How To Control & Repel Ticks Safely - In Your Backyard & More!

Welcome to the Simple Garden Life podcast, a program dedicated to keeping the yard
of gardening simple, fun and always rewarding. Now Here are your hosts,
Jim and Mary Competti. Hello and welcome everybody to Simple Garden Life. I'm
your host, Jim Competti, along with Mary Competti and well Mary. Season
three, episode two already, it seems these just come by quicker than ever,
and so does the garden season. It does, and everybody's been emailing
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if you have an email, like I said, email us at the farm
at Owgarden dot com. So let's get into today's podcast, which really is
one that seems to become a hot topic every year and one that can be
a little bit scary for families when you're talking about that. And that is
the subject of ticks and ticks in the yard, right, how to deal
with ticks, how to get rid of ticks. So what do you do
if you do have a tick on you? Yeah, we have a couple
articles on our sites and they always seem to really do well when they go
out, because everybody wants to know. You know, I have all kinds
of tick issues, but they really can be dangerous. I mean they can
be a serious problem for pets, children and adults. I mean, I
know myself. I had a sister that was bit by a tick and had
lime disease and had to fight through it. She's better now, but I
mean that was some scary moments for her, right, And I even had
the same thing when I had to tick on my head. You know,
I had to do rounds and rounds of a high dose of antibiotic to make
sure I didn't get lime disease. I remember that. I remember that how
hard that was and how long it came. And then I mean it goes
for everywhere. It's not just us humans, our Doug Jazzy, we never
knew this. I'll never forget. She's gone now. But when she was
probably ten or eleven, we took her to the vet and they were running
some tests and sure enough came back that she had had lime disease. Even
though we had her on you know, medicine and hopefully tick prevention, it
can happen, right and you know, this time of year it gets kind
of scary. And if you live in areas that the weather hasn't been too
bad and hasn't been cold, and you always worry about witch bugs and ticks
might be come up in the springtime. You know, it can be almost
all year. Now. We talked about that. We know some people have
just found them on them last week and right now we're sitting in February.
But it doesn't matter if it's February or March. Right in the thick of
summer, they're out there. So you know, they can they can do
a lot of damage. It's not just a painful thing to have a tick
on there. I mean they cause a lot of you know, bacteria,
viruses, and parasites or all three in people. You know, lyme disease,
Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tickborn fever, rash illness, there's a long
list, right, and there's probably things that we don't even know that ticks
can do. Yeah, and so obviously the real key is to keep them
off of you, and we'll talk about that today. We're going to have
a couple great ideas for how to actually eliminate ticks from your yard, and
then also a couple of things for repellent that you can do as well.
But I think it's it's really good, and it's the question of the week
which really brought on this podcast. So we'll handle that right now and hopefully
answer it right. Today's question of the Week comes from Anne from Bedford,
Indiana and writes what can I do to get rid of the ticks in my
yard? Naturally? Last year both of my dogs were covered in them,
and I found one on me almost weekly. It almost makes me not to
want to go outside. You know. We'll have a story on this in
a little bit about our youngest and about not wanting to go outside. Oh
yeah, it's actually kind of funny, but it's not funny for Anna.
I understand that you get that fear, and if you can't, you know,
always be checking. So you know, you bring up a great point
An and what do you have to do. I think first and foremost,
and we talk about this, you have to be really diligent and checking for
ticks. And we're talking every night. I know it sounds crazy, but
not just you, but your pets. They can bring them in and they
can be inside. Really early prevention is the key. When you're talking about
ticks, right, you really need to find them at least twenty four hours,
within twenty four hours of them attaching to you. You know, all
of us could dress in long sleepieves, boots, jeans and stuff. But
in the middle of summer, who wants to do that. Oh they can
be hard to find and they can come up at any moment. I know
we've been driving down the road before after I've been outside and you're like,
you have a tick in your ear, and it's kind of it's I don't
know what I want to say. It's disgusting and weird at the same time.
But you've got to check and you've got to make sure. So first
and foremost, as we said, that's that's the key. More than anything
else. You can do all these prevented things, but you can still go
out and get them somewhere. You've got to check and make sure you're you're
diligent about that. But you know, number one, this is not one
of our two ways. But I want to talk about this because it's huge.
If you have been on the fence about raising chickens, this might be
the final factor to make you do it. You can tell the story.
But it was kind of amazing when we first moved to our farm back in
twenty ten. Right, it was a different property, but that was our
first farm. And you know, we got there, we had chickens.
We mowed the property down completely with a brushog you and I did, and
literally there would be hundreds of ticks. Oh, it was over the place.
