Ticks<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ticks are just a fact of life. These scary blood-suckers attach to your skin and creepily hang on until they are engorged. Ticks grow in size so much they literally have to roll away once they’re full. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides the creepy factor, ticks are notorious for being carriers of disease, both viral and bacterial. It turns out that the baby ticks, called nymphs, are even more dangerous than the adults since they are so small. The smaller the tick, the harder time you’ll have finding them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the natural repellents that work for mosquitoes also will work for ticks, and just like any mosquito repellent, what works for one species of mosquito might not work as well for another. Garlic, clove, catnip, geraniol, citronella, etc. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nI’ll share a couple of natural ways I found while researching that are specific to ticks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nootkatone<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Study Supported Methods:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nNootkatone is a chemical that is found in Alaskan Cedar trees as well as in the skin of grapefruit. It also sounds like an instrument from a Dr. Suess book. Which is a bonus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nootkatone was used to treat coveralls and showed to be 100% effective against repelling ticks for 3 days (source<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nThis is incredible! A repellent that lasts more than 8 hours is something to take notice of. One concern with nootkatone is whether it can be harvested responsibly.<\/strong> A company called Evolva claims their artificial Nootka shield, which is manufactured in labs. They argue it is a more responsible way to get the benefit of this natural occurring chemical. You can check out more on their website, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMyths:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
None known<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BioUD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Study Based Methods<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe chemical 2-undecanone is usually produced synthetically, but can be harvested naturally from the oil of rue, and also occurs naturally in several fruits and wild tomatoes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this study<\/a>, BioUD was shown to be as effective as DEET in repelling ticks. While in another study<\/a>, BioUD was shown to be even more effective! <\/p>\n\n\n\n