The repellent effects of the essential oil of Lavendula angustifolia on adults of Hyalomma marginatum rufipes was studied at concentrations of 5, 10 and 20% v/v. A suitable tick climbing bioassay based on the questing behaviour of ticks was used to test for repellency. High percentage repellency (range 70-100) was shown at all concentrations of the essential oil of L. angustifolia, although at 5 % v/v it only persisted for the first 40 minutes compared with 120 minutes at other concentrations (10 and 20%v/v). The repellent strength of L. angustifolia compared well (P > 0.05) with that of DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide), a commercial reference repellent, for the 2-hour period of the study

Scientific evaluation of plants for anti-tick properties is a necessary step towards the development of tick control methods that exclude or involve less of synthetic chemicals. In this study, we evaluated the repellent properties ofNicotiana tabacum and Eucalyptus globoidea against adults of Hyalomma marganitum rufipes using a suitable repellency bioassay. Dichloromethane extract of E. globoidea had more repellent potency against adults of H. m. rufipes compared to ethyle-acetate extract of N. tabacum in all three concentrations (20, 30 and 40% w/v) used. The anti-tick repellent strength of dichloromethane extract of E. globoidea compared favourably with that of the commercial arthropod repellent, N, N-diethyltoluamide (DEET) and was dose dependent.