It was horrible, in fact, so horrible that our youngest son at
the time came out and I love the story. We had a trailer out
there and he was going to mow for us and he got a couple of
ticks that he saw on his jeans and that was it. No, he
stayed on that trailer I think for like eight hours. He wouldn't come down,
he was so afraid of the ticks. But I'll tell you what.
Once we had the chickens free ranging that property, it made all the difference.
It was unbelievable to me. Ticks. You know, chickens love ticks.
They love a lot of pests, another great reason to have them.
But I'll tell you, within a year, I don't think we had ticks
anywhere, And in fact, I remember that time. In fact, we
didn't have ticks back until we had some dogs that moved into the neighborhood that
would come over and we were just terrified to let our chickens totally free range,
so we kind of confined them more into some larger spaces down there.
Never ticks down there, but that's when we started to see him come back
to our house. Right, they made a huge difference. And if the
cost of eggs doesn't have you getting chickens, now, maybe the prevention of
ticks will. That's exactly right, That's exactly right. It's just kind of
crazy when you think about how an animal like that can take control so much
and so quickly. But I'm telling you, if you have chickens, let
them free range a little if you can. If you don't have them,
been thinking about it. It's something to think about. So let's get into
some of the others that we can do. The very first thing that we're
going to talk about is ways to eliminate ticks, to kill ticks, to
keep them from ever, you know, becoming an issue. And I'll tell
you one of the best all natural ways is nemoil. Yeah, when it
comes to protecting plants from insects, disease, and more, nemoil is really
the proven all star. It really is. It's an all natural remedy.
We use it for a lot of things. I mean, nemoil is great
to spray on fruit trees early in the year to prevent scab. It helps
eliminate insects, it helps with ticks, and this is what's crazy. It
has a long list of qualities all over but ticks. When we're talking about
this, it's very effective. Maybe we should explain what nemoil actually is.
Yeah, nemoil is actually you know, it's made from pressing the oil from
the seeds of a kneme tree, you know, and it's a pure oil.
It's one percent organic, one hundred percent natural. What people don't realize
is this was back in the day before all the chemicals came to play.
I hate the word in secticize because it always thinks of a chemical. But
it was natural and this is what farmers and everybody else you know, would
spray on their fields to help stop that. And it really came around and
was good. Nemoil really is incredible. It can control apids, white fly
infestations on flowers and vegetable plants, kills mosquitoes and fleas. And if that
wasn't enough, and this is a big one for a lot of people,
it can eliminate young Japanese beetles before they ever reach adulthood. Oh, this
is a huge thing for us. Yeah, I mean it really is.
And so people talk about grubs and their lawn with ground moles and everything else.
Nemoil is a great way to affect that because it's the grubs that it
kills. And when you kill the grubs, you're not going to have the
ground mools coming in because there's no food. You know, if there's no
food in the cupboard, the ground mools aren't coming around. So nemoil has
a lot but to control tick infestations. I guess before we say that,
Mary, I guess we had to get to one thing. It doesn't kill,
right, doesn't bother or harm bees and butterflies, the pollinators out there.
We get a lot of emails like is this going to hurt the bees
or butterflies or destroy or kill them? And it really doesn't want applied correctly.
Well, think back we talked about, you know, orchard back in
the thirties and forties, before there were all kinds of chemical sprays. They
use neem oil to prevent scab and to prevent infestations from insects. So if
it was killing their main pollinators, they weren't going to use it, right.
So the key with neem oil, you don't want to go out and
spray it on anything as far as a butterfly or anything like that. It's
you know, it still could possibly harm them if it hits them, But
if you're out there in the morning and you're spraying early or late at night
when they're not active or the bees aren't active within a few sects, it's
not going to hurt them. It's going to dry and not hurt them.
It's not anything like an insecticide that can they can come on and get you
know, residual effects from and harm from. So that's what makes neem oil
so fantastic is that you know it kills a lot of the of the bad
guys, but it doesn't always kill the good guys, and not always it's
very safe in not killing them. So how does it kill ticks? So,
actually, you know, it's really impressive that you ask that question because
a lot of people are like, ticks are just so hard to kill.
