I have seen people try many ways to keep tick carrying Bartonella, Lyme disease, or other infections.
None have tried balsam fir essential oil.
Certainly synthetic synthetic pesticides can reduce tick numbers, but can harm beneficial insects, such as pollinators. Plant-based essential oils could provide an alternative because they have low environmental persistence; but struggle to provide effective control.
But it was discovered balsam fir (Abies balsamea) needles kill overwintering I. scapularis ticks. They placed ticks in tubes with this oil from balsam fir in the field or in incubators simulating winter temperatures. We added balsam fir essential oil, or one of the main components of balsam fir essential oil (i.e., ß-pinene), to each tube.
Both the oil and ß-pinene kill overwintering ticks. Whole balsam fir needles require several weeks to kill overwintering ticks, while the essential oil is lethal within days at low temperatures (≤ 4 °C). Further, low temperatures increased the efficacy of this volatile essential oil. Higher temperatures (i.e., 20 °C) reduce the acaricidal effectiveness of the essential oil by 50% at 0.1% v/v. Low temperatures may promote the effectiveness of other natural control products. Winter is an overlooked season for tick control and should be explored as a possible time for the application of low toxicity products for successful tick management.
Adamo SA, El Nabbout A, Ferguson LV, Zbarsky JS, Faraone N. Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) needles and their essential oil kill overwintering ticks (Ixodes scapularis) at cold temperatures. Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 29;12(1):12999. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-15164-z. PMID: 35906288; PMCID: PMC9338056.