Tips for Tick and Mosquito Prevention

Since many ticks are so small, you may never know you have had a tick bite, or not realize it until the tick is engorged!

• May through July are the highest risk months due to intense nymphal activity
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you “take preventive measures against ticks year-round.” Although most tick bites occur in late spring and summer, there is a potential for tick exposure throughout the year.
• Taking two or three 400mg capsules of astragalus daily may help prevent transmission of Lyme – a good idea if you know you will be in a tick-endemic area!
• Many have said that ticks can “sense garlic.” Consider loading up on odor-free oral garlic supplements 3 days before an outdoor activity.

• Put protectant on your skin as well as your clothing.
• Essential oils like lavender, geranium, and rosemary on the skin PLUS permethrin – an insecticide that mimics chrysanthemum’s natural insect-repelling qualities – on clothing are amazing at warding off ticks and killing any that come in contact with your clothing.
• You can purchase repellent-impregnated clothing (available at REI and L. Bean) or treat your own clothes monthly.
• Ticks seem to be developing a resistance to DEET – oil of lemon eucalyptus is an excellent alternative.

That is often where ticks first come into contact with you! Treat your shoes and socks.

Ticks hate the scent of lavender: use lavender soaps, detergents, dryer sheets, shampoo, etc. Put dryer sheets in kids pockets.

Mosquitos will thrive in your yard or balcony, even in a bottle cap sized collection of water.  Eliminate all standing water, especially bird baths!

Mice transmit the most ticks that make people sick! Eliminating mice greatly reduces the amount of Lyme transmission. Eradicating mice from your property is essential in eliminating disease-carrying ticks!

Eliminate mouse havens from your home and property by removing:

• Wood piles
• Rock walls
• Leaf piles

 Prevent deer from entering your property with tall fences.

Do not attract birds to your yard – birds can easily carry ticks.  This is why Central Park has so many ticks! Eliminate bird baths and bird feeders.

Ticks will rarely cross a 3-foot tall wood chip border – use liberally around your property.

Be smart! Avoid ticks-rich environments:

• Stay out of tall grasses
• Stay in the center of paths
• Avoid shady areas under trees
• Ticks love moisture – under a tree, or after a rainstorm – avoid these situations when possible!

Check yourself frequently while still outside and immediately when you get home:

• Ticks can be as small as the period at the end of this sentence to a sesame seed size adult tick. Ticks that have fed can become as large an eraser head.
• Carry a lint roller with you to roll over clothing and pick up small ticks.
• Shower as soon as you get home and do another tick check.
• Remember, some tick infections can be transmitted in 15 minutes, so never wait to remove a tick!
• See below for tick removal instructions.

…photograph it daily. Use a ruler on the skin to document size. See below for more details.

A mixture of the insecticide chemical permethrin and potassium salt is a natural and safe way to reduce the presence of ticks. You can find it as a liquid concentrate and as granules at many home improvement stores.

How to use natural pesticides:

• If liquid insecticides are used, apply by fogging, not by coarse sprays.
• Apply in a few-feet-wide strip at the perimeter of your lawn, and in any areas adjacent to woods and underbrush.
• Treat any ornamental shrubs near the house that may house small animals.
• The best time to apply these products is in late spring; I recommend you use them monthly around the border of your home.
• In particularly tick-endemic areas (Northeast, Wisconsin, etc.), more frequent treatments of permethrin are required to significantly reduce the tick population.

Consider treating your property in the spring with a product called “Damminix,” cardboard tubes containing cotton balls that have been dipped in insecticide.

How to use:

• Place these tubes around your property in wooded areas and below shrubs.
• Mice, a key link in the propagation of Lyme disease, find the cotton and bring it back to their burrows use it as nesting material, precipitating a big decrease in the number of ticks in your yard.
• Unfortunately, after two years, tick populations may rise again as other small animals that do not gather cotton become hosts to the ticks. Therefore, Damminix alone is not recommended; supplement with cedar oil or lavender oil drops or sprays and additional precautions listed above.

If you’re finding ticks regularly, keep a sticky tape-type lint roller handy to pick up unattached ticks from clothing or pets. Use any type of sticky tape to cleanly capture ticks in your home.

• Wear long pants.
• Tuck the cuffs into your socks so any ticks on your shoes or socks will crawl on the outside of your pants and be less likely to bite.
• Consider using ‘duct tape’ sticky side out to capture ticks crawling on you.
• Wear light-colored clothing so ticks are easier to spot.
• Opt for smooth materials such as windbreakers over knit fabrics; smooth clothing is harder for ticks to grab onto.
• Avoid wearing flip-flops or sandals in grassy
  endemic areas.

Treating Your Clothes with Permethrin:

Tick repellents containing “permethrin” are meant to be sprayed on your clothing. In areas where ticks are strongly endemic, this step is critical to really reduce your risk!

• Spray clothes before you put them on, and let them dry first.
• Do not apply this chemical directly to your skin.
• One application is usually good for 6-10 washings; apply monthly to clothing and shoes.

Ticks cannot tolerate being dried out.  After being outdoors in an infested area, place your clothes in the dryer for at least 10 minutes to kill any ticks, then wash them as you normally would (with lavender soap and dryer sheets!). While your clothing is initially in the dryer, take a shower to wash off any unattached ticks and do a tick check: check all over your body, including the groin, head, and underarms, and have someone check your scalp. A lint roller works great to pick up small and hard-to-spot ticks.

• Oil-based agents are safe for use on skin.
• Oil of lemon eucalyptus is very effective.
• Great natural sprays include:
  • Tick Tock Naturals Organic Insect Repellent
  • Buzz Away Extreme
  • Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus
• Apply liberally and often.

On a budget? It’s easy to make your own repellent:
Easy Citrus Insect Repellent for Skin

• Boil 2 whole lime & lemon peels in 4oz of water.
• Let it cool.
• Mist onto the skin with a spray pump bottle.
• Needs to be applied regularly, every 3-4 hours.
• Adding ice makes it refreshing on a hot day!

Mix 25 drops of three of the following essential oils with a carrier oil like almond oil to create a natural repellent: rosemary, geranium, basil, cedar, cinnamon, lemon, lavender, and pennyroyal. Apply directly to the skin.

ROBIN FOROUTAN, MS, RDN, HHC

Robin is a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in Integrative Medicine, Functional Medicine and holistic healing modalities. She helps her clients address complicated conditions and return to wellness.

STEPHANIE MANDEL, NC, HEALTH COACH

Stephanie is a Holistic Nutrition Consultant and Emotional Freedom Technique practitioner with a passion for helping her clients fulfill their potential through both emotional and physical optimization.