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Natural Repellent for Ticks
The weather is finally warming up, the sun is shining and ticks will soon be lurking in the grass! Depending on where you live, your yard may be covered with thousands of ticks or they may be of no concern. Since living in the Northeast, as soon as Spring comes around, I am on high alert watching out for not only ticks latching on to my pets but also myself. Especially since more than half of the ticks in my area carry Lyme disease, it becomes a serious concern.
Animals are the most likely to pick up ticks with their long fur and bodies being closer to the ground. Plus, your dog may roll around in the grass, mine sure does! Not only is it concern for your pets safety, but many of the ticks will take a ride on your pets fur into the house and end up on your floor or furniture where they could end up latching on to you or your family members!
Why You Should Use Natural Repellents for Ticks
The chemical tick repellents out there contain toxic chemicals which can end up being absorbed by pet owners. When the instructions state that you can’t touch your pet for a certain number of hours, you know you’re dealing with harmful chemicals. One of the most common ones that is sold contains Permethrin, which is a synthetic toxic pesticide that can be absorbed through skin and is also harmful to breathe .
Last summer, I set out on a mission to try all possible natural repellents for ticks. After trying several different essential oils and other natural mixtures, the ones that I found to work best and that have great reviews are listed below.
Natural Repellents for Ticks
1. Rose Geranium Essential Oil – Mix 3 Tablespoons of almond oil with 20 drops of Geranium essential oil. Apply several drops to your dogs fur, particularly around the collar area. (To be used only on dogs)
2. Apple Cider Vinegar and Lavender Oil– Mix 1 cup water with ¼ apple cider vinegar and 15 drops of lavender oil. Apply to your dog’s fur, or spray on.
3. Citrus Repellent– This natural repellent for ticks can be used on dogs or cats. Boil 1 cup of water, remove from heat and add in 3 fruits, such as lemons or limes by squeezing out the juice. Add 5 to 15 drops of lemongrass oil (for dogs, but optional). Shake well and allow the mixture to cool before applying to skin or pets fur.
4. Garlic Powder– In general add 1/8 of a teaspoon of garlic powder per pound of dog food.
5. Pet grooming– To help prevent attracting ticks, make sure to keep your pets hair as short as possible. This will also make it easier to spot any ticks on their fur.
The first natural repellent for ticks of Rose Geranium seemed to be the most effective, many have also mentioned having great success with it. Although, I continue to use a combination of these to get the most benefits.
Have you tried any of these natural repellents for ticks?
Is there a specific botanical variety that is needed for tick repellant or any Rose Geranium Oil will do?
Any brand should be good. I linked to one above in the post. Your local health food store should carry it too.
I am a big believer that we must use nature to fight nature our pet’s survival and that of our own depends on it.
I believe there is a place for medicine’s however i dont think we are quite there yet when the preventative measures have just as much long term effects on our loved ones.
Everyone is trying to find how best to look after their pets and everyone has an opinion based on their own experiences.
Unfortunately no matter which road we take whether chemical or natural we are ultimately deciding the fate of our pets.
Just remember that whatever you decide to do or not do you are doing it with the best intentions for your pet and family. Be proud of that – the fact that you are on here shows that you are researching because you care.
Your pet would be eternally grateful for that.
Garlic is toxic to dogs and cats. You should never feed it to them.
Hello,
I have a question regarding to Rose Geranium Oil. Is it possible to use coconut oil with rose geranium? Like apply a bit of Rose on the collar, arm pits of the dog and tail. And then apply aloe + coconut mix on his body? Thanks for answering my question!
You can definitely mix it with coconut oil. Coconut oil is a great carrier oil for essential oils.
Hi Lori –
I’m wondering which of these formulas worked best for you? You said you live in a high tick area and haven’t seen one…this is exciting!
Thank you so much for this information. I refuse to put chemicals on my dogs but worry a lot about ticks and mosquitos especially now with the increase of triple E/west Nile. I was wondering if you use Brewers yeast?
Hi Beverlee, I have heard of it being used but haven’t tried it with my pets.
I thought that alliums (inc. garlic) were dangerous for dogs. Anyone know more?
Check out this article: http://www.petguide.com/health/dog/the-shocking-truth-about-dogs-and-garlic/
The sprays sound like they would be a nice thing to try.
Garlic is toxic to dogs and cats, so I don’t think giving them garlic powder every day would be such a good idea.
Thanks for the recipes though
They work great! Haven’t seen one tick yet!
hi,
i have done a ton af research on garlic for dogs, and with my holistic vets instruction i have been feeding my 4 dogs garlic for years… it is actually good for them a it is us..
Do you know if these suggestions are good against fleas, maybe even mosquitos, as well?
