A few days ago, I found myself reading an article advising gardeners on which plants they could grow to repel ticks. Basil, lavender, mint, rosemary, and thyme all got the nod. So, basically, plant an herb garden. I'll confess that my first thought was, repel them where?
Seriously, if a tick drops off a host near an herb garden, there's only so far it can possibly travel in its attempt to get away from plants that offend it. On its own, a blacklegged tick is only likely to travel a few metres in its lifetime. So if an immature tick drops off a mouse on or near a lavender plant, where would it go? And where will you or your children or your dog be in relation to that lavender plant when it comes time for that tick to feed again?
My second thought was to wonder just how effective these herbs would be at repelling ticks. The research I've seen into the repellent qualities of plant-based substances has largely focussed on essential oils created from naturally occurring compounds found in herbs and other plants. There has been quite a bit of it in recent years, and much of it has been done by scientists at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. Promising essential oils include basil, catnip, common yarrow, Egyptian geraniums, lemon grass, and white thyme.
However, it should be noted that the essential oils used in these studies are much more concentrated than the compounds present in the actual plants, and I'm not sure how much further ahead you'd be growing any of them in your garden. They may not contain enough of the effective ingredient to get the job done, so you could end up creating a false sense of security by including them in your herb gardens or borders.
What would likely be more effective are products created from higher concentrations of these plant-based compounds than what are found in nature. At least one Canadian company, Atlantick Repellent Products, has already begun retailing products made from essential oils that research has shown to be effective. That research is ongoing, and there are still quite a few details to be sorted out. One of them has to be determining if the low concentrations of these compounds in plants is enough to make them effective tick repellents.
In the meantime, the Government of Canada has published suggestions for things you can do to reduce ticks around your home. They involve doing a whole bunch of chores such as mowing your grass short, removing leaf and brush piles, pruning shrubs and more. The Province of Manitoba has also weighed in on the topic.
I, for one, would much rather contemplate a lavender border than do chores during my down time, but if a little elbow grease is what it takes to keep ticks at bay, I think I can find a way of living with that.
