• naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Natural Living
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Homemade Ideas
    • Natural Solutions
  • Activities for Kids
    • Arts and Crafts
    • Playdough and Slime
    • Sensory Activities
  • Recipes
  • For Your Home
    • Backyard Chickens
    • Easy DIY Projects & Crafts
    • Organizing Tips
    • Tips and Hacks
  • For Moms
    • Caring for Yourself
    • Parenting
    • Product Reviews
    • Travel
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • SHOP
↑

Living Well Mom

I help moms with simple, natural ways to look after their families. Find recipes, fun stuff for kids, and simple DIY ideas. Plus natural solutions made easy peasy!

  • naturalLiving
  • activitiesfor kids
  • Easyrecipes
  • yourhome
  • just formoms
  • Start Here
  • About
  • Home
  • Seasonal
  • Essential Oils
  • Natural Solutions
  • Autism

DIY Natural Essential Oil Tick Repellent

By Erika in Essential Oils

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ticks can be a real issue when you’re enjoying the great outdoors. But why rely on chemical-filled repellents when you can make a natural alternative at home? In this post, I’ll show you how to create your own natural tick repellent spray as well as a handy roll-on that fits easily in your pocket.

It seems like ticks are getting worse every year. With things like Lyme disease to consider, it’s more important than ever to keep these bugs from coming in contact with our families. That’s why I make sure to always have this essential oil tick repellent spray on me every time we are outdoors.

DIY natural tick repellent pin this idea now...

We live in the woods of New Hampshire, one of the worst areas for ticks and Lyme disease. I try to use all-natural repellents with my family because I’m not comfortable using chemical repellents like DEET on my family.

Luckily, we’ve had great luck making our own homemade essential oil tick spray for my family. In fact, we haven’t found any ticks when we use it. And my kids play outside in our yard (with long grass) and the woods (where ticks live abundantly) almost every day.

In fact, the only time I’ve ever found a tick crawling on one of my kids is when we forget to use this natural tick repellent.

Erika Bragdon is a Certified Essential Oil Coach from the Essential Oil Institute.

Watch the Video Tutorial

I’ll give you all the directions below for how to make this spray, but for visual proof, I also made a simple, quick video showing you how easy it is to do. Check it out!

The Best Essential Oils for Ticks

Before we dive into how to make the repellent, let me give you a bit of info about why it works so well. The not-so-secret ingredient? Essential oils!

Essential oils are not just fragrant – they also possess potent properties that repel ticks. Certain essential oils emit scents that ticks find repulsive, making them excellent natural repellents. Here are the ones you’ll need, and why:

Geranium Oil

The superstar oil for repelling ticks naturally is geranium essential oil. Geranium oil (specifically the species Pelargonium graveolens) has been shown in studies to be just as effective at keeping ticks away as DEET.

bottle of rose geranium essential oil

The Latin or scientific name is important here – that’s the Pelargonium graveolens part. Some essential oils are labeled Rose Geranium while others are just plain Geranium. That’s where the Latin name is key.

I have used both of these brands with great results.

  • Geranium essential oil from Rocky Mountain Oils
  • Rose geranium essential oil from Eden’s Garden

From a cost comparison perspective, Rocky Mountain Oil currently has a better deal.

For more cost comparisons with popular essential oil brands:

essential oil price per drop spreadsheet sample

I have not used other brands and I can’t attest to their effectiveness. I’ve heard that some people have had mixed results with the NOW brand, so I wouldn’t recommend that one.

Cedarwood Essential Oil

While I personally love the smell of cedarwood, ticks find it repugnant. Win-win for us! Studies have shown that this powerhouse oil is also as effective at repelling tick nymphs as DEET.

Cedarwood essential oil is definitely worth having on hand for this alone!

Citronella Essential Oil

You probably already know that mosquitos dislike citronella, but did you know ticks are also not a fan?

Not only will you use citronella essential oil in this natural tick repellent, but you’ll definitely want to use it for this DIY mosquito repellent spray and these awesome citronella candles too!

Lemongrass Essential Oil

Last, but certainly not least, this natural repellent uses lemongrass essential oil. There’s a reason why it’s added so frequently to commercial sprays–it works!

