This essential oil combination has proven extremely effective in the past two years at the Wittekind homestead. And better yet, it’s non-toxic, and it smells wonderful!
In a spray bottle, combine:
- 20 ounces purified water
- 1 t pure clove oil
- 1 t pure spearmint oil
- 2 t pure lavender oil
- 2 t pure peppermint oil
Suggested use:
- Shake well before each use.
- As an outdoor mosquito, chigger, and tick repellent, spray mixture on clothing or skin before going outdoors. Be sure to protect sensitive areas like the face or open wounds while spraying.
- For head lice, spray hair and scalp. Use a metal nit comb to remove lice and nits. You can also use the spray as a repellent after heads have been treated, and you can spray it on surfaces (beds, the car, etc) that can’t be laundered.
I’ll have to give this a try. The ticks are horrible around here. I’ll have to order some clove oil but I think I have the rest of the ingredients on hand.
When we bought this property, it was SO overgrown. It had been vacant for over 4 years, and most of the grass was weeds that were literally 15 feet tall. It was fall though, and being that I was a “city girl”, the whole tick issue didn’t occur to me.
Our first spring here, those darned ticks were insufferable! My daughter couldn’t walk to the end of our lane to catch the bus without picking up at least one tick. They mostly liked her head, so she’d end up finding them at school. The rest of us were tick bait too, but my daughter suffered the brunt of it.
The bug spray works pretty well for outdoor work. We also took to wearing hats (that we also sprayed with the spray.)
Last year, not a one of us ended up with ticks, but this year, Freddie and Abby have both had ticks. At least I have chickens now. :) Your little chickies’ll probably help with that too in not too long.