How to prevent tick bites?

How to prevent tick bites?

Preventing tick bites requires a three-pronged approach: outdoor activity protection, post-return checks, and yard management. Tick-borne diseases are serious, so prevention is critical.

Outdoor activity protection

1. Wear long sleeves and pants, tuck pants into socks to minimize exposed skin. Light-colored clothing makes ticks easier to spot.
2. Use repellents, apply DEET-based repellents to pants and socks; ticks are sensitive to these.
3. Avoid sitting or lying on grass, do not sit, lie, or roll directly on the grass. Use a groundsheet or blanket for picnics.
4. Stay on trails, when in parks or forests, walk in the center of trails and avoid brushing against tall grass on the sides.

Post-return checks

5. Full body check, thoroughly inspect your entire body, focusing on: armpits, waist, navel, groin, back of knees, ankles, scalp, and behind ears. Ticks prefer thin, moist skin folds.
6. