If you have read the stories in our series of articles detailing the stories of a dozen people in our area who have contracted Lyme disease, if could make you afraid to go outside. But that wouldn’t be any fun, and it isn’t necessary, either. Even people who spend a lot of time out in the woods can avoid tick bites, remove the occasional (and inevitable) tick quickly and properly, and not stress out. Some people have gotten literally hundreds of tick bites without coming down with a tick-borne illness.
Some health authorities recommend applying the pesticide DEET to repel ticks and other insects. But exposure to a toxic chemical could be trading one problem for another.
“I don’t recommend DEET,” retired Greenpeace senior scientist Pat Costner said. “DEET is neurotoxic. People who use DEET daily have reported suffering symptoms including rashes, dizziness, difficulty concentrating and headaches. Some studies have found DEET to be only moderately effective, and it is now among the most frequently detected organic chemical contaminants in water.”
In her opinion, the most effective repellent for both ticks and chiggers is sulfur powder. Put a few tablespoons of sulfur powder in the toe of an old sock, tie a knot in the top of the sock, and use it to dust your shoes, socks, and lower legs or pants legs. For spray-able repellents, she recommends those that are botanically-based, especially those with lemon eucalyptus oil as the active ingredient.
Costner said there are other interesting natural repellents, as well as suppressants, for yards and gardens:
- Essential oil from the leaves and stems of wild tomato plants is the natural source of 2-undecanone. It is the active ingredient in one commercial tick repellent that was 2-4 times better than DEET in repelling three species of ticks in laboratory tests.
- Oil from garlic plants is the active ingredient in some commercial tick suppressants.
- Essential oils from Alaska yellow cedar trees, grapefruit and certain citrus fruits are the natural sources of nootkatone, which kills ticks. M.C. Dolan, a scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a single application of a 2 percent solution of nootkatone will control ticks for up to 42 days at greater than 97 percent efficacy.
- Carvacrol is present in the essential oil of Origanum vulgare (oregano), oil of thyme, oil obtained from pepperwort and wild bergamot. Like nootkatone, carvacrol kills ticks.
Costner said garlic oil, nootkatone, and carvacrol are also used as suppressants, sprayed on yards to kill the ticks.
“Imagine being able to keep your yard clear of ticks,” Costner said. “It seems that growing more oregano in our yards should at least discourage ticks. The deer are huge tick vectors and I learned that deer don’t like mint. So we should plant more mint.”
When Lorna and Craig Hirsch, owners of the Fire Om Earth Retreat Center and Botanical Sanctuary, first were considering relocating her from New York in 2002, they said, “If we are going to stay here, we have to figure out what to do about ticks and chiggers.”
In addition to the sulfur sock, they use a natural pest repellant, diatomaceous earth, which is fossilized remains of a hard-shelled algae, on their paths. While some people believe it is only effective until it rains, others have had good luck for longer periods of time in discouraging not just ticks, but chiggers and fleas.
Lorna Hirsch also advises keeping pathways mowed, avoid long grass areas, and spray on a tincture made from white yarrow flowers that is more effective than DEET, according to some studies.
“Put the stalk and flowers into a jar of alcohol – I use Everclear – for six weeks, and then spray it on yourself every couple of hours when you are outside,” Hirsch said. “You can buy yarrow tincture, but it is much less expensive to make it yourself. A pint will last me a season here.”
She also recommends changing your clothes after being outside, and not wearing them again until they have been washed. She advises using masking tape or a lint roller to remove small ticks that might be numerous. And strip down after time in the woods and check carefully for ticks.
“The whole thing with living in this area is to be vigilant this time of year,” she said. “You can’t help but get ticks on you. Some people just go out without any protection, and before you think about it, you have all kinds of issues.”
Francesca Garcia Giri, a practitioner of Chinese medicine and owner of Flora Roja Community Acupuncture Clinic, said a product they make called Bugger Off is popular with customers. It is olive oil infused with catnip combined with a little glycerin and essential oils including citronella, rosemary, thyme, germanium and peppermint.
“Different people have different recipes,” Giri said. “I have customers coming in every day to buy essential oils to make their own. People are now very interested in natural bug repellent. We always encourage people to take charge of their health.”
Giri said she hopes that a local support group for people with Lyme and other tick-borne disease develops. She said that a number of locals have had good success curing tick diseases with natural remedies.
“We need a roundtable discussion about it,” Giri said. “For herbal protocols, it is hard to find a lot of good information out there. People are still sifting through information. It is something on a lot of our minds. There are a lot of ticks this year. Every year I seem to hear more and more people with some sort tick disease.”