All winter long here in New England we wait and dream about spring and summer, about being outdoors and enjoying the warm weather. When it finally gets here, we do….but the insects around here are doing their best to ruin it. Our cool and wet spring has made it a banner year for the bugs. While our crops are growing slowly, waiting for more heat and sunshine, the bugs seem to be multiplying rapidly.
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Mosquitoes, Ticks, and Black Flies, Oh My!
Gardening season is fraught with little biting black flies, which come out of the dirt whenever you move it around. They are supposed to wane down as summer approaches, but then the mosquitoes take over. Ticks also come with spring, but once the weather heats up, we don’t see nearly as many. At least that’s how it’s supposed to go. It hasn’t this year. Tick populations seem to have exploded this spring; we have never seen so many. The black flies have been sticking around much longer than usual, but the mosquitoes still showed up on schedule!
Luckily the black flies don’t seem to bother dogs much, which is a good thing. Luke hates bugs and it’s almost an obsession with him. If you’ve dealt with ticks, you know about the “tick willies”. That’s what I call it when you find a tick on you, pick it off, and then spend the rest of your day feeling like you have a whole bunch of them crawling on you. Luke does that too!
If a tick crawls off him, or he thinks he’s scratched one off, he sniffs around wherever he was laying looking for the creature. He’s shown me where one is many times! If there’s any need for a bug detecting dog out there, I think we’ve got one. The only problem is that he has an unhealthy paranoia of them, and if I try to pick, or even just brush, one off him, he freaks out. The only thing we can do is to get them off before he knows they are there, or to be very ninja about it.
Regular readers know that I garden organically, and that I make organic and all-natural products (visit our shop!). I do not want to put pesticides or chemicals on myself or on my pets. That makes keeping bugs off us far more challenging.
In case you think we’re crazy for going the all-natural route (and I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that), let me just tell you that my hubby is not on that program with me, he uses sprays with DEET in them. However, he’s had two tick bites so far this year and has picked many more than that off himself after working in the yard. Just sayin’.
Here’s how we battle the bugs all-naturally, and I’ll be the first to admit that some days I feel like it’s a losing battle. I second guess my decisions constantly, and there are days I feel ready to get all those chemicals out. Then I remember the declining bee population at our old house. I had one year where all my squash simply withered on the vine because it wasn’t getting pollinated. I also think of all the pets we’ve lost to cancer. Are pesticides and chemicals the cause? Who knows? But the thought of side effects and seizures scares me too.
Deterring Insects Around the house:
Read our review of Earthkind natural pest control for your home. Those products are helping a lot to keep other bugs like ants and spiders out of the house.
#1 tick control: The farm birds! Chickens and guinea hens eat ticks and many other insects. The running joke around here is that there have been so many ticks to eat, they are getting sick of them and that’s why we still have many. I dread to think how bad they would be without the birds.


Standing water/tall grass: Getting rid of standing water will help to keep mosquitoes from breeding so much. We’ve had so much rain this spring, and we have so much land, that it’s impossible. We have wet areas everywhere. The grass and vegetation which ticks love are out of control, but with 17 acres, we can only do so much. We try to keep brush down and lawns mowed in areas closest to the house, plus we try to keep clear trails for walking. But we’re only two people with a lot of projects, we can only do so much!


Insect Control For the Humans:
The problem for me with natural insect repellents is that most are specific to a different type of bug. I have one for the black flies, one for mosquitoes, and one for ticks. I have sensitive skin, so I’m pretty hesitant to combine them, so I mostly try to spray my clothes when possible.
Repel for mosquitoes. Repel is a plant-based, DEET-free insect repellent made with lemon eucalyptus. It works great for me, and even hubby uses it sometimes.