Essential Oil Tick Repellent Spray Ingredients

This simple DIY combines all 4 powerhouse oils for an ultra-effective spray! Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 4 oz (or larger) spray bottle
  • apple cider vinegar
  • water (distilled, filtered, or spring water is best)
  • geranium essential oil
  • cedarwood essential oil
  • citronella essential oil
  • lemongrass essential oil

You can also make a roll-on bottle. You’ll need 10ml glass roller bottles for that.

You may have noticed that this recipe does not recommend a carrier oil, like fractionated coconut oil like many other essential oil recipes do. I wanted to be able to spray this on my children’s clothes, socks, shoes, etc., without worrying about oil stains.

You may replace the apple cider vinegar with fractionated coconut oil if you would like. Just be more cautious when using it on clothing so you don’t leave marks.

labeled glass spray bottle and essential oil roller bottle with natural tick repellent.

I prefer the essential oil tick repellent spray bottle because it’s easier and quicker to apply (with four kids), but the roller blend works just as well, and you can be more direct about exactly where you want to apply it.

It’s also easy to slip into your pocket while out in the woods!

Related: Check out my essential oil bug repellent lotion recipe for even longer-lasting results.

Please read my Essential Oil Common Sense Safety page before using this essential oil recipe. I am not a medical professional and the information presented here is merely for educational purposes and not intended to replace medical advice. Do your own research, consult with your doctor, and make safe decisions for yourself and your family.

How to Make a Natural Tick Repellent Spray

First, fill your spray bottle about 1/3 of the way with apple cider vinegar. You don’t have to measure or be exact. Apple cider vinegar may help keep mosquitoes away too so that is an added benefit!

I recommend using 30-40 drops total of essential oils for a 4oz spray bottle. This amount has worked well to keep the ticks away for my family.

Add 10 drops each geranium, cedarwood, citronella, and lemongrass essential oils.

adding drops of best essential oils for tick repellent

Fill the rest of the bottle with water. That’s it!

Bonus: Attach this free printable “No More Ticks” label to your spray bottle. You can download and print it here. (Right click, save, then print.)

no more ticks spray

Make a Tick Spray for Dogs

By the way, you can make your own all-natural tick spray for dogs too. Click to grab the easy recipe—the last thing you want is to spend all the energy to protect yourself and your kids, only for your poor dog to drag in ticks.

How to Use this DIY Natural Tick Spray

Shake before using each time to help mix the essential oils for a more even application.

Spray well, especially on your ankles, feet, and legs and anywhere you are more likely to encounter ticks. If you’re hiking in the woods, spray it on arms/shoulders etc too. (Always avoid your face, ears, eyes, and nose.)

spraying no more ticks spray onto kid's legs outdoors

I’ve used this on clothes without any staining, but as a precaution, I recommend you test an area before spraying this all over your favorite shirt. Just in case.

Bug Repelling Essential Oils ↓

essential oils for repelling bugs ebook offer

DIY Essential Oil Tick Repellent Roller Blend

If you prefer a roller blend, you can easily make one, too. Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand.

DIY essential oil tick repellent roller blend pin

Essential Oil Tick Repellent Roll-On Ingredients

  • geranium essential oil
  • cedarwood essential oil
  • citronella essential oil
  • lemongrass essential oil
  • fractionated coconut oil or your favorite carrier oil
  • 10 ml glass roller bottle
making diy tick roller bottle with essential oil and fractionated coconut oil

Add 3-4 drops each of geranium, cedarwood, lemongrass, and citronella essential oils.

geranium essential oil dropping into blue glass roller bottle

Fill the rest of the bottle with fractionated coconut oil. (Make sure you leave enough room for the ball stopper. I didn’t once, and it wasn’t pretty!)

Add the ball stopper, then shake well.

geranium, best essential oil for repelling ticks

Apply to the ankles, lower legs, wrists, behind your ears, neck, etc.

using roller bottle of geranium on ankle

I spray or roll either of these essential oil tick repellent mixes on my kids once a day, usually in the afternoon when they get home from school. Unlike mosquitoes, I haven’t found that this needs to be repeated every couple of hours, but your needs may vary.

I still do regular tick checks on my kids, just to be safe. One of the best ways to prevent tick bites is simply to check for ticks and hopefully catch any BEFORE they bite!

PDFs for mosquito bite relief guide featured on blue and white background

More Easy Ways to Repel Pests Naturally

  • Homemade Mosquito Repellent Spray
  • DIY Bug Repellent Lotion Bars
  • Essential Oil Blend for Mosquito Bite Relief

Pin the image below to save the instructions for later!

