it would be nice to hear how well the chickens have done. Also how far away do they wander? Would they stay in my yard would they dissappear into the brush behind the house during the day them come home to roost?

I never wondered about ticks We do treat our dogs and cats with anti- tick and flea sprays, but rabbits are somehow resistant to it. I never experienced tick on a rabbit or a chicken even thou they roam everywhere.

What are the diseaseses that rabbits can get from a tick? Even cats are not prone to meningitis or boreliosis

I think you're confused I asked about treating the lawn for ticks but asked about safety with the rabbits eating the grasses after its been treated.

Also we were talking about chickens- being a natural cure for ticks as they eat them.

I used to put topicals on my dogs faithfully when it first csme on the market until several years ago. Now I prefer to treat the area. I don't want poisons on my dogs 24/7. And that would do nothing for the safety of the kids. We keep the lawn mowed but we still have lots of ticks around us. And if my dog (s) are going to be in brush or woods, I'll use a seresto collar.

You could try treating the lawn with food-grade diatomaceous earth. It comes as a very dry, extremely fine white powder. I would not use the "red" sort, as it is mixed with food-grade clay. Not that the clay is harmful, it's just that it's not going to help kill anything.

I treated my large garden area once by waiting for a day with a nice breeze (not a stiff breeze, a gentle and relatively consistent breeze). I scooped some DE into a sieve, and shook it just a little to disperse it there and downwind. You get the hang of it after a few shakes, adjusting the shake, how high you shake, etc. A lot depends on the breeze.

I would do this when you're not expecting rain for a few days. Rain will wash the DE off of the grass. When the DE dried out, it would be effective, but you'd have no way of knowing where it was. You may want to re-treat your yard now and again, though it might be good to treat your home as well. You can sprinkle it on carpet, and vacuum later. You can treat where the dog sleeps, too.

One thing, though... once you've got something like clover blooming that bees like, you don't want to treat. It will kill bees. They will get it all over them, take it home, and spread it all through the hive.

Rabbits can eat food-grade DE. It won't hurt them at all. It works by scratching the exoskeleton of most invertebrates, causing them to dry out.

Sometimes, though, it doesn't work. I don't know of an explanation for this.

Yeah, I thought you are treating the lawn so you can give rabbits tick-free forage.

You will need to repeatedaly treat the lawn, they will ust come back :angry: What about those natural remedies, mixtures of vinegar, lemons, etheric oils, etc

Seresto must be on a dog all the time, to properly work. It is not enough that you just put it on when you go in the forrest. And if can I say, scalibor works better especially on dogs with longer coats.