Tick Repellent

I hate ticks! They really gross me out!! A few years back was my first encounter with a tick, I saw something on our dog and when I went to go investigate I realized what it was. The Mr. wasn't home and was going to be gone over night so I had to be the one to tackle removing it. I quickly started searching the internet for solutions. It wasn't big and blood-filled so I knew it had to be rather fresh which helped. I then went to work using a tweezers to remove the tick by it's head and then placed it in a jar with some rubbing alcohol to kill it.

We live in an area where ticks are very likely but definitely not in an overabundance. However, last night I found a tick on me ... EEEEKKKKK!!! I had been out mowing yesterday evening and when I was getting ready to shower I noticed something small and dark on my arm, and SURE ENOUGH it was a tick. A first for me and I had the heebie-jeebies the rest of the night! 

So, the first thing on my mind this morning was there's something I could make as a tick repellent which is when I came across Primally Inspired. She has been using rose geranium essential oil on both her dog and herself and hasn't found a tick since using it. 

I absolutely LOVE essential oils and have been using them since our #1 was little, so just over ten years. This led to making bath salts, sharing them as gifts, and then eventually tried my hand at selling them on Esty when #3 was little. I would have loved pursuing the Etsy thing more but it was easier to just gift and sell my bath salts locally. Through all of this I have discovered I am an essential oils hoarder and am very stingy with even our own personal uses because they can get costly. I am a firm believer in the benefits and natural uses of essential oils but it truly is an investment, a very good investment though!

I was very blessed to meet up with my cousin and her essential oil mentor yesterday for a essential oils chat. I am always excited to hear about others' ideas and uses when it comes to their own day to day lives. 

Rose Geranium is just a blend of rose oil and geranium oil so if you would have both of those you could great your own blend. 

Today's Question: What is your favorite use for rose or geranium essential oils?

Homemade Ant Bait

How to Make Your Own Ant Bait Stations

It's that time of year when the ants are out in armies and it breaks my heart to know I am poisoning worker ants and then they are carrying it back to their colony to kill and destroy it ... extreme thinking I know but just so sad! Which is why I try not to think that deeply each time I place a cotton ball out once I have spotted an ant colony feeding on that one very minuscule crumb that one of the kiddos dropped who knows when. 

I have been using this method for some time and I now keep a jar under my kitchen sink (child locked of course!) with the cotton balls soaking in the solution so all I have to do is pull one out when I need it. It only takes about a day, maybe two, when I notice no more ants traveling back and forth. Usually I will try to follow their trail to the source of entry into our home which is quite easy if I just sit and watch without disrupting their for orderly path!

Homemade Ant Bait

1/4 cup warm water

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon of Borax

Mix all ingredients together until sugar and Borax are dissolved. Add 6-8 cotton balls to the solution. Stir until cotton balls are saturated. Store in a closed container out of the reach of children (just to be safe).

ant bait station after 15 minutes of setting out