Ticks and Essential Oils

Tick season is here!!! YUCK!!! This past week I’ve found two on me. And Sunday night I wished that I had grabbed my video camera so you could see what I do when I find a tick on myself, Curt or Bandit (our dog). I didn’t grab my video camera because I wanted to get the thing off of me ASAP!!! This tick was embedded on my thigh, just above my knee.

Fortunately, my Essential Rewards order arrived last week and in it was a bottle of Palo Santo (#3607) essential oil – in my book, you MUST have this extremely valuable oil handy during this time of year! Three years ago Curt and I began experimenting on ticks to see which were most effective at getting them to let go and at killing them, here’s what we discovered…

The Jars for Our Test 2009-2010

We had 3 different little jars, each jar contained 3 drops of only the 3 different Young Living essential oils individually.

Jar #1 – had 3 drops of Peppermint
Jar #2 – had 3 drops of Purification
Jar #3 – had 3 drops of Palo Santo

Each time we returned home from walking Bandit we would examine him, and ourselves, for ticks before they became embedded. Every time we found a tick we would scrape it into one of the 3 jars and watch what would happen. These ticks were not embedded.

For the embedded ticks we would apply 2-3 drops of any of the 3 essential oils mentioned above and watch to see if the tick would die or dislodge itself from the skin.

Our Jar Results

After 2 weeks (of the jars sitting on our front porch in the sun), the ticks in jar #1 and #2 were still very much alive. They didn’t look terribly healthy, but they were still very much alive.

The ticks in jar #3, which contained the Palo Santo were as dead as dead can be… as a matter of fact, 100% of them were dead within 15 minutes of being put in jar #3. Since then, we have only used Palo Santo.

Embedded Tick Results (2009-2010)

We found that 2-3 drops of Peppermint or Purification essential oils directly dripped onto the embedded tick did NOT make the tick release its hold at all, 100% of the time.

We DID find that using 2-3 drops of Palo Santo directly dripped onto the embedded tick caused the tick to not only release its hold within 30 seconds but it was also dead as can be within 15 minutes or less. Since then, we have only used Palo Santo.

Embedded Tick on my Thigh Results (2011)

This is exactly what happened last night when I found the embedded tick on my thigh…

I put 2 drops of Palo Santo directly on the tick. The ticks legs went crazy, motions like he was trying to swim.

The tick then spun around 360 degrees and pulled its mouth out of my skin (that is the part I wished I was brave and patient enough to video for you); that part took about 8 seconds to happen. Note: this type of behavior doesn’t always happen.

With a small piece of tissue, I picked up the tick and handed it to Curt to smash outside with a hammer on a rock (you need something very hard to smash a tick to kill it). Now while I know the Palo Santo alone would have killed the tick i was just very upset that it embedded itself in me and felt more gratified to see it die sooner, plus we also don’t have a tick collection jar set up yet.

After that, I put 2 drops of Purification essential oil on the location where the tick had been embedded on my leg to help kill any bacteria or Lyme’s Disease it ‘might’ have carried (I did this ‘just in case’ the natural compounds in Palo Santo aren’t adequate at killing bacteria or Lyme’s).

Embedded Ticks Update (2011)

We have found, without a doubt, that when we put one drop of Palo Santo on the ticks belly that they die MUCH faster! Putting Palo Santo on the underside of the tick is easy enough even when they’re embedded, simply use your finger or a pencil point to push the tick over so its belly is exposed and put a drop directly on the tick.

We have found so far that the embedded tick will dislodge itself before it dies (after dropping on Palo Santo) except for one case when the tick didn’t dislodge and died while still embedded, to remove the tick we used our “Tick Pick”.

I’ve taken some videos of our tick experiences this summer (2011) but I’m still learning how to make the video small enough to upload into this blog post, thanks for your patience!

Repelling Ticks

We like to use a 32oz. spray bottle because we’re outdoors a lot, but you can use a smaller size if you wish. I have not made my spray yet because I have to pick up a new bottle when I run errands in town this week. But this is what we’ve done the past 3 years and have had really good results…

What You’ll Need to Make a Spray:

• 32oz. spray bottle (I prefer the ‘Hudson” brand spray sold at Lowe’s because they last for years!)
• 40-50 drops Palo Santo essential oil
• Water

Fill spray bottle 7/8 full with water (I’ve found tap water works fine), add essential oil, shake, spray on skin (avoid face & eye area), clothing, or on your dogs fur (neck, belly, legs – also avoiding face & eye areas).

Tips: You will want to give your spray bottle a little shake every so often to keep the essential oil suspended in the water. Sometimes I add 15-20 drops of Purification to this spray mixture also as it can help to keep other biting insects away too.

What You Also Need to Know About Ticks

A doctor friend recently told me that it is when the tick is dislodging itself from the skin that it injects the Lyme’s Disease (if it is carrying it). This is why I now include 2-3 drops of Purification to the bite site after the tick has dislodged.

My Advice

Be sure to always have 3-6 bottles of Palo Santo essential oil on hand during the summer. While Young Living usually has a good supply this is one essential oil that you do not want to be without!

Plus, this essential oil does not contain any harmful chemicals like you see in products sold in stores.

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Articles by Evelyn Vincent, Young Living Independent Distributor #476766

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