Tick Control in Burlington County: Protecting Your Family This Season

Burlington County Is in the Heart of NJ Lyme Disease Country

New Jersey consistently ranks among the top states for Lyme disease cases nationwide — and Burlington County sits squarely in the highest-risk zone. With 820 square miles of terrain that includes wooded suburbs, preserved farmland, and direct adjacency to the Pine Barrens, Burlington County has the ideal combination of tick habitat, deer populations, and small mammal reservoirs to sustain massive black-legged deer tick populations year after year.

If you live in Marlton, Medford, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, or anywhere in the county's wooded suburban corridor, your yard is almost certainly in prime deer tick territory. This isn't a rural problem — ticks are actively present in landscaped suburban yards throughout Burlington County from March through November.

The Burlington County Tick Problem: Pine Barrens + Suburban Expansion

Two forces drive Burlington County's tick problem more than any other:

1. The Pine Barrens. The Pinelands National Reserve covers over 1.1 million acres and extends into large portions of Burlington County's eastern and southern sections. The Pinelands support enormous white-tailed deer populations (the primary host for adult deer ticks) and the dense small mammal communities — mice, chipmunks, voles — that serve as the primary reservoir for Lyme disease bacteria. When deer tick nymphs feed on these infected small mammals, they acquire the bacteria. When those nymphs grow into adults and attach to you or your pets the following season, they transmit it.

2. Suburban expansion into forested land. Communities like Medford, Shamong, Southampton, and the outer edges of Evesham Township were developed directly from forested land. The wooded buffers, greenways, and preserved open space that give these neighborhoods their character also function as tick superhighways. Deer move freely through these corridors, dropping ticks on your property's edge every time they pass.

When Ticks Are Most Dangerous in Burlington County

Tick season in Burlington County runs from March through November, but peak danger varies by life stage:

• April–June (nymphs): The most dangerous period. Nymphal deer ticks are poppy-seed sized — nearly invisible — and are responsible for the majority of Lyme disease transmissions in Burlington County. They're most active in May and June, exactly when families spend the most time outdoors.
• September–November (adults): Adult ticks are sesame-seed sized, easier to spot, but still highly active. They quest from leaf litter and vegetation, attaching to deer, dogs, and humans throughout the fall.
• Year-round risk: Deer ticks don't die in winter. They become inactive in freezing temperatures but resume activity any day above 35°F — including warm spells in January and February.

Where Ticks Live on Marlton, Medford, and Moorestown Properties

Ticks concentrate in specific micro-habitats. On a typical Burlington County suburban property, the highest-risk zones are:

• Wooded edges and leaf litter: The transition zone between your mowed lawn and any wooded area, fence line, or overgrown border. This is the #1 tick zone on most properties.
• Landscape beds and ornamental shrubs: Ticks climb vegetation to "quest" for passing hosts. Dense shrubs, ornamental grasses, and mulched beds adjacent to lawn are prime territory.
• Stone walls and wood piles: These shelter mice and chipmunks — the primary small mammal tick reservoirs. Where there are mice, there are larval ticks. Where there are larval ticks, there will be infected nymphs the following spring.
• Shaded, humid lawn areas: Ticks desiccate quickly in full sun. The north-facing side of your house, areas under decks, and heavily shaded lawn sections maintain the moisture ticks need to survive.

What a Professional Tick Barrier Program Covers

A tick barrier spray program treats the areas of your property where ticks are most active — not where people spend the most time, but where ticks rest and quest. Treatments target vegetation edges, landscape beds, and the transition zone between lawn and natural areas with a residual insecticide that kills ticks on contact.

For Burlington County properties, an effective seasonal program typically includes:

• Early April treatment: Targets overwintering adult ticks becoming active as soil warms, and pre-empts nymphal emergence.
• Mid-May treatment: Timed to peak nymphal activity — the highest-risk window of the entire season.
• Late summer treatment: Targets new-generation nymphs and fall adult activity resurgence.

Organic tick control options (rosemary oil, cedar oil-based products) are available for families who prefer a reduced-chemical approach while still maintaining effective yard protection.

Tick Prevention Tips for Burlington County Homeowners

• Keep grass mowed short throughout tick season (April–November)
• Remove leaf litter from yard edges and under shrubs each spring and fall
• Install a 3-foot wood chip or gravel barrier between lawn and any wooded border
• Keep wood piles away from the home and off the ground if possible
• Check pets thoroughly after every outdoor excursion — ears, between toes, under collar
• Perform full-body tick checks on children daily from April through October

Don't Wait Until Someone Gets Bitten

The window to get ahead of peak nymphal tick season in Burlington County is short. April treatments are the most impactful investment you can make for your family's outdoor safety this year.

We provide professional tick control services throughout Burlington County — serving Marlton, Medford, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Medford Lakes, Evesham Township, Southampton, and every community in between.

Call (609) 793-8707 to schedule your first barrier treatment or request a free property assessment. Protect your yard before tick season peaks.