When kneem oil sprayed on a tick, you know, it blocks the insects
ability to breathe. I mean, when when that happens, the tick loses
all ability to function soon dies. It sounds horrible and it is, but
you know, I mean it's one way. Especially when ticks get established in
a yard, they can just overrun it and you can be all kinds of
trouble. Kneem Oil is a great way to do that. So you know
you want to spray, as we said, early in the morning is a
great time. You don't have to worry about you know, bees and other
things coming in if they're getting in clover or anything like that. The mixture
can be applied directly to lawns. You can use a pump or a backpack
sprayer just you want to coat the surface of the lawn even and you can
do areas if you have this massive yard. Obviously, some people can't have
a commercial sprayer to go out there, but if you have a smaller yard,
it's pretty easy to do that. The big thing is to make sure
you get the mixture right right. You need to mix one gallon of water
with six tablespoons of knem oil to get the correct mixture. Yeah, that'll
help you know, that'll get the spray to stick to the grass when you
put that on there, and add in a teaspoon of olive oil to help
that or vegetable oil. We like that because that oil is what makes it
stick. And once you do that, it's going to say you want to
shake it well and then head out and spray. And I mean, it
really is an effective mixture and it's a great way to get control of your
lawn, especially if you have a smaller yard or midsize yard. You can
really spray and keep it effectively. And remember do not spray directneme oil on
the law. And you need to mix it absolutely. It has to be
mixed as far as how often, you know, once a month through late
spring, summer and fall is usually enough. Maybe the first time you want
to spray it, you know, once every two weeks, just for that
first time to get it really under control. But after that, once a
month, we'll have a link on our site. There's a lot of great
you want to make sure it's natural one percent neme oil. If you go
to Simple Life, Simple Garden Life, excuse me dot com and for this
article you will see, as we always do, we'll list at the end
along with some other articles on controlling ticks. But we'll have that link there.
Right. There's a lot of products out there. You just have to
be very careful about which one you pick. Yeah, I mean, you
have to just make sure it's one hundred percent. And like I said,
well have a couple. I think we have a couple links for different ones
on there, and it's it's a really good product to have around for,
as we said, more than just controlling ticks. So I think we've covered
neem oil. Let's take a break and we'll come back after this to talk
about another great alternative for controlling ticks and repelling them, and then also a
really good all natural repellent. Al Right, we are back and we're talking
about controlling ticks. And you know we've already gone over chickens, which are
a great natural way if you happen to have them of taking them out and
then kneem oil, which is really a highly effective product and natural to actually
kill ticks. Another one that has been long standing and you know goes in
the essential oil category is eucalyptus. Eucalyptus as a you know an oil has
been around for centuries and it's used for all kinds of things, muscle paining,
arthritis, anti inflammatory, skin healing, you name it right. It's
actually very popular. And bubble baths too for relaxation mode. Didn't know that.
One say, that's why Mary and I make such a great team.
I know some things, she knows some things. We have a lot to
learn too, as always, don't we. So But anyway, getting back
to the eucalyptus oil um, it is excellent against ticks, both as a
repellent and actually as an insecticide, somewhat like knem oil as a deterrent.
It's pretty easy to use. You can create an effective repellent spray by combining
you know, twenty five to thirty drops of eucalyptus oil with about six ounces
of water and then you know you're going to spray that on your clothing.
It's it's actually safer skin. I know it's probably a great time to talk
about any of these products, Mary, and when you're when you're testing them
out right, when you're testing any product, just like um when you test
out carpet cleaners, you always have to test it on a small area of
yourself or your pets first. You know, everybody has a different reaction.
You can develop a rash or you could burn. You really want to take
protection and test a small area before you actually apply it. Yeah, I
mean these are safe, all natural materials. But you know people have safe
all natural peanut butter and they have an allergy to it or personal I know
you do, Marry. I'm sorry, but but the key is you just
want to test a little area, make sure there's no you know, nothing
problem before you go to use it. But it is a highly effective repellent
when it comes to ticks. And then again you have to mix it with
oil or water. You have to mix the oil with water to safely use
it. Yeah, and it can be safely used on dogs as well.
You know, you always want to spray as we talked about a little small
portion to make sure it's not an irritant. Stay away from cats. People
ask us this all the time with essential oils. Cats there's an inside issue
that they have trouble. Not good to use it on them. But for
dogs, good for you know, anybody other than infants, you know,
small children, adults usually good. Again, just test it, but wow,
does it make an effective repellent, I mean very effective. Ticks do
not like it. They will stay away from it. As we said,
it's also it can also kill them. In fact, we talked about this,
A lot of people will use you know, three to four tablespoons with
a gallon of water and do the same thing with nem oil. They're going
to spray their lawn with it. Neem oil is more effective. But one
of the things you can do, and we've talked about this and we've had
people right into us, is they actually mixed both. They'll take the knem
oil, they'll put a couple of tablespoons of the eucalyptus oil in there with
it and spray it on the lawn. It's kind of that double dose that
can really wipe them out. So the eucalyptus oil and water mixture is good
to use on your clothing, and it also can be used on your lawn.
Yeah, absolutely, And like I said, it's that joint thing where
it's a deterrent and also an insecticide when it's sprayed and directly on them.
So great, great two methods right there, if you're really trying to control
your lawn, and that's where they're going to come from. Most of the
time we talk about this. Another thing you can really do is, you
know, keep your yard cleaned up. You know, old brush piles,
woodpiles that are not you know, neat and have a lot of stuff.