DIY essential oil tick repellent in 2 ways pinterest collage

I hope this all-natural DIY essential oil tick repellent blend works as well for you as it has for my family!

Dear Mom, Join the Living Well Mom Insiders

You’ll get exclusive content, “Sunshine for Your Day,” and more stuff Erika doesn’t share anywhere else!
    By entering your info, you’ll become a LWM Insider! Everything is delivered straight to your email inbox. You can unsubscribe at any time.

    Filed Under: Essential Oils, Natural Homemade Ideas, Natural Living Published on June 25, 2024

    You May Also Love

    washing berries with homemade vegetable wash soak
    Easy Homemade Fruit and Veggie Wash (That Actually Works)
    putting liquid homemade dish soap on a sponge
    Easy Grease-Cutting Homemade Dish Soap with 3 Ingredients
    DIY Poo Pourri “Before-You-Go” Spray

    About Erika

    Erika Bragdon is a flower essence practitioner and a second-generation homeschooling mom with 3 kids at home and 1 in college. She enjoys her chickens, goats, and gardening on a small farm in New Hampshire, and is passionate about sharing flower essences and more ways to renew body, mind, and soul with moms.

    Comments

    1. Meghan says

      June 4, 2017 at 2:32 pm

      I love this!
      I am curious if this is okay to spray onto a dog’s coat?
      She is protected by medicine, but I still see them crawling on her every now and then, so was wondering if this could be used as extra protection for dogs too?
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 5, 2017 at 10:57 am

        Hi Meghan, yes it is! I am publishing another blog post this week about using it for dogs. I add one or two drops every couple of days on my dog and it works well. Once I went 10 days without adding the oils and I did find one tick on him, so it does appear to work better when used more frequently.

        Reply
    2. Ginny says

      June 4, 2017 at 3:13 pm

      I would like to know if it’s safe to spray on dogs also. I have a small shorkie dog and walking her on our road she came home with 13 ticks. She takes a monthly pill for fleas and ticks so they don’t really bite her. I don’t want them crawling in my house or on me either.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 5, 2017 at 10:57 am

        Hi Ginny, yes it is! I am publishing another blog post this week about using it for dogs. I add one or two drops every couple of days on my dog and it works well. Once I went 10 days without adding the oil and I did find one tick on him, so it does appear to work better when used more frequently.

        Reply
    3. Emily says

      June 4, 2017 at 4:07 pm

      Young Living sells the species of geranium you referenced!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 5, 2017 at 10:57 am

        Thanks, Emily!

        Reply
    4. Rika says

      June 12, 2017 at 2:40 pm

      I am doterra oil user. I have a question about other oil company. Which brands u prefer? I want to buy oils which doterra don’t carry.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 12, 2017 at 2:54 pm

        Hi Rika, I love Rocky Mountain Oils: (my affiliate link: http://go.rockymountainoils.com/SHWl) RMO are high quality with 3rd party testing and have many of the same oils doTERRA sells, but they are less expensive. My next favorite company is Eden’s Garden and that’s the brand I used for this Rose Geranium oil. They are one of the better brands you can find on Amazon and sell some of the less-common oils you won’t find elsewhere. https://www.edensgarden.com/ I hope that helps!

        Reply
      • Wendy says

        April 25, 2018 at 9:00 pm

        doTerra does carry Pelargonium graveolens ~ listed as Geranium but always look for the botanical name.

        Reply
    5. Cristina says

      June 14, 2017 at 10:49 pm

      Thank uou for great information! Does this deter mosquitos as well?

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm

        Unfortunately, not in my experience. I’m working on an essential oil blend that keeps mosquitos away. Pesky buggers!

        Reply
        • Jennifer says

          June 27, 2017 at 12:22 pm

          Suppose you could add the Rose Geranium to a blend that repels mosquitos? Then you would get both actions in one.

          Reply
    6. Amy says

      June 24, 2017 at 2:00 pm

      The doterra geranium essential oil I have is labeled Pelargonium graveolens which is the one the study you mention says is good for ticks. So doterra def has it!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm

        Thank you so much!

