Those Scary Ticks!



Last night, I pulled a deer tick off my seven year old.  It literally looked like a freckle.

 

If anything freaks me out, it's ticks and lice.  None the less, a deer tick. An awful disease carrier!
And this year, is a terrible year for them.  They can be pretty lethal.

 

 

 

Really, it couldn't have been on her more then an hour.  And we are keeping an eye on it, but it's likely OK.

 

But it gave me the heebie jeebies and I have been obsessively checking my kids' heads and scratching and convincing myself I feel bugs crawling on me.

 

So, let's talk ways of keeping those ticks away.

 

Well for one, I found out they love type O blood.  That's also the type of blood mosquitos love too.

 

So, the next route...

 

Natural Tick Repellent.

 

Ticks do not like geranium. eucalyptus or lavender.

First thing you could do, is plant those around.
Or if you are like me, and kill every plant you touch (even though I really envision myself as being this cute little farmer, outside picking my own vegetables), you could make your own bug spray with essential oils.

 

Tea tree oil is also another essential oil that will repel ticks.

 

Tick Repellent for Humans:

In a spray bottle, mix together 2 tsp of a carrier oil (olive, coconut, avocado oil, etc) and 20 drops of geranium oil.

 You can also mix in a few drops of tea tree, or make a mix of lavender and geranium oil.

Taking garlic daily will keep them away.

And often times, our animals can bring them into the home.

 

Tick Repellent for Dogs:

 Rub the carrier oil and 20 drops of any of the following essential oils on the collar.
Geranium, lavender, peppermint, clove, rosemary, eucalyptus.
Also making a shampoo, by mixing 20 drops of a listed essential oil into their shampoo and letting sit for 5 minutes.

 

Neem oil massaged into the animal's fur will prevent ticks as well.