Trying diatomaceous earth for wood ticks this year. Mr. Sam I Am tends to get wet many times a day, so it won’t work so well on him. Hepzee can’t stand waters so he will be the true test. Too bad that Sam is long haired and and Hepzee has short hair. 😊
**UPDATE** A few days later.
Yesterday we went for a walk in the bush. It was along a trail; we weren’t bushwacking. We sat in a clearing for a short while and the woodticks were crawling up my legs. Ugh! Hepzee came by for a bum scratch, and I picked a few off of him. I didn’t even want to get close to Sam. We went back home, and I picked woodticks off the dogs all afternoon. Over a 100 in total. Unbelievable!
So, the diatomaceous earth is not going to work for what I need. It does work though, I put a tablespoon into a container and dropped all the ticks into it. They died within a short time.
With DE, the ticks still climb onto the dogs and attach, but they are suppose to die from the contact with powder. DE is made from fossilized remains of tiny, aquatic fossils. When insects ingest the powder it shreds their insides. Perhaps I’m not patient enough, or haven’t been putting enough on. But there is no way I am letting the dogs in the house with ticks crawling all over them.
I’m not sorry I bought it. I live in farm country and the flies are terrible. I sprinkled DE on my window sills, and haven’t used the fly swatter since. There are numerous other uses for it as well. I’ve dusted my sheets in it, and will start giving it to the dogs internally. My yard is a giant ant hill, so perhaps this will help me keep the ants out of the garden.
Next on my list to try is essential oil. I’ve been reading good things about Rose Geranium Oil. it’s a repellant, and only takes a drop or two. I’m having trouble finding that particular oil. I bough Geranium Oil, but at $27 a bottle, I’m hesitant to open it up and give it a try.
sweet potatoes and basil 