My elderly small dog almost died last week from a tick preventative product. Since then, I've been reeling over the experience and how to balance this with the fact that I live in a high tick area. I have always hated the idea of a pesticide directly on my dogs but now more than ever I just don't feel comfortable using these products anymore. However, I am VERY afraid of tick borne disease. These pesticides do not always work to start with. I know of several dogs w/ lyme disease who not only get the lyme vaccine but correctly and consistently use these pesticide products. I also know of dogs who develop other problems such as auto-immune problems from ticks and even have heard of encephalitis. It's hard to balance the risk/benefit w/ this, it really is.
For the past few days, I've been doing my own research after my veterinarian said no more pesticide preventatives for this dog, ever. I have already had some experience w/ garden plants that can repel pests. I also have been making my own cleaning products for about 8 years after reading the book "Better Basics for the Home" by the Queen of Green, Annie Berthold-Bond. Great book, everyone who is interested in green cleaning/living should consider purchasing it.
Yesterday, I went out and purchased plants for my garden. I have planted:
Sage, , lavender, Rosemary, Marigolds. I'm going to also add mint but that will have to be in containers or it will take over
I'm bordering my beds w/ Cedar Mulch chips
Lemon grass is also a great plant, but my climate is too cold.
I have read in the past and again recently about the use of Rose Geranium Essential Oil. Last year, my friend tried this and she reported no ticks. I was a skeptic, even though I told her about it.
This morning, I sent an email to Annie Berthold-Bond, the author I mentioned above. I had read her recipe for use of Rose Geranium oil and wanted to see if she would give me a little more suggestions about mixing oils or diluting the oils for use as a spritzer. She replied almost instantaneously, and I'm so excited.
Here is her recipe. She suggests I only use ONE drop of this on the dog's collar and ONE drop on the tail to start. Dogs are very sensitive to essential oils so that is why it is in a carrier oil. She also gave me a link to a product she uses to spritz the dogs. We can also use the oil on our own wrists and behind our ears to repel ticks. I'll list it below the recipe.
I have NO IDEA if this will work, but many of her cleaning recipes DO. I won't go back to the conventional way for this problem, so I'm really hoping that it does.
SIMPLE SOLUTION BY ANNIE BERTHOLD BOND
Two tablespoons of vegetable or almond oil (I'm using almond)
10 to 25 drops of Rose Geranium essential oil (I'm starting w/ 10)
Combine the ingredients in a glass jar; shake to blend. Makes 2 tablespoons. Shelf life: six months.
Annie's suggested use: USE ONE DROP on COLLAR AND ONE ON TAIL (to Start) as dog This is the Spritzer Annie uses on her dogs. Rose Geranium Therapeutic Hydrosol
Wish me luck, at the very least, the dogs will smell lovely!