ticks and japanese barberry

[jdlondon]

Ordered this online without knowing anything other than it looked pretty and it would suit the blank spot in dad's rockery. Especially as he didn't have that bright orange colour in there, and bonus edible fruits.

Then I decided to google it today and 'invasive' jumps out at me, as well as, frighteningly, 'tick haven'.

On the plus side, apparently it's renowned for its medicinal qualities ...

My question though, is whether there is anything I can spray/treat the barberry with so as to keep the ticks away? I've found Vet's Best on Amazon but was wondering if anyone here had any recommendations/suggestions.

[ameno]

Ticks don't spontaneously appear out of nowhere. In order for them to get into your garden, they would need to already be nearby. Ticks also need a regular food source, so unless you get a lot of medium to large mammals in your garden (foxes and badgers or larger) then they are really a complete non-issue.

As for being invasive, as far as I can tell it is only considered so in America. It apparently self-seeds quite readily, but I doubt it would be that hard to pull the seedlings out.

[jdlondon]

Used to be foxes until the railway put up a fence. Not sure if they're still around but other than our own cats and others, that's about it for the mammals.

Except fot the occasional visit from friends' dogs, who hale from the Welsh hills.

There is farmland all over, just over the railway line and dotted between little built-up areas.

Ticks just sound like little terrors, a little Pandora's box.

[ameno]

Ticks like to live in long vegetation near to were medium to large mammals frequently pass. They climb up a long stem of grass or something, and then drop onto a mammal as it passes (they cannot jump).

Honestly, they're not that common in this country outside of scrubland and large wild areas. They don't really live on farmland because the grass is too short.
Your barberry certainly won't actively attract them - no plant will, because it's not plants they eat - at worst it might simply be a good home for them if they happen to already be in or very near your garden
All the articles that call it a "tick haven" are American, and I think it has more to do with the fact that it has gone feral and is an invasive plant in several states (rather like rhododendrons in certain parts of the UK), rather than as a garden plant.

[jdlondon]

Ok, thanks, ameno, very informative!

There is no way our out-of-the way rockery is a mammal thoroughfare.

I am determined to be reassured even if it still niggles in the hindbrain. It is possible I was much too scarred by a House episode on ticks and Lyme disease.