        Reply
    7. Terryk says

      June 28, 2017 at 1:24 pm

      What size bottle did you buy? I am assuming you needed to make more than one bottle of the tick spray per season. I would like to make 5 bottles to give some as gifts.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 28, 2017 at 2:39 pm

        The best deal right now is through Rocky Mountain Oils – you can get a 15ml bottle for $19.00 – my affiliate link: http://go.rockymountainoils.com/aff_c?offer_id=2&aff_id=1131&source=https://www.rockymountainoils.com/geranium.html&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rockymountainoils.com%2Fgeranium.html

        I have that and the 10ml bottle from Eden’s Garden. We’ve gone through 1 whole bottle so far, so I think we’ll need at least 2 more bottles for the rest of the summer and into the fall, if not more.

        Reply
    8. Kathy says

      June 29, 2017 at 10:13 am

      Oddly, the Rose Geranium oil I found is Palmarosa, and Pelargonium graveolens is labeled Geranium. So if it’s really important to know the Latin name of the pill you’re looking for!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 29, 2017 at 11:50 am

        Yes, good point! Thanks, Kathy.

        Reply
    9. Deborah says

      June 30, 2017 at 10:02 am

      A question actually, when water is called for what kind of water are we talking about? Tap water, distilled water, filtered water, is there a specific kind of water being recommended?

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 30, 2017 at 3:36 pm

        Good question, Deborah! I didn’t even think about it because we have well water so don’t have any issues to contend with, like chlorine, etc. I would recommend distilled water in this case. Thanks for asking!

        Reply
    10. Linda says

      July 10, 2017 at 12:27 pm

      Where did you get the roller bottle from, and how big of a bottle did you get?

      Reply
    11. Joanne says

      July 16, 2017 at 10:20 pm

      Thank you for your great information! You might like to know that Edens Garden has both Rose Geranium (Pelargonium roseum) 10 ml $21.95 and Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) 10 ml $9.95 and 30 ml $20.95, the species referenced in the study. These prices are from the Edens Garden website and they are less expensive on their own site than on Amazon’s. Just out of curiosity, what species of regular geranium oil did you use that wasn’t as effective as these two? As I have only used Edens Garden essential oils, I am not familiar with any other species. I’m sure I won’t be searching for it since you didn’t find it worked as well as the others. Ha! Whether you use P. roseum or P. graveolens in your DIY tick repellent mixes, do you use the same amount (i.e. 50 drops for spray, 30 drops for roller blend)? Thanks!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        July 16, 2017 at 10:36 pm

        That’s great to know about Eden’s Garden’s. Thanks, Joanne.

        Pelargonium x asperum was the species that I didn’t find to be as effective. And yes, I used the same amount for either species.

        Reply
        • Tiara says

          July 5, 2018 at 5:42 am

          So which kind was better?

          Reply
    12. Lianne Keibler says

      April 21, 2018 at 6:13 pm

      I see you say to put one to two drops directly on a dog. I was wondering if I could just spray them with the tick spray you listed above?

      Reply
      • Erika says

        April 25, 2018 at 6:05 pm

        Yes, I’ve done that too.

        Reply
    13. Zuleika says

      April 25, 2018 at 12:09 am

      Can I use this on my 2 years old?

      Reply
      • Erika says

        April 25, 2018 at 6:11 pm

        Yes, dilute at a higher rate than you would for an adult and start with a small amount. It’s always smart to do your own research before you use essential oils with your family. ) Good luck and stay tick free!

        Reply
    14. Diana Inkelaar says

      June 11, 2018 at 3:14 am

      Would this recipe also be safe for cats? We have 2 indoor cats but our 3rd one goes in and our.
      Thank you.
      Diana

      Reply
      • Erika says

        June 11, 2018 at 11:04 am

        No, I would not use this on cats. My vet okayed putting a drop on my hand, rubbing my hands together, then petting my cat to get the oil on her fur, but it did not work for us.
        Here’s a post with how to use this on dogs – https://livingwellmom.com/natural-tick-repellent-dogs/

        Reply
    15. Karen says

      July 19, 2018 at 2:54 pm

      We have three cattle dogs. Their job means they are in bush, high grass and every where in between. I have tried the tick collar, the topical oil that you run the oil down their backs starting at the neck to the tail head and the monthly pills. I can pick off as many as 15 or more every day. How much and how do you apply it to your dog. My dogs are approx 40 to60 ponds. Thank you for your answer in advance

      Reply
    16. Astrid says

      September 18, 2018 at 1:20 pm

      Hello! Have you looked into certified organic Mountain Rose Herbs.com? They have a 1/2 oz bottle of Geranium pelargonium graveolens for $19.75 which equals 14.7ml. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Erika says

        September 20, 2018 at 2:52 pm

        Hi Astrid, I have heard good things about Mountain Rose Herbs, but I have not tried their oils myself. I need to do some research on them. Thanks for the suggestion.

