Tom,
Turpentine was popular here years ago to repel ticks. Any use of it down south?
(not Tom but I'll kick in an answer)
I hadn't heard of that.
I knew about the flea collar trick, used it once or twice with decent results. Deer ticks are happy to start at the knee when you brush against the wrong plant, whereas the bigger ticks tend to start much lower.
Doing "something" to stave off the ticks is pretty much a requirement if you're in the woods in Eastern Oklahoma or Western Arkansas.