<< Are there any products that could be used in the
 yards to keep the tick numbers down.   >>

If you live in the country, I would strongly recommend purchasing some guinea
fowl.  Although they can be quite noisy, they do a wonderful job of keeping
the tick population down and will forage a very wide area.  This is the time
of year that guineas can be purchased from most farm supply stores.  I would
suggest that you build some sort of wire fencing around your hive(s).  As the
guineas are such voracious bug eaters, they don't know a good bug from a bad
bug and can stand at a hive entrance for a snack until the stinging gets to
bee too much.