Garlic, sage, mint, lavender, beautyberry, rosemary and marigolds are some of the most familiar and effective tick-repelling plants, and they are great to use in landscaping borders around decks, walkways, pet runs, patios and other areas to keep ticks away.
Nothing does the job quite like rubbing alcohol. Not only is it famous for killing any bad bacteria in wounds, but it can also wipe out a tick for good. After you remove the tick, drop it in a cup of alcohol and place a lid over it so it can't escape. It shouldn't take time for the alcohol to do its job.
Place a 3-ft wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas and around patios and play equipment. This will restrict tick migration into recreational areas. Mow the lawn frequently and keep leaves raked. Stack wood neatly and in a dry area (discourages rodents that ticks feed on).
Plant Tick-Repellent Plants
Some of the most effective tick-repelling plants are sage, mint, garlic, lavender, rosemary, and marigold. Plant these varieties along landscaping borders, surrounding patios, pet runs, decks, and other areas where you want to deter ticks and keep them away from your yard.
Coffee grinds are an excellent solution for tick prevention that is safe and effective. Coffee grounds should be mixed into shower gel, spread evenly, and rubbed into their fur and skin. Rinse with water and usually dry.
When lawns are nearby, ticks move into mowed areas, too. But more than 80% stay in the lawn's outer 9 feet.
Generally, ticks prefer to feed on animals, so they live where the likelihood of latching onto an animal is greatest. This usually means the border zones between forests and more open areas. If your yard borders a wooded area, you should take active steps to prevent ticks from invading.
Myth 3: Homemade all-natural flea/tick sprays (distilled or apple cider vinegar, vegetable or almond oil, lemon juice, citrus oil, or peppermint oil) will keep the ticks from biting your pet. FALSE! Ticks do not have aversions to these household products.
Ticks can be active year round
The time of day when ticks are most active can also vary from species to species, as some prefer to hunt during the cooler and more humid hours of the early morning and evenings, while others are more active at midday, when it is hotter and dryer.
Cedar Oil. Cedar oil kills and repels ticks by causing dehydration, inhibiting breathing, disrupting pheromones, and emulsifying body fats. You can find cedar oil spray at most garden stores, or you can also make it yourself. In a spray bottle, mix 1–2 teaspoons of cedarwood essential oil with 1 cup of water.
Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers.
Adult ticks, which are approximately the size of sesame seeds, are most active from March to mid-May and from mid-August to November. Both nymphs and adults can transmit Lyme disease. Ticks can be active any time the temperature is above freezing.
Best overall tick repellent
The CDC — along with six experts I spoke with — recommends DEET as an effective tick repellent. “The EPA suggests that any product with DEET should have a concentration between 20 and 30 percent of the active ingredient,” says Molaei.
Ticks are attracted to carbon dioxide and sweat
Just like mosquitoes, ticks are sensitive to the CO2 you exhale and will find that attractive. They also sense body heat and the lactic acid that comes from sweating. Since you can't stop breathing or giving off body heat, these are things that really can't be controlled.
Dr. Hutchinson has his own home remedy, "Nine parts Listerine and one part water, in a spray bottle, spray. Spray your dogs' coat and your lower body and the ticks hate the alcohol and will jump right off while you are out there."
It is important to wait until the snow has melted and the ground is dried-out, usually making May the ideal time. Tick treatment in your yard is most effective when continued into summer and fall to help kill ticks at all stages of their lives, and before reproduction begins.
Ticks are eaten by chickens, guinea fowl, and frogs. Animals such as chicken, guinea fowl, wild turkeys, ants, spiders, opossums, frogs, squirrels, lizards, ants, and fire ants eat ticks. As tiny as they are, ticks have a variety of natural predators who eat them.
American dog ticks, in particular, are attracted to the heat and carbon dioxide emanating from houses, and are sometimes encountered en masse literally climbing the outside walls and screened windows probing for a way indoors.
First and foremost, a tick “nest” isn't really a nest at all. Rather than making a nest, female ticks opt to lay their eggs anywhere they please. This is usually a soft spot, such as a plot of soil or within blades of grass. What might be called a “nest” is simply a mass of sticky eggs.
Repel Ticks, Bugs and Mosquitos
Many attribute the oils in Vicks in helping to prevent bug bites and ticks from latching themselves onto the skin. Vicks VapoRub contains cedarleaf oil, a mild pesticide which may actually repel insects.