How To Repel Ticks With A Citrus They Can't Stand

While most of us look forward to the warmer spring and summer months, where backyard barbeque parties and pool gatherings are the highlights of the year, it's not always all sunshine and rainbows. We're not the only ones that come out of our abodes to embrace the warmth between April and September — there's a parasite that thoroughly enjoys that environment as well. We're talking about ticks, the blood-sucking invertebrates that have more than just an irritating bite. They carry with them a wide range of diseases, including the Bourbon virus, Colorado tick fever, ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and a few others you may have never even heard of. If you or someone you know has been infected with one of these, you'll know all about the fever, aches, pains, and even rashes that come with them.

Even if you do manage to find a tick quickly and remove it before it transmits a disease, the bite alone can cause skin irritation, swelling, and itching. The best remedy for a tick bite is to make sure that they don't happen in the first place. While you can go grab expensive deterrents from your local grocery store, there are a number of ingredients that help to naturally keep ticks away that will work just as well. While ingredients like oregano oil, lemon juice, and neem oil will keep ticks at bay, there is another naturally occurring product that you can use to keep yourself safe from these parasites. This powerful tick repellent sits inside grapefruits and is called nootkatone.

Grapefruits produce a naturally occurring organic compound known as nootkatone, which you'll find inside the peel and skin of the fruit. The great thing about this compound is that it not only naturally repels and kills ticks but is also safe for humans and is non-toxic to animals. Approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a pesticide, nootkatone is a terpene that has a distinctive odor and acts as a powerful defensive measure against ticks. The strong odor of nootkatone smells like grapefruit and is used in perfumes, colognes, and shampoos around the world. As for ticks, the other benefit to the compound is that the scent is long lasting which means once applied to clothing or your skin it'll last long enough for that hike or trip outdoors.

This chemical is toxic to ticks, and it works by disrupting the sensory receptors of the tick, specifically those that direct it to or away from the body heat of a host. Unfortunately, you can't just rub a grapefruit peel on your skin and expect it to work its magic. Thanks to modern technology, though, you won't have to make a trip to a science lab to get it. Today, you'll find the compound in a variety of tick-prevention products like lotions, shampoos, liquid detergents, soap, and more by companies like Noonka. Depending on the product you go for, its effectiveness is expected to last for a few hours. Nootkatone is not harmful to the environment, making it a great eco-friendly alternative product in the fight against ticks.