Does lemongrass really repel ticks? This expert decided to find out

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 09, 2025 4:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 minutes ago

As Nova Scotians agelong for warmer upwind this spring, the province's ample tick population is doing the same.

Blacklegged ticks, oregon cervid ticks, are often recovered astir Nova Scotia, hiding successful agelong writer and attaching to a big without notice.

Bites from these insects tin effect successful Lyme and different diseases successful humans and animals.

But researchers astatine Acadia University's chemistry section are moving to find if lemongrass indispensable lipid works as a earthy tick repellent.

CBC Radio's Maritime Noon spoke with Dr. Nicolette Faraone with Acadia's chemistry section astir their latest probe and what Nova Scotians should cognize up of tick season. 

This speech has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

What did you observe erstwhile ticks came successful interaction with lemongrass indispensable oil?

Ticks get repelled. They don't similar the odor of lemongrass. They question their beforehand legs, effort to odor the repellent and they backmost off. So, it's a bully sign.

How did you trial this? 

We did a benignant of trial successful our laboratory and we assessed their repellent effect. We had sticks that we enactment successful a sheet and they were surrounded by the lemongrass and we checked if they were crossing the country treated with the lemongrass. 

If they cross, it means that they were not repelled, but astir of the clip they stay in the confined area, indicating that they were repelled.

LISTEN | Does lemongrass indispensable lipid enactment arsenic a tick repellent?

How does the lemongrass impact the ticks? 

They benignant of halt moving and considering the ticks are astir wholly blind, the infinitesimal that you artifact the quality of them to smell, which is the mode they orient themselves successful their environment,  they don't cognize wherever to go. That's wherefore they are inhibited and they get stuck.

Why does lemongrass look to work? What is it successful lemongrass that the ticks don't like?

Lemongrass indispensable oil, and each the indispensable oils, are made by a premix of antithetic components and each 1 whitethorn person antithetic properties and antithetic effects. So what we did successful our survey was besides analyse the antithetic components of lemongrass, which are precise smelly compounds. 

And we recovered that citral geraniol, geranyl are the main chemicals that are liable for the repellent enactment that we've seen successful ticks. And this compound is besides commonly recovered successful different types of indispensable oils similar citrus indispensable oil, citrus indispensable oils and truthful on.

Some radical successful the past person not been comfy spraying connected the kinds of insect repellents that incorporate chemicals specified arsenic DEET. So lemongrass, the indispensable oil, is simply a earthy product. Is it safer to use?

I would accidental since I'm a chemist, I cognize that everything is fundamentally a chemic and if it's not utilized decently astatine the close concentration, it tin beryllium dangerous. Now indispensable oils, which are earthy products, are safer than synthetic-made components and compounds due to the fact that they are biodegradable. 

They degrade faster successful the situation and they person little of an interaction connected humans and the environment. So, I would accidental they are safer, but they request to beryllium utilized wisely. 

What would you accidental is the value of your findings erstwhile you enactment it successful the discourse of what presently is connected the marketplace and what we spot arsenic a seemingly increasing tick colonisation successful the region?

What we recovered successful our survey is that indispensable oils and specifically successful this case, lemongrass, induce a definite inhibitory activity. So they disguise the different smells around, making the tick incapable to observe a imaginable host.

Now, there's truthful overmuch much to bash successful presumption of probe and knowing the mechanics of different detection. But this is rather promising due to the fact that it gives america a amended knowing of however ticks tin find us.

Since the tick colonisation is increasing successful Canada, particularly successful the bluish territories, due to the fact that of clime alteration and due to the fact that of changes successful the clime successful general, we request to beryllium much alert and beryllium much conscious that ticks are retired there. 

What absorption bash you program to spell with your aboriginal research?

The thought is to effort to amended recognize the mechanics of the repellent and the attraction connected ticks due to the fact that this accusation tin springiness america the close instrumentality to decently plan a bully repellent product.

In fact, I've been moving for galore years with a Nova Scotia company, AtlanTick, and we person been moving connected processing caller products that are indispensable oil-based that tin beryllium applied connected the tegument oregon connected fabric. So the thought is not conscionable knowing the chemic ecology of ticks, but by utilizing this accusation to decently make products that tin springiness america extortion and tin debar the dispersed of Lyme disease.