Jane:  My electric fence deterred deer (vector for ticks and flukes) somewhat, but getting livestock guardian dogs really has deterred deer and my ducks have helped so much with both tick load and the snails that harbor flukes.

Danielle: Remove invasive species like: Tartarian Honeysuckle, Autumn and Russian Olive and Garlic mustard. Deer ticks hang out there, native diverse plants die off. Rx fire helps too. Restoration Ecology shows correlation between invasive species and pathogens like Lyme’s disease. 

Cheryl: Yes, invasive species, especially those (above) that have thorns that protect tick hosts, tend to have higher numbers of ticks associated with them. They also promote microclimates ticks need to thrive.    

Ellen:  Here is a place that you can send your ticks for identification and testing to see what pathogens they have. https://www.unmc.edu/publichealth/cscash/nebraska-tick-testing/tick-submission.html

Rosemary:  We used to be able to find a product called EchoSmart. It's a granule that you spread in your yard with a spreader (or by hand). Smells awesome - lots of eucalyptus, mint. Have to redo after hard rains but we have lots of dogs so I feel like it helps. Or at least the perimeter between yard and woods.

Cheryl: Answering "Does promoting opossum populations on your land help with tick management?"   They eat them by grooming them off themselves more so than by eating them off the landscape. They acquire so many because they are low on the ground and pick lots of them up.

Cheryl:  Natural oils that help prevent ticks: There are several, cedarwood oil, cloves, lemon eucalyptus, etc.

Eve: Just a note to mention that there are very effective of herbal and homeopathic tick protocols...see Stephen Harrod Buehner's books and research.