Rural Remedies, made by a New Hampshire company, has two different products, one for ticks and another for black flies. I also sport the dorky look of tucking my pants into my socks when we walk in the woods. The simplest thing for the flying biters is just to cover as much skin as possible. But that’s tough when it starts to get hotter, plus those suckers aren’t scared to fly right under your clothing either! The ticks just crawl right up you until they find their way to your hairline too. Yesterday, I found two at the base of my hair on my neck, and that was after finding one biting my side! I think I picked those up when scouting the yard for hidden nests. Not only are our birds slacking in the bug eating department, they’re slacking on laying eggs. We found one of their secret nests, but I’m convinced there’s another somewhere. You know what they say about curiosity!
I swear, if there is an inch of your skin that doesn’t have repellent on it, that’s where the bugs will find their way to and bite you! That goes for all the biting insects, especially the mosquitoes and black flies. My hubby rarely complains about bites from them, but I seem to react badly. Some bites can itch and swell for several days!
I often wear a head net* when gardening. Black flies are especially pesky about buzzing around your face and ears. That is SO annoying.
One of my issues has also been that I’m in and out all day. If I’m only going outside to check for eggs or check on the birds, why would I load up with bugspray? If I’m going to work in the gardens or outside for extended periods, I do. Repel lasts pretty long though, so after being covered with bites and having to take Benadryl because I was so itchy at night, I’ve started putting it on in the morning before the first time I go out with exposed skin. (honestly, this year has been so cool I’m usually pretty well covered with clothing in the morning anyway!)
Truthfully, with ticks, the best prevention is to constantly check yourself. I do it morning and night, or whenever I’m changing my clothes. Most of our ticks are American dog ticks, which don’t carry as many diseases here in NH that others do. We do also have deer ticks, Lyme disease carriers, though. But if you get them off soon enough, you’re supposed to be safe. That’s why the constant checks are so important.
By the way, I have been bitten by a deer tick, and I live to tell about it and am healthy. I panicked at the time, but we had just lost our health insurance, so I wasn’t going to run to the doctor if I didn’t have to. I know that Lyme disease is in our area, I know both people and dogs who have had it, but I also don’t believe we need to panic every time we get a tick bite. Watching the area for a rash, and watching for symptoms is what is key. It is treatable if caught early.
Gosh, when I was a child, we never even knew what a tick was. We did not have them in New England. Little was known about Lyme disease when that was a new thing; so much more is known now. Dogs are tested routinely, and vaccines are available for them if you so choose. We stopped getting the vaccine for ours, because our dogs had adverse reactions to it.
Insect Control for the Dog:
What he wears: Luke has a flea and tick tag from Only Natural Pet*, which is made to work with his energy system to repel the bugs. I’ve never seen a flea since starting to use these, and have not noticed mosquito bites on him. But we do still see ticks and I worry about the mosquitoes and the diseases they carry too, so want extra protection for him. So he also gets sprayed in the morning with Wondercide* flea & tick spray, which repels all of those. It especially works well for mosquitoes I think.
Considering the fact that we often find ticks crawling on our bed or in other places in the house, I feel pretty strongly that those things do help keep the ticks off him. The hope is that they get off him before biting, though he has had some bites too. Back in the days when we used the spot-on pesticide treatments, our dogs got bit too, so I don’t believe anything is 100%; which is another reason I haven’t caved into that yet.
Avoidance. I’ve honestly considered giving up on walking completely because of the ticks in our woods. But Luke can get them right in his yard too (we let the birds into his yard every so often in the hopes they’ll eat the ticks there).

We have found one trail loop in our woods that doesn’t seem to have many ticks. I miss walking our other trails, but if we’ve tried it and I’ve seen more than one tick on either of us, we’re avoiding those trails until things dry out more and we get deeper into summer. Hopefully as the weather heats and dries up the ticks mostly disappear as they usually do in the summer (we have to be aware that they do come back in the fall though). The trail we use has a bit less vegetation and wet areas than the others, I think that’s why it’s better. We also go on the road if it’s a quiet time of day, another good reason to walk early morning. (Luke’s fear of strangers being the reason we avoid the road, though not many of our neighbors walk much, especially not in the morning).

Constant checks. As we walk along, I can spot ticks on Luke easily at least in the areas of his white fur. If he’s distracted with smelling something, I can usually just brush or casually pick them off before he catches on.
