Ottawa researchers may have just found one of the easiest ways yet to make our trails safer — and it involves something you'd find at any garden centre.
A new study published this month by scientists at the University of Ottawa has found that applying woodchips to trail surfaces can significantly reduce tick populations in those areas. The findings are particularly timely as Ottawa residents head into prime hiking season across the city's extensive network of parks and green corridors.
What the Research Found
The study examined tick density on trails treated with woodchips compared to untreated control paths. Researchers found a meaningful drop in tick numbers on the woodchip-covered sections — a result that could have real public health implications for a city where outdoor recreation is deeply embedded in daily life.
While the exact mechanisms are still being studied, woodchips are believed to create a drier, less hospitable environment for ticks, which thrive in moist, leaf-littered ground cover. The coarse texture may also act as a physical barrier that discourages ticks from crossing into the trail zone where humans walk.
Why This Matters for Ottawa
Ottawa's trail network stretches for hundreds of kilometres, threading through the Greenbelt, Gatineau Park, the Rideau River pathway, and dozens of neighbourhood parks. With so many residents cycling, walking dogs, and letting kids run through green spaces, tick exposure has become a growing concern — especially as blacklegged tick populations have expanded northward in recent years alongside changing climate patterns.
Blacklegged ticks (also known as deer ticks) can carry Lyme disease, and Ontario has seen a steady rise in reported cases. Ottawa Public Health regularly advises residents to take precautions in wooded and grassy areas during warmer months, including wearing long sleeves, using insect repellent, and doing tick checks after outdoor activities.
A Low-Tech Solution Worth Taking Seriously
What makes the woodchip approach appealing is its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. Municipalities already use woodchips for trail maintenance and erosion control — incorporating them as a tick-reduction strategy could be a straightforward add-on to existing park management practices.
It's also a non-chemical intervention, which matters to the many Ottawa residents who prefer low-pesticide approaches in public green spaces. No spraying, no health warnings posted on trail entrances — just a natural material doing double duty.
What to Watch For
The research is still fresh, and the University of Ottawa team's findings will need to be validated across different trail types, climates, and tick species. But the initial results are promising enough that parks managers and public health officials should be paying attention.
In the meantime, Ottawa trail-goers are still advised to follow standard tick precautions during peak season (late spring through early fall): stick to the centre of paths, avoid brushing against vegetation at the trail edges, and always do a full body check — especially behind the knees, in the hairline, and under the arms — after any time in nature.
If this research leads to wider woodchip adoption on Ottawa's trails, it could make our green spaces a little safer without adding a single chemical to the mix. That's a win worth watching.
Source: CBC Ottawa. Study published by researchers at the University of Ottawa.
