How to Prevent Tick Bites: A Simple Checklist for Every Outing

Know Where and When Ticks Are Active

Ticks live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas, and even on animals. You can come into contact with them while hiking, camping, gardening, or hunting, and many people pick up ticks in their own yard or neighborhood.

Tick exposure can happen year-round, but ticks are most active during warmer months, from April through September. Lyme disease is most common in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and upper Midwest of the United States.

Before You Go Outdoors

• Use an EPA-registered insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. Always follow the label.
• Treat clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin, or buy pre-treated clothing. Permethrin remains protective through several washings. Never apply it to skin.
• Wear long sleeves and long pants, and tuck your pants into your socks or boots. Light-colored clothing makes ticks easier to spot.

For help choosing a product and using it safely, including on children, see our guide to tick repellents.

While You’re Outside

• Avoid wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter when you can.
• Walk in the center of trails to avoid brushing against vegetation at the edges.
• Reapply repellent as the label directs.

Ticks can’t jump or fly. They wait on leaf litter or the tips of grasses and shrubs and crawl onto people or animals that brush past, which is why staying on cleared paths helps.

After You Come Indoors

• Check your clothing for ticks. Tumble dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing. Damp clothes may need more time. If clothes need washing first, use hot water; cold and medium-temperature water won’t kill ticks.
• Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on coats, daypacks, and pets, then attach to a person later.
• Shower within two hours of coming indoors. The CDC says this has been shown to reduce your risk of getting Lyme disease.
• Do a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror. Check under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs, and around the waist.

For a step-by-step routine and how to spot tiny nymphs, see our guide to tick checks.

Around Your Home

Many people who develop Lyme disease are exposed to infected ticks in their own yards or neighborhoods. The CDC recommends making your yard less hospitable to ticks:

• Remove leaf litter and clear tall grass and brush.
• Mow often, and trim trees and shrubs to let in sunlight.
• Place a 3-foot-wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas.
• Keep play equipment, decks, and patios away from grassy, brushy, or wooded areas.

Our guide on how to reduce ticks in your yard covers tick-safe landscaping and what tick tubes and yard sprays can and can’t do.

Protect Your Pets

Dogs are very susceptible to tick bites and some tickborne diseases, and they can bring ticks into your home. Talk to your veterinarian about the best tick prevention products for your pet, and check your pets for ticks daily.

Printable Checklist

If You Find a Tick

Remove an attached tick as soon as possible. In most cases, a tick must be attached for more than 24 hours to spread Lyme disease, so prompt removal greatly reduces your risk.

Our guide on what to do after a tick bite explains how to remove a tick, which symptoms to watch for, and when to see a doctor. If you develop a rash, fever, exhaustion, or joint and muscle aches within several weeks of a tick bite or time in tick habitat, see your healthcare provider and mention the bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best way to prevent tick bites?

Use several layers together: an EPA-registered repellent, permethrin-treated clothing, avoiding tick habitat, a shower after coming indoors, and a daily full-body tick check.

Do I need to worry about ticks in winter?

Tick exposure can happen year-round, although ticks are most active from April through September. Use precautions whenever you’re in tick habitat.

Can I get Lyme disease more than once?

Yes. You can get Lyme disease again if you’re bitten by another infected tick, so keep protecting yourself even after you’ve had it.

The Takeaway

Preventing tick bites is the best protection against Lyme disease, and it takes only a few minutes per outing.

Before you go out, use repellent and wear treated, covering clothing. While you’re out, stay away from brush and leaf litter. When you get home, dry your clothes on high heat, shower, and check your whole body, your children, and your pets.

Make your yard less tick-friendly, and remove any attached tick promptly.