These should also work great for fleas too! Geranium oil and lemongrass oil work great for repelling mosquitoes.
This is great advice for dogs but what about cats? Do you have any suggestions for my
kitty? Right now we do not use anything on her and she stays outside. I do use
DE on her when I remember.
The essential oils should only be used for dogs, but one natural repellent for ticks I’ve been using for my cat is neem leaf tea and it has been working really well!
I use a botanical powder made from neem, yarrow, and diatomaceous earth. You rub the coarse powder into the dog’s fur and it repels ticks. Needs to be reapplied every couple of weeks, more often if the dog is a swimmer or gets a bath. 🙂
Only every couple of weeks?! That’s great!
Great article and thanks. I did have 1 question though. If permethrin is the synthetic insecticide I am guessing, based on its name, that it’s a synthetic imitation of the natural pyrethrin and if so, could you use pyrethrin as well or instead?
Thanks
Essential oils are great for many purposes, including tick prevention. Just be careful not to put “extra” essential oil into your mixture “for extra protection” because too much essential oil could cause irritation to your dog’s skin. Just like any other treatment, you don’t want to use too much.
What about for people? We live in a high tic area, wild animals bring them into our yard. Over the past 3 summers I’ve pulled 5 tics off my boys (commercial natural repellent didn’t work). I hate putting the chemicals on the lawn, but I’m more scared of Lymes Disease. What do you think I should do?
I’m a big advocate of eating crushed, fresh garlic every day since it is so beneficial and if it can keep a tick or two away as well, I’m even more in favor of it. And so far,I haven’t lost any friends 😉
That’s great! Garlic has amazing health benefits, especially raw!
Where do I find the essential oils?
You should be able to find all of them at your local health food store, or you can also find them online, such as Amazon, they usually have great deals.
Just about any pharmacy will have them although you may have to ask for them since they may be behind the counter.
Amanda, I had the same question…and also, do you spread most of them all over the dog, or do they spread on the skin like the chemical ones do?
I’ve been hoping to find a good natural tick repellent for our dogs.
You can apply it with a cloth or use a small spray bottle to spray a little on their fur ( I use a spray bottle). It is really the scent that is helping repel the ticks, so by applying it daily or every few days it should work very well.
So how many sprays do you use? My Gretta is about 45 lbs. btw…
Thanks again! This is another blog I’ll be adding to my following! 😉
How often to you use these treatments? Every month like the ones you get from the vet?
probably every day….no way they last long as citrus and oils break down. The stuff from the vet is a chemical that absorbs into their fat layer and redistributes itself for 30 days….yuk!
Same Question 🙂 I would love to try this, just need to know how often it needs to be applied
I use them daily, for the ones with essential oils, it is really the scent that is repelling the ticks, so by applying a little each day it should work really well.
Thank you, I’m going to try this this summer! After using coconut oil with my Gretta, and seeing GREAT results I’m down to try anything natural!
I would love to know why and how you used coconut oil for your Gretta? Please 🙂
Everyday with her food I give her a tablespoon of coconut oil. It makes her coat super shiny and during the winter months she gets dry skin, but not this winter! 😉 Also her breath is ten times better and her teeth are super clean. Plus I’ve heard that it helps with digestive issues, she had a sensitive tummy.
Thank you so much Amanda. I will give our shitzu/cross some of this as well as her coat is dull and her skin quite dry. She has had Kidney stones removed in the past and is on a special food but surely this won’t affect her in a negative way. Grateful for your knowledge, have a nice day. 🙂
Be careful, since she is a lot smaller than my 45 pound Gretta. I double checked and the dosage is 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds. But start gradually because it may cause an upset tummy when you start, but Gretta didn’t have any problems…
Coconut oil? Just coconut oil? How?
I use rose geranium oil for ticks. i put 2 or 3 drops on her collar and when the scent is almost gone I add some more. Lasts for a couple of weeks. I have sprinkled garlic powder on my dogs food for years and we have never seen a flea and we have golden rets. with long hair. I will not put poison on my dog.
Rose geranium oil is my favorites to use too, it has worked so well and I live in the Northeast where ticks are out in full force.
I would think a thing like Almond oil would be an attractant to insects :/
sorry just forgot to click the notify me box 🙂
I’ve used it to make natural insect repellents and it has always worked well. I’m usually a mosquito magnet and it has really helped keep them away.
Do you know the highest quality brand for Rose Germanium oil?
I typically use Aura Cacia.
Edens Garden has a subspecies of rose geranium oil that was listed in one article as giving you “more bang for your buck”. It’s “Pelargonium capitatum x radens”
You shouldn’t give any garlic to your dogs. It causes red blood cell hemolysis (premature destruction) . You can google it. Just go with the oils . ?