Adventures In Bug Wrangling
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Look at this face. Does this look like the face of a tick magnet? No? Well…let me tell you that looks can be deceiving. The other day, I found not one but four (4!) ticks inside my house, one of which was trying to take up residence on my person. I was unamused. I was horrified. I had a minor freak-out. Okay, it might have been a major freak-out, but in my defense, ticks are horrifying. Not only are they awful to look at (insect-sized crabs, basically, complete with hard shell), they are difficult to kill without resorting to a tool of some kind, and they are quite stealthy. You don’t even feel them bite you. You just get to enjoy the Lyme disease later.
I leapt into action (well, after a certain amount of screeching and flailing). First, to Google. There were many responses to the question “What should I do if I find a tick inside my house?” Some responses recommended poisonous bug sprays, which I didn’t want to put in my house. I was looking for a more natural, but still effective, remedy. Some of the advice was rather humorous…I particularly enjoyed the website that suggested, among other things, to “vacuum like you mean it.” Right. Next, off to Pinterest, where I found many different suggestions on how to deal with ticks, from which I distilled my own personal method of attack.
Step one: vacuum like I mean it. And I did. Several times.
Step two: make myself a Tick Interdiction Spray with water and essential oils. A bit of research revealed that there are a number of essential oils which ticks don’t much like. I settled on oregano essential oil and cedar wood essential oil. I use Doterra oils, as I’m confident about the quality of the oils. I am not sure what results might be obtained from using an essential oil of more questionable quality. I get mine directly from Doterra, but if you don’t want to buy a membership from them, you can also get Doterra oils on Amazon.
Before I get to the actual recipe, I’d like to review how to handle the individual tick that you need to remove from its current environment (your dog, your person, your wall, etc). If the tick is not attached to a living thing, then just pick it up with something (tweezers work well, but don’t forget to clean them afterward), walk the nasty little burglar over to the nearest toilet, and flush it down. Buh-bye. If the tick is on a living thing, but hasn’t attached itself (ie: it’s still walking around, looking for the perfect place for brunch), deal with it the same way. However, if the tick has attached itself, I recommend that you do not just rip it off. If you do that, there’s a chance that the little blood-sucker’s head might break off under the skin and increase the risk of infection. If possible, you want the tick to pull its head out before you remove it. You can find multiple methods on the internet, but the method I like is to take a cotton swab, saturate it in oregano essential oil, and hold it on the tick. Ticks really don’t like oregano essential oil. Then dispose of the tick as usual.
One final caution: ticks can carry disease, most commonly Lyme disease and tularemia. Both of those are undesirable. So if you get sick after your close encounter with the dreaded tick, get checked out by your doctor and be sure to mention the tick bite.
And now, the recipe. It’s easy-peasy.
Tick Interdiction Spray4 oz distilled or filtered water
15 drops oregano essential oil
15 drops cedar wood essential oil
Mix all ingredients in a glass spray bottle (I got mine here) and use as needed. Shake well before each use. Avoid the eye area. If you find that the mixture damages the plastic pump/tube portion of your spray bottle, you could try a glass and metal mister like this one.
By the way, if you’re wondering what “interdiction” means, just think of Gandalf confronting the Balrog and roaring, “You shall not pass!” That was some righteous interdiction. So, armed with my Tick Interdiction Spray, I am mighty as Gandalf and no ticks shall pass! Or you could ask Siri, who will give you an accurate but less evocative definition.
I spritz my dogs’ legs and under-carriage and tails and backs before I let them step into the long field grass around my house. And I spritz my own legs before I walk in it myself. If I find a tick in the house (rare these days, usually only occurring when I have forgotten to use my spray), in addition to vacuuming like a genuinely crazy person, I spritz all around bases of the walls. Interestingly, I’ve used it a couple times in my kitchen in the area where I seasonally get those obnoxious little sugar ants. I guess the ants don’t like it either, because I have only seen one or two this year. Bonus!
If you would like a free label for your own Tick Interdiction Spray, click here.