        Reply
    17. Amy says

      May 18, 2020 at 10:40 am

      Do you have to keep this cool? Like in a fridge? I’ve read some recipes where they say fridge storage. Also, how long before it goes bad? Thank you! Great site!

      Reply
      • Christine says

        May 26, 2020 at 3:56 pm

        Thank you!
        I do not store it in the fridge – I’ve never had any issues with it going bad. I wouldn’t keep it in a hot car all summer, but a bottle of this should be fine on an indoor shelf for the summer. (We usually go through 1/month with 2 dogs in a tick-infested area.)

        Reply
    18. Denice says

      April 13, 2021 at 10:52 pm

      Does this have an apple cider vinegar smell to it, or are the oils strong enough to overpower it?

      Reply
      • Erika says

        April 14, 2021 at 4:51 pm

        It definitely has an apple cider vinegar smell to it. If it bothers you, you can use less ACV.

        Reply
    19. Lisa says

      May 18, 2021 at 10:09 am

      Is it essential to use apple cider vinegar? Other than claiming an added benefit, does it do anything specifically to the mixture? Can it be replaced 1:1 with water or does it need to be alcohol or witch hazel or something? I do not want to replace it with oil.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        May 18, 2021 at 4:57 pm

        Apple cider vinegar by itself has been shown to repel ticks. I’ve found our repellent has been more effective since swapping out water or witch hazel. But you can use water or something else like witch hazel instead. It’s up to you.

        Reply
    20. Moksha Lifestyle says

      May 29, 2021 at 3:53 am

      Oh, I love this, and need to read it again! you have the basics laid out so clearly! Great job,

      Reply
    21. Jody says

      April 14, 2022 at 1:57 pm

      Thank you for this. Very helpful. FYI-the link for citronella oil goes to cilantro oil.

      Reply
      • Erika says

        August 15, 2022 at 5:09 pm

        You’re welcome! And thanks for letting me know – we’ll get that updated. 🙂

        Reply
    22. Donna says

      May 16, 2023 at 10:16 am

      Your citronella link takes me to Cilantro. Are they the same?

      Reply
      • Erika says

        May 18, 2023 at 12:53 pm

        No, they are different. Thanks for letting me know – we’ll get that fixed!

        Reply
    23. Sofie says

      May 28, 2023 at 9:26 am

      How effective have you found this spray when using on kids and dogs? Do you still get some ticks?

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Erika Bragdon sitting on a bench drinking a drink out of her mug

    Welcome! I’m Erika and I’m the creator behind Living Well Mom.

    More About Erika

    The Latest

    • Easy Homemade Fruit and Veggie Wash (That Actually Works)
    • Chewy Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies
    • 32+ Fun Outdoor Activities for Kids (That Will Keep Them Busy!)
    • Bubble Painting – How to Paint with Bubbles
    • Easy Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe (That Your Kids Will Actually Eat!)

    Trending Now

    • playdough in a container Make the Easiest Homemade Playdough Recipe That Lasts for Months {With Video!}

    • outside holding tick spray bottle with dog Simple All-Natural Tick Repellent for Dogs – with Video!

    • Taco Pizza is a great as an easy family dinner (you can even make it the night before) or a tasty appetizer. Kids love this recipe and the cream cheese/sour cream “sauce” and spicy taco flavor are a hit with adults too. Taco Pizza – The BEST Easy Dinner Recipe

    • homemade macaroni and cheese on plate Easy Baked Mac and Cheese Recipe (That Your Kids Will Actually Eat!)

    • big strong homemade bubble solution How to Make Bubble Solution (Easy + Strong Bubbles)

    • Hand pressed into a ball of fluffy slime Fluffy Dish Soap “Slime” (Borax Free)

    • Home
    • Seasonal
    • Essential Oils
    • Natural Solutions
    • Autism

    Living well is a journey not a destination

    copyright ©2025, Living Well Mom. / Site by Pixel Me Designs
    Privacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsDisclaimer
    5.7K shares
    • 244