06/18/2026
That pretty red shrub in your foundation planting? The one your landscaper loves?
It's a tick factory.
Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) creates a dense, humid microclimate at ground level — the exact conditions that blacklegged ticks (deer ticks) need to survive and reproduce.
A study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station found that areas with Japanese barberry had 120 TIMES more blacklegged ticks than areas without.
120 times.
And those are the ticks that carry Lyme disease.
On top of that, Japanese barberry is invasive. It escapes gardens, invades forests, forms impenetrable thickets, and displaces native plants. Birds eat the berries and spread seeds.
It's now banned or restricted in: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and more states are following.
Native alternatives that look BETTER:
Winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata) — red berries, native, bird food.
Inkberry (Ilex glabra) — evergreen, native, deer-resistant.
Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) — purple/red foliage varieties, native, gorgeous.
Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) — white flowers, red fall color, native.
Rip out the barberry. Plant a native. Reduce your tick population by 120×.
Your kids and your dog will thank you.
