Sarah Metlova
How To Keep Ticks Out Of Yard Naturally – TICKS – Anything you read about avoiding or repelling ticks will contain the word DEET. From the CDC to the EPA, everyone recommends using DEET to protect yourself and your loved ones from blood-sucking ticks. Instead, I’d like to discuss natural tick repellents, tick control, and tips to avoid being bitten. We also include recipes for tick repellents for humans and dogs made with essential oils and how to get rid of a tick safely.
In trying to eliminate toxic chemicals from our lives, I am always looking for an organic approach and alternatives to conventional methods. Although DEET is generally recommended, that does not mean it is safe for my family. It is up to us to make informed and well-informed decisions and decide whether or not to trust your advertising.
How To Keep Ticks Out Of Yard Naturally
DEET is short for N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (also known as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide). It is part of the toluene chemical family. Toluene is an organic solvent used in rubber and plastic cements and paint strippers. DEET is absorbed through the skin and enters the bloodstream. The Bulletin of Medical Sciences, published by Pharmaceutical Information Associates Ltd. reports, “Up to 56% of topically applied DEET penetrates intact human skin and 17% is absorbed into the bloodstream.” Blood levels of approximately 3 mg per liter have been reported several hours after DEET repellent has been applied to the skin as prescribed. DEET is also absorbed through the gut. The major concerns about DEET are its effects on the central nervous system. The doctor. Mohammed Abou-Donia of Duke University studied the performance of laboratory animals on neurobehavioral tasks requiring muscle coordination. He found that laboratory animals exposed to the equivalent of average human doses of DEET performed significantly worse than untreated animals. Abou-Donia also found that combined exposure to DEET and permethrin, an ingredient in mosquito spray, can lead to motor deficits and dysfunctions in learning and memory.
How To Repel Ticks Naturally
Well, I have a safe and natural tick alternative that is just as effective as DEET – read on to find out what it is!
Before we explore natural ways to repel and avoid ticks, we need to know more about them, below:
Ticks are small blood-sucking spiders (eight-legged insects related to spiders). Their size can vary from as small as a pinhead to as large as a pencil eraser. Different types of ticks can range from shades of brown to reddish brown and black.
As they absorb more blood, ticks get bigger and bigger. When larger, ticks can be the size of marbles. After a tick has fed on its host for several days or weeks, it becomes an adult and can take on a blue-green color. When they finish eating, they usually descend to breed, lay eggs and start the cycle again.
Natural Flea + Tick Repellents For Dogs
There are many types of ticks, but only black-legged ticks (deer ticks) carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. According to the CDC, Lone Star Ticks, American Dog Ticks, Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks and Dog Ticks do not transmit Lyme disease.
In addition to Lyme disease, other tick-borne diseases include: southern tick-associated rash disease (STARI), Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, tularemia and now the Powassan virus.
While tick-borne diseases can have mild symptoms that can be treated at home, some symptoms can be severe (even fatal) and require hospitalization. If you are bitten by a tick, seek medical advice immediately. See Tick Bites: Symptoms and Treatment for more information.
You may have seen pictures of ticks standing on a meadow with their front legs outstretched, waiting to drive off their next victim. The article How Ticks Get On You explains what happens:
Ways To Keep Ticks, Mosquitoes At Bay This Summer
In 1881, scientist G. Haller published the first description of these structures, although he misunderstood their purpose. Haller thought the structures were auditory sensors, when in fact they were olfactory sensors. This means that when a tick is sitting on a patch of grass with its front legs outstretched, it is effectively sniffing the air for your scent. What is remarkable, however, is how well the tick can sniff out its prey and sense the slightest movement. Using its Haller organs, a tick can detect the carbon dioxide you exhale with each breath and the ammonia in your sweat. Even the most prepared hiker cannot avoid being detected by Haller’s organs, as they too can detect changes in temperature as you approach.
Ticks have an amazing sense of smell and can detect your arrival, some even seek you out. The way grasses work to repel mosquitoes, spiders, ticks and other biting insects is that they provide sensory camouflage. They mask their natural odor and odors that biting species find attractive.
Planting any of the above herbs, along with Beautiful Berry Bush and Mountain Mint, will act as a natural tick repellent for your garden.
Now more than ever it is important to explore all the constituents, properties and applications of plants, as bacteria, parasites, viruses and pathogens have become resistant to current chemical and medical protocols. In many cases, doctors and scientists do not have a plan B. They are working diligently to find alternatives, but time is running out. We must arm ourselves with an herbal apothecary of war against these invaders to protect ourselves when all else fails (or is our first course of action).
Organic Tick Control
A team of scientists from the Scottish Agricultural College believe the long-term outlook for insect and pest control may not be so rosy. Project leader Dr. Jos Houdijk says now is the time to look for alternatives to the veterinary drugs that farmers in industrialized countries have come to depend on. “When these drugs were introduced to the West in the 1960s, we thought they would solve all our problems, but we couldn’t be more wrong. Currently, parasites are becoming resistant and the consumer is more and more aware of having products with minimal use of drugs. Alternative medicine is back in vogue. The long-term solution to preventing tick-borne diseases lies in the power of plants and herbs. These herbal treatments, along with a little knowledge about ticks and tick-borne diseases, may be your best bet for staying healthy during the summer months ahead.
The two main natural tick repellants listed in this article (Rose Geranium and Sweetgrass) are two such herbal treatments.
See: Mosquito Repellent Chemicals Identified in a Traditional Fennel Guided Survey and Bioactivity on Geranium Essential Oils as Natural Tick Repellents for more information on studies showing their effectiveness.
Any combination of the above herbs will work to repel ticks, but the best essential oils to repel ticks are rose geranium and sweet grass. You can use any of the essential oils from the list above, but be sure to use rose geranium and sweet grass as your primary anti-ticking essential oils.
How To Get Rid Of Ticks In Your Lawn
It is a safe and natural tick repellent for humans made with essential oils. A simpler tick repellent for dogs is listed below.
Add all the ingredients to the spray bottle and spray it on your clothes before going out. Shake before use.
Note: Although you can use water, other options are better for keeping the oils in solution. Regular tap water can contain contaminants, so distilled water is best.
There are many herbs you can use to repel ticks from the outside, but you can also make yourself less attractive as tick food from the inside out:
How To Tick Proof Your Yard In 3 Steps
Animals, insects and even fungi play an important role in maintaining the balance of nature. It is our job to help put these natural alternatives in place when we see an infestation or a worrying problem, to protect the health of our family.
The first defense to avoid being bitten by ticks is to know where ticks like to live. Ticks like to live in tall grass and wooded areas with a moist, humid environment. Limiting your exposure to this type of environment will also limit your exposure to ticks.
If you notice a tick on your skin or hair, it’s important to know how to remove it safely to get rid of the entire insect and avoid tick-borne diseases.
Avoid folk remedies such as “painting” the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to loosen the tick from the skin. Your goal is to get rid of the tick as quickly as possible without waiting for it to come out.
Three Things We Did To Reduce Ticks In Our Yard
If you develop a rash or fever a few weeks after removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell your doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you likely picked up the tick.
Dogs seem to be the biggest domestic victims of ticks, due to their proximity to the ground and their desire to roam outside. While dogs can fall prey to tick-borne diseases, they can also bring ticks into the home that can bite your family members.
Note: pennyroyal essential oil can be used instead of rose geranium oil, but is toxic to dogs in high doses. Do not use in
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