How To Avoid Ticks
Avoiding ticks is essential to protect yourself, your kids, and pets from tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and ehrlichiosis. Ticks thrive in grassy, wooded, or brushy areas, so prevention involves protective clothing, repellents, environmental control, and regular checks.
🛡️ How to Avoid Ticks
✅ 1. Wear Protective Clothing
- Long sleeves and long pants when outdoors in tall grass, woods, or leaf litter
- Tuck pants into socks and shirt into pants to limit skin exposure
- Choose light-colored clothing so you can spot ticks more easily
✅ 2. Use EPA-Approved Tick Repellents
- Apply repellents with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus on exposed skin
- For clothing and gear, use permethrin spray (kills ticks on contact)
- Reapply as directed, especially if sweating or swimming
✅ 3. Avoid High-Risk Tick Areas
- Stick to the center of trails
- Avoid walking through brushy, overgrown areas, especially in spring and summer
- Don’t sit directly on the ground in wooded areas
✅ 4. Perform Tick Checks After Being Outdoors
- Check:
- Underarms
- Hair and scalp
- Waistline
- Behind knees
- In and around ears
- Around waistband or sock line
- On kids and pets, be especially thorough
🐾 Tip: Run your fingers through your pet’s fur to check for bumps or embedded ticks.
✅ 5. Shower Soon After Being Outdoors
- Shower within 2 hours to remove unattached ticks
- Helps you do a full-body tick check
- Wash clothes in hot water and dry on high heat to kill hidden ticks
✅ 6. Treat Pets with Tick Preventatives
- Use vet-approved tick collars, topical treatments, or oral medications
- Regularly groom and check pets, especially after outdoor activity
✅ 7. Maintain Your Yard
- Mow the lawn regularly
- Remove leaf litter, tall grasses, and brush around the home
- Create a 3-ft barrier of wood chips or gravel between your lawn and wooded areas
- Stack wood neatly and in dry areas to discourage rodents (which carry ticks)
🚫 Common Mistakes That Increase Tick Risk
| Mistake | Why It’s Risky |
|---|---|
| Skipping tick checks | Ticks can stay attached for days |
| Not using repellent | Increases bite and disease risk |
| Wearing shorts or sandals | Leaves skin exposed |
| Letting pets roam in tall grass | Brings ticks into your home |
| Leaving yard brush untrimmed | Creates tick-friendly environment |
✅ Quick Summary: Tick Prevention Checklist
| Step | Protection Level |
|---|---|
| Wear long clothing & tuck it in | Reduces skin exposure |
| Use DEET or permethrin repellent | Keeps ticks off body and clothes |
| Avoid tick-prone areas | Lowers risk of contact |
| Do full-body checks & shower | Catches and removes ticks early |
| Treat pets and maintain yard | Reduces tick habitat around home |