Why This Nova Scotian Mother Created a Tick Repellent
HALIFAX — Spring has just started and, as the weather warms, people will spend more time outside. But, in Nova Scotia, exploring the outdoors comes with a certain risk to both humans and pets: the small but dangerous tick.
The fear Nova Scotians have for this small insect isn’t just baseless paranoia. Last year, a researcher at Mount Allison University announced that Nova Scotia has the highest tick-to-human ratio in Canada.
Of course, what people fear the most about ticks is the fact that they can carry Lyme disease, which is currently incurable. This is a fact that Lisa Learning of Mahone Bay knows all too well. In 2016, her two young sons began complaining of severe pain and other unusual symptoms. Eventually, both were diagnosed with Lyme disease.
“When I moved here, this was the worst place for ticks but I knew nothing about them,” recalled Learning. “My neighbor warned me about them but it went in one ear and out the other. And it ended up that both my boys started getting swollen knees and swollen ankles; really weird and then painful. We kept taking them to the doctor but Lyme disease wasn’t as prominent as it is now.”
“It got to the point where my oldest at the time couldn’t walk because he was in so much pain. In order to get around the house, he had to use a walker. Oh, it was awful.”
In 2017, Learning used this hardship as motivation to do something positive. She wanted to help prevent others from getting Lyme disease so she began making a formula for a tick repellent. From there, she founded the company AtlanTick Repellent Products.
Although she has been selling tick products since 2017, March of 2023 marked a major milestone. AtlanTick has launched a new spray after it won approval from Health Canada: Tick Attack Botanical Insect Spray.
It will be available in thousands of retail stores and, best of all, it is made from natural products. The scientific team at AtlanTick extracted a compound from lemon eucalyptus to use in the product.
Having a product that wouldn’t harm the environment or human health was of utmost value to Learning. She grew up on an air force base in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and remembers when it was common for harmful chemicals to be sprayed in the area.
“I grew up on the base, and they used to drive around with the trucks and they’d spray DDT. And I remember the planes going by and spraying. I know how awful the chemicals can be. And I just didn’t want to be doing that. For the amount of time that my boys spent outside, I didn’t want to be spraying them with DEET. So I went looking for a natural alternative but there wasn’t one on the Canadian market at the time.”
AtlanTick’s repellent works by masking our natural scent with an odor that ticks hate. But Learning says the smell won’t be repulsive to people.
“Because ticks are attracted to your personal scent and Carbon Dioxide, you want to mask your scent with a scent that ticks are repelled by. We actually put little electrodes on the ticks and we studied the brain activity to figure out exactly what repels them the most.”
As for Learning’s two sons, so far they have been able to manage the effects of Lyme disease successfully.
“They seem to be doing well-knock on wood. It’s one of those things that you hope is gone. And then unfortunately, as soon as one of my boys says their knees are hurting I think ‘Oh dear God, I hope it’s not Lyme coming back. It’s really complex but so far they seem to be doing okay.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].