Recipe 1: Basic Skin Spray
This is the one I use most often. Cedarwood is the backbone because it actually kills ticks through dehydration and disrupts their ability to find a mate.
Makes 4 oz. Use on exposed skin. Reapply every 1 to 2 hours.
Ingredients
- 4 oz distilled water
- 50 drops Polysorbate 20 or Solubol (emulsifier, do not skip this)
- 15 drops cedarwood essential oil
- 15 drops geranium essential oil
- 10 drops lemongrass essential oil
- 10 drops citronella essential oil
How to make it
- Add the emulsifier to an empty glass spray bottle.
- Add all essential oils.
- Fill with distilled water.
- Cap and shake well.
- Shake again before every use. Oils separate.
Apply to ankles, lower legs, the back of the neck, and arms. Skip your face. You can spray it on clothing too but the clothing spray recipe holds better on fabric.
Why Cedarwood and Geranium
Cedarwood oil has the most evidence of any natural option. It kills ticks through dehydration and disrupts their ability to locate a mate via pheromones. The USDA Agricultural Research Service confirmed cedarwood as an effective natural tick control agent. Geranium oil was specifically studied against lone star ticks; ten different geranium varieties were tested and all of them showed repellent activity, with geraniol and citronellol as the main active compounds.