As if we didn’t have enough to worry about this summer, with delayed flights and cancelled flights and lost baggage plus long lines to get into national parks, if you are headed into a wooded area, or even across a grassy lawn, here’s how to stay safe from ticks and bites which can cause debilitating Lyme Disease.
This ailment can result in years of debilitating nerve pain and physical exhaustion, both of which even celebrities like Justin Timberlake says he has been suffering.
Transmitted from the bite of an infected tick, the first sign is often flu-like symptoms like headaches, joint pain, fatigue.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, it often diagnosed by a rash resembling a bullseye around on the tick bite.
Later symptoms can include facial paralysis, brain fog, numbness, swollen joints, and nerve damage.
These tips for protection against Lyme disease and other tick-borne ailments are from the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention).
Consider Insect Repellent Clothing
Ticks will attach anywhere on your shoes or clothing and then crawl onto your skin.
Consider insect repellent clothing to keep ticks from latching on and crawling up. Brands and stores which offer insect-repellant clothing include:
- Ex Officio
- REI
- LL Bean
- Insect Shield
Top advantages of insect repellent clothing:
- Long-lasting and invisible
- Don’t have to reapply it every time you step outside
- Effective
- Odorless
Even if you don’t buy an entire treated wardrobe, at least consider protective socks, since ticks are normally close to the ground, where your feet and your socks are.
Be sure to tuck your shirt into your pants and your pants into your socks, to make it tougher for the little beasts to find skin.
Use a Spray Tick Repellent
When clothes are treated with tick repellent, ticks may grab on, but after a few seconds of exposure, they generally fall off.
Use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone.
EPA’s helpful search tool can help you find the product that best suits your needs.
Always follow product instructions.
Do not use products containing OLE or PMD on children under 3 years old.
When clothes are treated with permethrin, ticks may grab on, but after a few seconds of exposure, they will generally fall off.
See Also
How to Avoid Bedbugs on Vacation
Walk Down the Center of the Trail
Ticks don’t fly very far, so they are usually more abundant on the edges of trails, so walking down the center can help you avoid ticks that are waiting to jump onto the nearest host.
Know that the simple and courteous act of stepping off the trail to let someone pass can increase your risk of a tick encounter.
Do a Thorough Tick Check
It’s important to do a thorough tick check on yourself, your kids, and your pets after being in a tick habitat, especially in areas where your clothing binds against your skin, such as your underarms.
Perform tick checks from the ground up. Here’s where to check for ticks:
- Between toes
- Behind knees
- In the groin area
- Around waistline
- In the belly button
- Inside elbow joints and armpits
- In and around the ear
- Around the hairline
- On the scalp
Remove your clothes after being in a tick habitat and put them in the dryer
Ten minutes of high heat will kill off any ticks stuck on your clothing.
It’s a simple trick that can help remove ticks that may be hiding.
There’s also a website, ticksafety.com, to check for additional information.
And these additional tips from the New York State Dept. of Health.
This article was published originally in 2023 and has been updated for 2026.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter is a journalist with 20+ years of experience as a newspaper and magazine writer, radio & TV news producer & reporter, and author of guidebooks and smartphone apps – all focusing on travel, automotive, the environment and your rights as a consumer.
ecoXplorer Evelyn Kanter currently serves as President Emeritus of the International Motor Press Assn. (IMPA).
Contact me at evelyn@ecoxplorer.com.
Copyright (C) Evelyn Kanter
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