How Tick Experts Protect Themselves Against Ticks

WebMD

19 hours ago

June 27, 2025 — Growing up in the rural Midwest, I had a tick routine after walking in the woods: Shower, scrub my scalp, and feel for ticks. Pluck any I found — a regular occurrence — with tweezers. No problem and no symptoms.
But how do tick experts — people who know where ticks are and how they spread, and employ the latest strategies — handle this growing scourge?
After all, ticks are everywhere. In certain regions, if you're bitten by a tick, there's a good chance it's carrying Lyme. A Dartmouth study found that half of black-legged ticks and a quarter of nymphal black-legged ticks in the Northeast tested positive for the disease over three decades of data.
Other tickborne diseases throughout the country include anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularemia. And while vaccines to prevent Lyme and other tickborne diseases are on the horizon, they're not available yet, so bite prevention is key.
Turns out much of the advice today is the same as when I was a kid in the '90s, but these days technology offers some upgrades. Here's what tick experts do.
Tick Expert Panel
1. They wear pretreated clothing and accessories.
Wearing clothes treated with permethrin (an insecticide that also repels insects) is one of the best ways to protect yourself from ticks and mosquitoes — much more effective than simply wearing long sleeves and pants. Mather did a study of outdoor workers and found that treated clothes reduced tick bites by 65%.
L.L. Bean has a whole line of insect-repellent clothing, and brands like Shoo For Good, Craghoppers, and Insect Shield all offer permethrin-treated pieces. Permethrin-infused accessories like tick gaiters are also growing in popularity.
Treated clothes are a great option for those who can't do proper tick checks because of vision or mobility limitations. Use them for everyday activities like dog-walking, Mather said — don't save them for hiking trips. 'When people have a technology like that, they think it's for a special occasion. Then it actually doesn't get used when it's best to be used.'
2. They re-treat their clothes at least once a year.
In the study's second year, participants had 50% fewer tick bites — a drop from the first year, which is why Mather says to re-treat clothes annually. You can use an at-home spray (like Sawyer Permethrin Fabric Treatment), or ship your items to a company like Insect Shield, which will treat them for you.
3. They check the EPA's online search tool to find repellent spray.
This tool lets you filter products by active ingredient, protection time, and target pest. Look for options with at least 30% DEET, 20% picaridin, or 20% IR3535 — all proven to repel ticks. Oil of lemon eucalyptus (30%) is also effective but needs to be reapplied more often, is toxic to cats, and is not recommended for children under 3. Spray any exposed skin. If you're sweating a lot, you'll likely need to reapply more often than the label says, said Haines and Davis.
4. They go for clothing hacks.
In tick-heavy areas, pull long socks over your pant legs, Swiger said. 'If you plan to be out for a long time, putting tape around the tops of your socks is recommended. The tape is wrapped so the sticky part is facing out and will collect any ticks crawling up the shoes and pant legs.'
Choose light-colored clothes to help you 'find the ticks faster and prevent them from accessing your skin,' said Swiger. And don't wait until you're home to do a scan — if you drove to the trail, check before getting back in the car.
5. They use online tick tracking systems.
Of course there are AI-powered apps for identifying ticks, but Mather said they're not reliable yet. One resource you can rely on is TickSpotters, a crowd-sourced service that Mather manages through TickEncounter (and which Haines and Davis recommend). Anyone can submit a photo of a tick on their body or recently removed (take the shot from above — the top of the insect makes it easier to identify), along with information about how long they think it was attached, for Mather or a colleague to identify. Within roughly 24 hours, you'll receive an email that lets you know if you indeed were bitten by a tick, what kind of tick it is, and what stage of life it was in (all factors that affect disease transmission risk).
Swiger, Haines, and Davis also use the CDC's map of the historical number of Lyme disease cases per state. It could help you avoid areas that are the most tick-infested or take extra precaution where your risk is high.
6. They don't rely on doctors.
Many medical doctors won't be able to identify all ticks and their life stages, so consulting with an entomologist or acarologist through a program like TickSpotters is extremely useful. The information you get can change treatment plans. For example, doxycycline can be used to reduce the risk of Lyme after a tick bite, but if you know the tick that bit you isn't a carrier of Lyme, you can skip this treatment.
You can also use apps like The Tick App to report your experiences with ticks. Researchers use this info to monitor tick populations and disease risk in various places.
7. They keep their property neat and protected.
Mather sprays the wooded edges of his property with synthetic pyrethroid once a year. He also recommends tick tubes (he invented them!). These are biodegradable tubes filled with permethrin-treated cotton, which mice use for their nests, making them less likely to carry ticks. These work best around properties where many mice are present and won't work with all tick-carrying animals, Mather said.
Keeping your lawn well-groomed helps keep ticks away. These insects seem to prefer the protection, moisture, and complexity of tall grass and some non-grass lawns, Mather said.
Keep grass short, rake up leaf litter (especially oak leaves), and trim overgrown vegetation in the spring and autumn. A robotic lawn mower — like a Roomba for your yard — can reduce tick habitats around your home even when you're away on vacation. Adding a wood chip or gravel border between your yard and wooded areas, and fencing your yard to keep out deer (a common tick host) are also good ideas, said Haines and Davis.
8. They use a special tool to remove ticks.
Mather recommends a tick remover, which lays flat against the skin and can be easier to use than standard tweezers. 'The most important thing to remember is that the tick should be pulled straight up out of the skin,' said Swiger. Don't twist the tick; you'll pull it apart and leave the mouth attached.
But if you don't get it all out, don't panic. Mather said if a tiny bit of the tick's mouth is left behind, it doesn't change your risk of infection and your body will naturally expel it. But picking at it could make infection risk worse. He recommends wiping the area with an alcohol pad after removal and keeping the tick in a bag in the freezer for identification and potential disease testing. Check your state health department to see if it offers free testing, said Swiger.