Are you seeking deer-proof plants for your landscaping? You should be, if you're interested in not only controlling those hoofed marauders, but also in Lyme disease prevention. The use of such plants supplements repellents, fencing, noise-makers and other gadgets, such as the Scarecrow Sprinkler, designed to keep Bambi away. And keeping Bambi out of the yard gives you a leg up in Lyme disease prevention, since it helps keep the ticks away.
Although a hungry Bambi will eat almost anything, the landscaper's best long-term option may well lie in a landscape plan that prescribes deer-proof plants. Simply planting what Bambi usually disdains to eat may not seem as strong a deer-proofing measure as surrounding your property with fencing, I admit. But then again, building a fortress around your property has severe aesthetic drawbacks. By contrast, deer-proof plants can be every bit as attractive as the specimens you currently grow in your landscape. Deer-proof plants are also a heck of a lot less expensive than fences!
If your attitude is, "I just let Bambi come in and munch away; I enjoy viewing wildlife," please be aware that you may have to adjust your lifestyle accordingly. This pest, however cute, can harbor the ticks that carry Lyme disease. The more they come to graze on your property, the greater the chances of you encountering the disease-bearing ticks. So take the proper precautions to prevent contracting Lyme disease.
One such precaution is to check your body thoroughly for the presence of ticks when coming in after being out in the yard. Ticks are so small that you can't rely on the presence of pain as an indicator that you've been bitten; most victims are not immediately aware that they've been bitten by a tick. In addition to scanning your own body for ticks, you'll have to check the bodies of your dogs and cats. The ticks, by the way, are only the carriers of the disease. The true culprit is a spirochete bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to farm animals, cats, dogs and humans through tick bites.
Lyme disease is named after the town of Lyme, Connecticut (U.S.). Lyme disease burst upon the scene in 1977 when arthritis was found in a number of children in the vicinity of that charming town on the banks of the Connecticut River.
One particular tick (Ixodes dammini) is the type of tick responsible for the majority of cases of Lyme disease in the northeastern United States (the "birthplace" of Lyme disease), but other types of ticks are carriers in other regions. There are three stages in this tick's life cycle: larva, nymph and adult. In both the larval stage and the nymphal stage, their favorite host is the white-footed mouse. It is the adult ticks that feed on Bambi's lot. But they use a different host at each stage of their life cycle.
Deer-Proof Plants for Lyme Disease Prevention
If you're concerned about catching Lyme disease but don't want to go through the annoyance of scouring yourself from head to foot daily, checking for ticks, the logical choice is to try to keep Bambi away. One way to achieve this is to stick with a landscape plan consisting of deer-proof plants -- specimens that Bambi doesn't find appetizing -- the subject of Page 2....