I also check him when we get home, but he’s onto that routine now and it’s tougher. In the photo below, he wouldn’t let me take his leash off because I had tried to pick a tick off him. Yes, he’s that crazy. He doesn’t like the ticks on him, but he won’t let us take them off. I don’t get it either, but that’s one of Luke’s quirks.

That has really made me want to give him one of those chewable preventatives, but after recently hearing that those can cause seizures in some dogs, I’m too paranoid (Luke is not the only crazy one around here, just ask my hubby. LOL) I don’t like the fact that those last like 3 months or something. What if your dog reacts, how do you ever get it out of their system???
I know many do not agree with how we do things. As I said, I question myself about it every day. But we do what we think is best for Luke, and I think a natural life is. He gets homemade food and dog treats, fresh veggies and herbs, many natural supplements, and we are lucky that so far he has been a healthy dog. He enjoys his walks, and I won’t take those away from him even if it means more work for us.
We are finally getting some nice weather, hot and dry, at least for a couple days, so I hope it continues and that the battle of the bugs will at least die down for a while. I haven’t been as itchy lately and both Luke and I were tick free when we got home from our last walk. Maybe we can finally get to start enjoying the summer!
Are the bugs awful where you are this year? What do you use? If you have any natural treatments that you love, do tell in the comments below! I am always open to trying new natural products.
Ugh, the bugs, they are so horrible this year. I was thinking this morning, that is one of the reasons I prefer winter. 🙂
I am always looking for something for me, because the bugs just love me. I did get a sample from RealBeauty and my grandson used it in NC and he said the bugs did not bother him. Something bit me last week, it was like it got right inside my shirt sleeve and had a little picnic. I am highly allergic so I had a miserable few days.
We have been doing less wood walks (because…bugs), so I haven’t noticed a lot on the dogs. I am currently using TerraShield a natural oil from DoTerra. I just put a few drops in a small bottle and add water. For the dogs I usually switch up my sprays, using one until that bottle is gone and then another. Yes, it is way more work for me, but IMO it’s better than the collars or the topicals.
I think it’s a good idea to switch things up. I usually switch between the different scents of the Wondercide for Luke.
I am also thinking of making my own at some point, and might take a look at that TerraShield too.
Thanks, for sharing an useful article. Pet is our great part of life. Some time pet usurp a corner of our heart. We love them like our parents. We need to make sure their good health. Use high quality and healthy products for their safety. Thank you
Thank you for coming by and reading!
We have used Ark Naturals Neem spray for years to keep the mosquitos and flying insects off the dogs. I am normally quite reactive to such things, but one day in a fit of desperation, I tried it too. I sprayed it on my clothes and the dogs and I had a mosquito-free day. It’s made from Neem and citronella.
I’ve heard of that brand, and Neem before too. I think Neem is sometimes used for garden bugs as well? I’ll have to take a look at that, thanks for sharing!
Oh, and that makes me wonder if I should use the same stuff I put on Luke, since they seem to crawl off him!!
Love the tick parol!
Ohhhh I hate bugs! What a great post, thanks for sharing everything.
Thank you, and thanks for sharing it too! ♥
UGH!!! I feel your pain. We lived out in the country on 3 acres when we were first married. It was bliss until one year we were invaded by the tiniest ticks you can possibly imagine. They looked like specs of pepper. We could walk out to the car and our socks would literally be almost black with them. I loathe ticks. Mosquitos love me but they spray here and we haven’t been bothered by them. (Knock on wood)
Oh my gosh, that sounds horrifying!! UGH!!
I wonder what it is about mosquitoes that they just love some of us so much? I wonder if they like women more than men? 😉
Ticks are such a problem. My hubby uses deet, but still gets them. I just stay inside. 🙂
Your way is probably the only foolproof one, so I don’t blame you for that!! 🙂
Thanks for these natural ways to repel the bugs. We’ll have to try some of them. Do you have something to repel the geese? 😀
Ha ha, maybe some kind of scarecrow? That works for other birds! 🙂
We are pretty lucky when it comes to fleasm flies and mosquitos….but ticks are everywhere this times of year! I’m with you and check myself and the pups everynight before bed…and after every hike!
