An East End homeowner says the tick population in his backyard has been eradicated thanks to the help from some chickens.

Chris Paparo, of Calverton, remembers a time when stepping into his backyard meant finding ticks on himself and on his dog. But after baby-sitting some chickens last summer, he realized that they solved his tick problem.

“Not only were we getting eggs from the chickens, we had no ticks left in the backyard,” he told News 12.

He has since bought chickens of his own, which are hard at work eating the bugs in his backyard.

Wayne Meyer, a chicken farmer, says he can hardly keep up with the number of residents asking for backyard chickens.

“Business is booming. Every year it is growing,” said Meyer.

Bug experts from Cornell Cooperative Extension confirmed that chickens can take care of a tick problem, but warn there are no guarantees.