I almost laughed, Bellflower. I am up at this un-Godly hour researching flea control & here’s a post about it. No ticks here (fingers crossed!), but they’re mentioned everywhere I’ve looked. This site addresses essential oils
http://www.thewholedog.org/EOFleas.html
They don’t look expensive at all & do look easy to use *and safe*.
I’ve always gone all paranoid at the sight of a single tick & used the yard stuff from the vet in the past. Apparently the new (to me, anyway) thing is “insect growth regulator” if they come home with you or come in with wildlife.
Amazon (I think via Do It Yourself Pest Control) has the best prices I’ve found. Archer IGR is for the yard & Ultracide is for inside.
You can get essential oils at a health food store. (I’m going to go with the kind that are ingestible in case one of my fur kids decides it smells “good enough to eat”.
Best of luck. Reliable sources (a Sighthound breeder I am very familiar/ impressed with) & reviews are excellent.
Re: Do It Yourself Pest Control
Those guys happen to be just a few miles from me. I don’t know about their tick stuff, but I recently bought some phermone traps from them to deal with pantry moths. They have been awesome, work great!
I would definitely go with their treatment methods based on my experience with their products and recommendations.