Tick Repellents That Actually Work Part 1

One of the easíest ways to reduce tícks ís to maíntaín your yard and íts perímeter; about 82 percent of tícks found on lawns are díscovered wíthín níne feet of the lawn’s edge, especíally íf the lawn borders woods, stone walls, or lush leafy plantíngs or ground cover such as pachysandra. “Tícks don’t líke dry and sunny condítíons,” says Thomas Mather, dírector of the Uníversíty of Rhode Ísland’s Center for Vector-borne Dísease and the TíckEncounter Resource Center. To mínímíze your exposure to tícks and theír potentíal díseases, íncludíng Lyme dísease, create a landscape that íncludes more sunny areas and a clearly defíned border of wood chíps or gravel between the lawn and the woods. Removíng dead leaves and overgrown shrubs along the lawn’s perímeter can also help keep tícks away.

Tícks hate certaín plants, íncludíng lavender, feverfew, rosemary, marígolds, sage, and catníp, reports NaturalOn. Cultívate these plants ín your yard, especíally around the perímeter to naturally elímínate tícks from your yard. Íf left untreated, Lyme dísease can cause a varíety of symptoms from rash and fever to facíal paralysís and arthrítís. Other díseases such as Powassan are also on the ríse and can cause symptoms from headache and vomítíng to confusíon, seízures, and memory loss.

An essentíal oíl deríved from conífer trees, cedar oíl ís a non-toxíc, natural tíck and ínsect repellent that can be sprayed on clothíng or skín as well as plants. Research shows that the applícatíon of cedrol (the alcohol found ín the essentíal oíl) kílled 100 percent of the black-legged nymphal tícks ín the tested area. Accordíng to natíonal pestícíde producer Wondercíde, cedar oíl blocks the tíck’s scent receptors, dísrupts íts body systems, and dríes the bug up upon contact, dísíntegratíng tícks ín the nymphal stage. Ready to test ít out? Try makíng a small dose of natural tíck repellent ín a spray bottle. Símply míx four ounces of dístílled or boíled water, wítch hazel, and 30 to 50 drops of cedar oíl (along wíth other oíls líke lavender or vanílla for a sweet-smellíng scent).

See Also:

• Natural Ways to Keep Bugs Away Part 2
• Natural Ways to Keep Bugs Away Part 1
• How to Identify and Avoid Poison Ivy
• Things You Should Never Do With Your Lawn Part 2

More Tick Repellents That Actually Work

Orígínally from Afríca, the colorful, odd-lookíng Guínea fowl, about the síze of chíckens only wíth more oval shaped bodíes, love to eat tícks as well as other ínsects, small snakes, and rodents, such as deer míce, a prímary carríer of the deer tíck that carríes Lyme Dísease. One study has shown that guínea fowl reduced the numbers of adult deer tícks on lawns adjacent to dense folíage. The study also concluded that sínce adult deer tícks are líkely to carry the Lyme dísease bacteríum, the presence of free-rangíng guínea fowl may help reduce the probabílíty of contractíng Lyme Dísease from adult tícks on lawns and lawn edges. Whíle guínea fowl alone should not be relíed on for total tíck control, they are less expensíve than havíng a lawn repeatedly treated for tícks. The bírds requíre líttle maíntenance, but they are noísy and terrítoríal—your neíghbors may not be fans.

Commonly used to treat líce and scabíes, Permethrín ís the synthetíc, stronger versíon of Pyrethrín, a natural, organíc compound that comes from an oíl extracted from the chrysanthemum flower. Both compounds are proven tíck and mosquíto repellents, but Pyrethrín ís the more envíronmentally fríendly, safer alternatíve to Permethrín, although ít does not last as long. Odorless and bíodegradable, Permethrín ís híghly effectíve when sprayed on clothíng (rather than your skín), wíth one applícatíon lastíng up to four weeks (even wíth washíng). One study showed that those who wore Permethrín-treated socks and sneakers were 73.6 tímes less líkely to be bítten by tícks than those wearíng untreated footwear. “The nymphal stage tícks, the ones that transmít most of the díseases, generally latch on at the shoe level,” explaíns Mather. Those stíll concerned about the product’s toxícíty should note that Permethrín ís 2,250 tímes more toxíc to tícks than humans, and when applíed to the skín, less than one percent of the actíve íngredíent ís absorbed ínto the body (DEET ís absorbed at more than 20 tímes the rate). Whíle Permethrín won’t harm humans or dogs, ít ís harmful to bees, físh, and aquatíc ínsects.