Hello, and thanks for your question. There is no research that supports ticks being attracted to particular plants, although there is some to support that some plants with volatile oils repel ticks. Ticks are often found wherever deer visit or bed down. The young ticks do climb up any available plant material when they smell mammals and attempt to attach themselves to approaching mammals or humans- this is related to the presense of the animal, not the plant. You should be fine planting your barberries, which will be less attractive to the deer.
Hope this is helpful, Nicole