Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. EPA's helpful search tool can help you find the product that best suits your needs. Always follow product instructions.
Ticks hate the smell and taste of vinegar, and will be easily be repelled by this ingredient alone.
Ticks are primarily attracted to the smell of your body and breath. The stronger your scent, the easier it is for them to find you.
Unlike many other bugs (hello, mosquitoes!), ticks aren't generally attracted to synthetic scents in perfumes, colognes, laundry products, and deodorants. However, they may be attracted to perfumes containing certain natural ingredients, like musk oil. If you plan to be outdoors, it's wise to forego perfume.
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.
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.
Ticks hate the smell of lemon, orange, cinnamon, lavender, peppermint, and rose geranium so they'll avoid latching on to anything that smells of those items.
Ticks are attracted to carbon dioxide and sweat
They also sense body heat and the lactic acid that comes from sweating.
Tick bite prevention
To help protect yourself and your family, you should: Use a chemical repellent with DEET, permethrin or picaridin. Wear light-colored protective clothing. Tuck pant legs into socks.
Ticks are known to be able to survive even if they are submerged in water for extended periods of time. Therefore, the chances of them surviving being flushed down a toilet and entering into our water system and spreading disease or re-emerging later on is very real and something that should be avoided.
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."
Showering within two hours of coming indoors has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease and may be effective in reducing the risk of other tickborne diseases. Showering may help wash off unattached ticks and it is a good opportunity to do a tick check.
Diatomaceous Earth
DE destroys the waxy outer layer of ticks, causing them to dehydrate. Not only does this abrasive powder help to kill adult ticks, but it also prevents new ones from hatching.
They prefer to stay outdoors waiting for a potential host to pass by. However, while ticks do not infest beds, they can get indoors by attaching themselves to pets, clothing, or outdoor gear. A live tick may survive in your bed for around 24 hours, but it certainly won't breed or start an infestation.
When checking for ticks, pay special attention to these areas: under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, back of the knees, in and around hair, between the legs, and around the waist. If you find a tick attached to your body, remove it as soon as possible.
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.
Summary of Scientific Evidence
One study found that light colored clothing attracted more ticks than dark colored clothing. The same study found that clothing color did not affect participant ability to find ticks crawling on clothing.
So although wearing a dark color will make ticks harder to spot on you, deeper shades tend to attract fewer ticks. Whatever colors you choose to wear, it's good to consider tucking in your clothes when in a tick-prone area (shirt into pants, pants into socks—there's no shame in preventing tick bites!).
Diatomaceous earth
When ticks encounter DE, it will dehydrate them immediately, killing them within hours. To use DE as a tick-killer, sprinkle it anywhere you've noticed ticks in your yard. You can also use it to create a barrier between wooded and grassy areas. Re-apply the DE every few weeks, or after heavy rain.
Rubbing alcohol will kill fleas and ticks, but if you're going to use alcohol, make sure to use it correctly. Experts recommend dropping fleas or ticks into a glass or jar filled with rubbing alcohol. "Don't pour alcohol on a tick that's on your dog," Dr. Lofton warns.
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.