g'day dinkus, broached this with you on the express forum, you should really research the target pest. ticks are not your normal garden pest they are a parasite of warm blooded critters and that means us as well as dogs, cats, possums, bandicoots (the best carrier of the parasite), wallabies, stock (horses/cattle/sheep etc.,.) and kangaroos to name but a few. as for pyrethrums working (and the best would be the natural stuff very expensive) is doubtfull i would think, if it did work it would maybe work on the parasite at that moment but would not work as residual? compare the active ingredients in the parasite barrier you use on your dog and that which is used in stock dips, i think you will find it is more potent than pyrethrum? you also need to be checking the humans in your home maybe daily, i know quiet a number of people with long term health problems caused by ticks. might also be best to identify which tick(s) you have, the common cattle tick causes the least problems. it has been suggested that guinea fowl are good at tick control, but how you keep them on site is another story, and i have been told by breeders they don't take kindly to being caged. willy wag-tails and cattle egret do well at controlling them on cattle etc.,. so maybe attract lots of bug eating birds into you haven? and a word to the wise for others if you are contemplating a move to rural or near rural research the local tick problems and try and buy in areas that have minimum ticks or none at all, they are a very hard parasite to learn to live with. happy new year to one and all, drive safely be aware of the other idiot grinning broadly! len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens garden page