Rose geranium oil helps both as an astringent for your skin as well as repelling ticks. In this article, you will find out how to use rose geranium oil for ticks.
What Are Ticks?
Ticks are blood-sucking parasites of vertebrates, including cats, dogs, and humans too. They get attached to the host for a relatively long time and can transmit disease vectors such as Borreliosis, Ehrlichiosis, and many more.
There are nearly 900 species of these tiny creatures, best known for their eight limbs. They typically live in fields and wooded areas, usually a food source for other animals. It has three stages in life- first as an egg which hatches into a larva with six legs, then they molt and become nymphs which are somewhat more extensive and eight-legged. Finally, adults arise after the second molt.
Rose Geranium Oil For Ticks
Rose geranium oil contains 10-epi-gamma-eudesmol, which is potential in tick repellent. As per the studies conducted by the National Centre For Biotechnology Information, it is confirmed that the use of rose geranium essential oil is an effective way to stay away from ticks. Using its Haller’s organ, a tick can detect every smell, and the scent of rose geranium doesn’t please them, so they tend to stay away from it.
How To Prevent Ticks?
Here are a few tips which would help you to keep ticks at bay.
- Create a tick-free zone around your house by having a manicured lawn that keeps the tick habitat away.
- Ticks get Lyme disease from mice, so it’s essential to keep these rodents away from your house by building barriers or fences.
- Treat your clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin.
- Get a shower after being outdoors.
- Check yourself, your family, and your pets for any ticks and carefully remove it.
DIY Natural Tick Repellents
1. Rose Geranium Essential Oil Spray
Ingredients
- Rose geranium essential oil
- Distilled water
- Vodka or Witch hazel
Procedure
- Firstly, pour one tbsp of vodka or witch hazel into a spray bottle with the help of a funnel.
- Add 40 drops of rose geranium essential oil to it.
- Finally, add 1/3 cup of distilled water.
- Close the lid of the spray bottle and shake well.
- You can spray this onto your pets and also on your body.
2. Tick Repellent Spray
Ingredients
- Witch hazel
- Vodka
- Lemon Eucalyptus oil
- Cedar oil
- Bergamot oil
- Vegetable glycerine
- Lavender oil
- Rosemary oil
Procedure
- Add 1/2 a cup of witch hazel and water, a tbsp of vodka or alcohol, 1 tsp of vegetable glycerine, 30 drops of bergamot oil, ten drops of cedar oil, lemon, eucalyptus, lavender, and rosemary into a spray bottle.
- After adding all the ingredients, shake the bottle well.
- You can spray it on your body whenever you go out.
Conclusion
As it is said, prevention is better than cure, so you must take proper precautions so that ticks remain at bay.