It’s really the best thing to do, because those nasty things are insidious. And unfortunately even that’s not foolproof. 🙁
So far, the mosquitoes in our area have not been too bad but, I’m sure they are coming. We lost our English Pointer, Wiley, to Lyme a few years ago. So hard to watch her go through an episode. You couldn’t even touch her without it being painful. We started using the Seresto collars on all of our dogs after her first bout with Lyme and have never found a tick on any of our now 4 dogs since. I know it’s not all natural but, we try the best we can.
I completely understand, and I’m so sorry for the loss of your Wiley. 🙁 A friend of ours just lost her golden retriever to it as well.
All we can all do is the best we can, what we’re comfortable with, and hope for the best. ♥
Oh my yes, those little buggers are sure everywhere and they like to nibble lots!
That’s one joy of being an indoor cat – not having to deal with too many bugs! 🙂
I HATE bugs too, Luke, and both mom and I check for ticks when we come back from our walk and anytime we’re outside and come back inside. I go through my legs furs all the time to make sure there are no ticks on me and when I see a bug in the house, especially flies and stink bugs, I let mom know. We don’t go the “natural” route any longer. It wasn’t working for me so I”m on Frontline Plus.
I can understand why you’d give up on the natural route…every tick we see gets us closer to giving up too!
Luke was walking down the hallway yesterday, suddenly stopped and sniffed the wall….and sure enough, there was a tick there!
It’s great that you let your Mom know about bugs too, Molly!
There are places near here that have lots of ticks. Not good, but you have to walk Luke. He’s such a handsome pup and I know you’ll take great care with him and you.
Have a woof woof day, Luke. My best to your smart mom. ♥
Thank you! It’s all a balance, so we do the best we can, always hoping for the best. ♥
Turkeys are a good way to keep ticks away. They eat them.
Yes, I’ve heard turkeys are great too! We’ve talked about getting them, but they need a separate coop, so we can’t afford to right now. 🙁
Thankfully, Ducky hasn’t had any ticks in the (almost) seven years she’s been with us. But, I do use the Bravecto and Heartgard. I wonder about the Bravecto at times, but after all these years of it not bothering her, well….
Glad you and Luke can enjoy at least one trail anyway!!
Once you’ve used something once and had no issues, it’s easier to continue to do so. It’s the first time of trying anything, especially anything new, that I can’t talk myself into.
We tried a new thing from our vet’s office one year, and it was a nightmare. It smelled awful, stunk up the whole house, and the smell even bothered the dogs. I vowed never to use a new to market product again!! (and I don’t think they make that one anymore!)
I use a chemical spot on for fleas and ticks on my dog. We mostly stay on the sidewalks so thankfully haven’t seen too many ticks this year. I did find one in the bathtub the other day though, it must have been on the dog’s bed and picked up by the cat. This whole post gave me the willies. 😉
I’m glad you’re not having too much trouble with them, Edie. I can understand why this post would give you the willies….be thankful I didn’t include any bug photographs though. LOL!
Yuck, you have more willpower than me. I keep hearing that ticks are more prevalent this year in our part of the world, but so far haven’t seen any. I check Torrey often though, and keep her out of the tall grass.
I’m so glad for you that you haven’t seen any of those nasty creatures!!
we fortunately have no ticks but soon the flea time starts… or maybe nit this year because of the rain? then I will accept the wet sh*it weather…. fleas are much more worse…
Fleas are definitely awful, we’ve battled with them before too. No fun at all.
They say one of the best way to keep ticks away is chickens. We don’t do natural stuff because it is not practical for our lifestyle, and with tracking, we really need solid protection. Mom gets eaten alive by bugs sometimes, and even bug spray doesn’t help that. It’s great that the natural route works well for you and Luke.
Your poor Mom! It especially makes me mad when I put all the bug spray on and still get bitten! The bugs definitely seem to like some people more than others too.
I completely understand why you would choose not to go the natural route, especially with your tracking.