Make Your Own Natural Tick Repellent

I am in the woods a lot. Looking for mushrooms, harvesting wild edibles, bird watching. If I have time to spare, I'm outside.

Ticks - and Lyme's disease - have become a real problem in Western PA, the United States in general, and in many areas of the world. Even though it has reached nearly epidemic levels, it is still underdiagnosed and not always treated immediately. The disease can become chronic, the flu-like symptoms of aches and fatigue morphing into chronic fatigue and debilitating pain in some cases.

I want to do everything I can to avoid getting Lyme's disease. So here is what I do:

I make a homemade tick repellent from vinegar (white or apple cider), water, and essential oils.

I buy a spray bottle from the dollar store, and fill it halfway with vinegar and half with water. To this I add essential oils. Currently I am using:

• Eucalyptus
• Tea Tree Oil
• Peppermint
• Lemongrass (or Lemon, whichever I have on hand.)

I add at least 30 drops of each oil to the bottle, often more, I am very generous with the essential oils.

I keep the bottle in the car and before heading into the woods I spray myself like crazy. All over my clothes, my hair, my shoes, socks. I also spray every part of my skin which is exposed and I rub it all in. I stink of vinegar (oh!) and essential oils (not bad), which is an odd combination but it doesn't bother me. It smells kind of good and bad all at once.

And then I check for ticks obsessively during and after the walks. This year I've only found one (knock on wood!) crawling on me, and I got it off before it bit me.

I love being in the woods and I hate the thought of Lyme's disease.

Other tips: 

• Tuck pants into socks and tuck your shirt into your pants.
• Pull your hair back into a ponytail and/or wear a hat
• Wear light colored clothing because it's easier to see the ticks on them

Don't panic if you find a tick. Pull it out with tweezers or a special tick remover. We have a "Zeckenkarte" which someone gave us from Germany, and it removes ticks incredibly well (I have found them on me in the past, before I concocted my tick repellent!) I keep the Zeckencarte on hand as well. Then wash the spot, I like to dab it with an essential oil like lavender. If you use homeopathy, Ledum is a good one to take after a tick bite.

Watch the spot and if you develop a rash - bull's eye or otherwise - go to the doctor as soon as you can. Also, if you develop flu-like symptoms such as fatigue and muscle pain, even without the rash, go to the doctor. Some people save the tick in a plastic bag so it can be tested for Lyme, but I've never met a doctor who wanted to see or test the tick (but maybe yours does!) Antibiotics - usually doxycyclene - is the common treatment for Lyme's disease.

Good luck and stay safe out there!

Juicing Japanese Knotweed

Today we found another big patch of Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum, or Fallopia japonica) in our neighborhood, and we decided to try juicing it!

Here is a closer picture of the shoot coming up out of the ground. You'll notice the many joints (poly = many, gonum = knees) along the stalk.

We stripped the heart shaped leaves from the stalk, which is the part we wanted to juice. The stalk is mottled, or speckled with red, and hollow:

The stalks can be peeled, which is definitely recommended if you are eating it raw, or even preparing it by steaming. The outer part is very stringy and tough.

Since we were putting them though a juicer, though, we did not peel all the stalks. Here they are in the sink being washed:

Here is Ella juicing them:

The result was a vibrant green tart tasting juice. It would have been fine to drink on it's own, but we added some juiced apples. Though the apples we added were red (gala, I believe) the result tasted exactly like juice from Granny Smiths - very delicious!

Japanese Knotweed contains resveratrol, which is a beneficial nutrient for the heart and brain. Resveratrol is what makes drinking red wine beneficial, though there is more resveratrol in Japanese Knotweed than red wine. The resveratrol supplements are usually made using Japanese Knotweed. The concentration is highest in the roots, but is still present in the stalk.

People have also begun using Japanese Knotweed as prevention and/or treatment for Lyme's disease. For more information on this check out Stephen Herrod Buhner's book Healing Lyme, which you can find, along with other information about Japanese Knotweed and Lyme disease, at his website, Buhner Healing Lyme.

Now is the time to harvest Japanese Knotweed, if you are interested in steaming, munching on, or juicing the stalks! Best to get them as young shoots, before they become tough and woody, which will be in about a month.

Enjoy!

~ Melissa Sokulski