Anyone found a good, safe, tick repellent that does not carry Deet? I know Dr. S's book recommends Avon's Skin so Soft mosquitoe and deer tick reppelent which Dr. S said was all natural from plant oils I believe but I see they no longer make this product. Now, they make something similar called Bug Guard and I don't know if this is all natural. I am afraid of using anything with lots of chemicals like Deet due to issues with the CNS.
Thanks!
Posted by Looking (Member # 13600) on :
You can check out natural "All Terrain's Herbal Armor" and the link to this recent thread on tick repellents:
Believe it or not - my co-worker and I (we are foresters) have been using Sentry's Natural Defense. We buy it at PetSmart $12-15.00 for 8 oz. spray. It is intended for dogs and cats. We originally bought it for our "office cat" who keeps bringing ticks into our space. Worked fantastic! We read label and found nothing in it that would bother humans - so we started wearing it in the woods. Spray on clothes mostly; I have also dabbed it on my eyebrows to deter gnats. We love it! Peppermint, lemongrass,cinnamon,clove and thyme oils in a alcohol base.
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
Lily of the Valley cologne.
"The repellent effects on nymphal stages of Ixodes ricinus L. of some plant materials have been studied in the laboratory.
The plant material consisted of an ethanolic extract from Achillea millefolium L., and volatile oils of birch and/or pine tar, citronella, cloves, eucalyptus, geranium, lavender, lily of the valley and peppermint.
The most pronounced effects were observed for the oils of citronella, cloves and lily of the valley.
They possessed repelling activities of the same magnitude as the reference repellent DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide).
Some major constituents of these oils, e.g. citronellol and geraniol (oil of citronella and lily of the valley) and eugenol (oil of cloves) showed pronounced repelling effects.
This was also the case for phenethyl alcohol, a minor component in the oil from lily of the valley.
PMID: 16360943
Alcohol DENATURES proteins...Bb wouldn't want that to happen!
Unfortunately alcohol ALSO denatures OUR proteins...our defense cells.
Posted by richedie (Member # 14689) on :
Now I don't know what to use - so many choices. I was going to just pick up some cans of Avon's Bug guard but the Sentry's Natural Defense and Herbal Armor sound good as well.
Should you use something different and stronger for clothes and something different for skin? Can you spray clothes and have it last a while through even multiple washings? The stuff is expensive and goes fast! I help with landscaping on Saturday mornings so that is one problem then I live in tick cental(LOL) and go out often in shorts in the summer so I spray my legs.....but is expensive.
Posted by lymebytes (Member # 11830) on :
If you are going to spray your skin use something natural recommended here. If you are going to spray your clothes the Permaone in the link I gave you above can be bought at Walmart.
I make sure to spray shoes and socks...ticks crawl up - usually. Supposidly Permaone will kill ticks, I have been told (for clothing only though).
Posted by richedie (Member # 14689) on :
quote:Originally posted by lymebytes: If you are going to spray your skin use something natural recommended here. If you are going to spray your clothes the Permaone in the link I gave you above can be bought at Walmart.
I make sure to spray shoes and socks...ticks crawl up - usually. Supposidly Permaone will kill ticks, I have been told (for clothing only though).
Thanks! I am going to get the Herbal Defense or Avon Skin So Soft Bug Guard for my skin. Rather than the Buzzoff or Permaone, could I just use Off - with Deet for my clothes? When I do landscaping on the weekends, I use the same work clothes so I could have those sprayed but walking everyday or playing with my daughter outside worries me so I hate the thought of spraying just about all my clothes! LOL. So, with OFF with Deet work for clothes?
I noticed Singleton in his book didn't mention some of those products. He is big on Deet and the more natural Avon Skin So soft.
Posted by richedie (Member # 14689) on :
I ordered some Herbal Defense as that seems safest for skin! What about Avon's Skin So Soft Bug Repellant? As good and safe?
On the clothing sprays, what about Deep Woods OFF? At least this is available in most stores. The other stuff in thethread is hard to find! Is the OFF spray basically the same as the others mentioned here???