Some time ago, a homemade recipe for tick repellent spray was shared on a health group I’m on. I saved the recipe to try, but only recently made it. After I heard someone comment how well it worked for them, it inspired me to purchase the oils and make it! I can’t make any claims since we’ve only recently started using it. But it will definitely be something we reach for when heading out doors for extended time.
We have enough ticks to be conscious about them but not a tremendous amount. In the past, we’ve had guineas to help with ticks, besides them being a good snake deterrent. I don’t know if their boisterous cackling scares off snakes or if they eat them. Aside from their boisterous cackling, I loved having them around for those reasons. But our guineas never lasted long around our little farm. Mostly they wander off and get killed or eaten by coyotes. Currently we don’t have any, but I’ve wondered if having them in the past has helped lessen the tick population for us. If you can keep them around and handle their obnoxious cackling and dense behaviors, please buy yourself a confusion of guineas. Yes, a confusion of guineas! Obnoxious, noisy, stupid- I don’t care how confused they are, guineas are worth it compared to Lymes disease!! As much as their cackling rumpled my nerves, I’ll take that any day above lymes and all manor of illnesses ticks can import into a person!!
Here is the recipe for simple tick repellent.
Deep Woods Tick Spray
- 1/2 cup distilled water
- 1/4 cup witch hazel
- 1 Tablespoon Aloe Vera juice
- 1/2 teaspoon glycerin
- 20 drops Lemon Eucalyptus
- 10 drops Lemongrass
- 10 drops Cedarwood
- 10 drops Rose geranium
- 10 drops Peppermint
I omitted aloe vera juice because I didn’t have that. There’s a variety of cedarwood oils- I used Atlas cedarwood. And yes, lemon eucalyptus is a plant oil, and not the same thing as mixing lemon and eucalyptus oils separately. I used Revive essential oils, but obviously, you can use essential oils of your choice. I think this has a pleasant scent. Spray well before heading outdoors!
This recipe made enough to fill this small spray bottle, plus extra to refill. Probably about 3/4- scant 1 cup total.
Another tidbit I’ve learned this summer, is using Lemongrass Spas’s sandalwood bar soap or body wash for tick repellent. The scent is what deters them. So the other week I ordered their sandalwood bodywash. (Their bar soap in that scent is seasonal and not currently available.) In our main bathroom, I put the sandalwood body wash at the sink for hand soap, for frequent exposure to the scent throughout the day.
While I had my oils out, I made fresh roller bottles of various blends. It’s fun but time consuming, and I’m always in my own world, hoping nobody disturbs me in the moment. It takes concentration and labeling before my brain forgets what’s what in those amber bottles!
Since I’m sharing oil recipes, I’m going to include a couple graphics I have in my health album for my own use. It’s nice to have these for easy reference when needed!
Another recipe I made was for breast health. I’m definitely not saying this will cure or keep you from getting cancer. However, preventative/detoxification measures are always better than waiting until a diagnosis! Something as simple as this is always worth a try in my book! Of course I’m not a doctor, so I’ll add my disclaimer-use at your discretion.
This is a combination of oils especially for cancer, opening cells, breast tissue health, and detox. I don’t think anyone could go wrong with using it.
I had a recipe years ago for breast health that used Frankincense, grapefruit and pink pepper. Recently my neice (a Doterra advocate) told me about more oils she adds to a blend for breast health, and I told her how I was applying castor oil in my armpits at night, for detoxing. So the recipe I made is this combination.
You can use fractionated coconut oil and put it in a roller bottle. (Castor oil will not do well in a roller.) So if you want castor oil for added detoxification, I recommend using a dropper bottle. It’s easy to drop a shot or two in your palm and massage well into armpits and breast tissue. I feel I can target a larger area this way better than running the roller bottle over my skin, if that makes sense. I’ve started doing this nightly after showering. I’m sure it won’t happen every night, and it may be good to take a break from it every couple weeks. It is greasy and an extra step with my shower routine but I don’t mind. It soaks in nicely, but don’t be alarmed when it stains your pajama armpits. Just wear an old shirt or something that won’t matter getting greasy.
I’m sure this blend could be used elsewhere on your body too as needed. (Except not on open sores or wounds.)
Here’s what I mixed up for Breast Health.
- Frankincense
- Restore (Doterra- DDR Prime)
- Pink pepper
- Grapefruit
- Lemongrass
- Cypress
For a roller bottle, use 10 drops of each. For a 1/2 ish cup Castor oil, I used more like 30ish drops of each oil. Use a quality Castor oil! This Heritage brand is what I use and was recommended by my Nutritional Dr.
While we’re on the subject, you probably know iodine is good for your thyroid, but did you know it’s also super great for breast health?! Iodine helps detox our hormone receptor cites, and in that way, helps our body better manage our hormones, which impact our breast health.
For a number of years I took Luggols Iodine capsules (Mother Earth Labs brand) with great results, per testing and my Nutritionist’s recommendation. (Always test thyroid and hormones before randomly supplementing.) Currently I’m using another supplement for a little thyroid support. I don’t have any trouble with breast tenderness even when PMSing, like I used to years ago. Breast tenderness/ lumpiness is often a symptom of low progesterone/ high estrogen, as well as low iodine.
of windowsills and breezy hills 