1. Cover up.
Wear long pants tucked into your socks and long-sleeved shirts tucked into your pants when in areas where there may be ticks, and check your clothing and your exposed body parts for ticks frequently.
2. Use proper tick repellent.
Apply a Picaridin-based tick repellant every few hours to your shoes and clothing. “Natural” tick repellents have not been proven effective.
3. Kill them with heat.
When you come in from outside, undress and put them straight in the dryer. While hot water will not kill ticks, five minutes on high in the dryer will. If you have dirt or stains on your clothes, you can wash them first, but switch them directly to the dryer right after. Don’t put your clothing in the hamper or line dry your clothing.
4. Tick check!
Make thorough full-body tick checks a part of your night time routine, like brushing and flossing your teeth. A thorough tick check means checking everywhere, especially the warm dark areas where they like to hide. If you do find a tick, remove it promptly by following these recommendations from the Center for Disease Control.
5. Pet check!
If you have outdoor pets that come into your house, regardless of whether they wear tick collars or take tick medicine, check them and their bedding areas for ticks every day. Studies consistently find that pet owners have elevated risks of encountering ticks inside their house and being diagnosed with a tick-borne disease.
Download our Family-Friendly Tick Safety Guide