Those are going to attract ticks just like anything else woodlands coming close to If
you can clean out a little bit, the more you can clean out,
the less tick problem you're going to have. Right and with eucalyptus, I
know there's either it's a love or hate relationship with people. Either love the
smell of it or you hate it. So choose what works for you.
That's right, and we'll have like I said, links to all these on
the site that finally, you know we talked about clearing up. The more
that's cleaned up, the more birds can play a part in this too,
not just chickens. They can come in the yard, you know, they
live on in sexts a lot too, So the more they can get to
them, the better they're going to have. So, last, but not
least, this is not an insecticide, but a pure repellent. And when
you think about repellents, even when you're talking about eucalyptus oil, you know
you're going to go places you're not always going to be in your safe zone.
If you've if you're trying to take care of your yard, and there's
never gonna be one hundred percent kill these. You still have to be diligent
and check every night. But when you're out in the woods, let's say
you're going camping, what is the best way to protect yourself? I mean,
one of the best ways we've ever found, and that we like.
There is a ton of products on the market. I personally don't like ones
that just aren't safe or organic. It worries me, it scares me.
One that we found that we absolutely love is tick wise Right. It's all
natural tick repellent. The dracts you're gonna love and it helps prevent those ticks
from calling on you. It really does, and it actually is pretty effective
at keeping mosquitoes and other insects away too. So even better for that.
And it's deep free. It is deep free, and that's what I love
about. In fact, it's it's we'll get to this in a second,
but it's made. I'll get to it right now. You know, it's
all natural oil, cedar wood. We've talked about cedar of cedar wood before
it in the fight against Japanese beetles, Geranium, citronella, peppermint, rosemary,
and lemon grass. All natural, no deed, as you said,
And it's just you know again, it will work for about one to two
hours per application. Yeah, and it comes in a spray bottle. That's
what I love. It's a very quick thing. You can spray it on
your clothes. It's not going to be you know, it's not harmful.
Um, it's great when you're traveling, camping, gardening, any of those
things where you're going out for a little bit. And as far as the
smell, you talked about the us lip a smell, um, this is
more lemony. I think there's a little bit of a hint of a vanilla
in it. But yeah, I mean it's great for ticks, mosquitoes,
black flies, gnats and all kinds of biting bugs and it's it's it's just
a great product to have as and I like it because it's a peace of
mind. Right. There's no harsh chemicals, non toxic ingredients, so it's
safe to use on your clothing, your gear, your skin, everywhere.
Yep, except for not on cats exactly. Again, it's a natural oil,
so keep it away from cats, dogs, horses, you know,
cows. You know you're gonna be fine, but keep them away. So
okay, So there we have covered the tick. I hope we answered Anne's
question. It's one that we get a lot of emails in about doing a
podcast on, so I think it was important to do it. Protecting your
family, protecting your kids and your pets very important. Let's just kind of
go over a little conclusion here before we end. You know, we started
with you know, you really got to be diligent. You gotta check every
night during the season, even in some off seasons. Make sure you know,
you're looking to make sure there's not a tick attached to you, right.
Obviously, if you can clothe yourself from head to toe, you know,
that's a great prevention, but sometimes you can't, so be sure to
check yourself, check your clothing when you come in. If you can get
chickens, great, they're great, you know, tick repellent or tick eater,
so they are right. And then the other thing is to make sure
you keep that yard cleaned up. The more brush piles you have, the
more things you have around, the more problem it's going to be. Then
we go to the point where you're talking about a pure insecticide. That's where
kneem oil comes in. You can spray your along with knem oil. It's
going to help control that tick population again for that once a month through you
know, the warm season, springs a season through fall, maybe a couple
of times every two weeks right in the beginning, just to help control it.
You can lipt the oil as another one you can use for that,
but really good as a deterrent, right. And you know, knem oil
we keep in our garden cabinet all the time. You know, we use
it all the time for various things. So it's one of those products that
you would really like to have on hand whenever you need it. Absolutely.
And then finally we talked about tick wise and there's a lot of other ones
out there, and it's just one of our favorites, but it's an all
natural tick repellent, mosquito repellent. That's great if you're going on hikes in
the woods or you're going out to work in the garden. Just great to
spray on your clothing and it'll help keep ticks away. So I think that's
the important part is to keep your family safe, keep your PA's safe.
Just be diligent about it. Kind of like gardening. You know, you
can't let it go too long without thinking about it, right you guys,
stay on top of it for sure. All right, that does it for
this podcast, I think, Mary, what do you think? Let's go
and remember whatever you do, find the fun and gardening and grow something beautiful.
Until next week, everyone, happy gardening. We hope you've enjoyed this
episode. Subscribe to the Simple Garden podcast on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
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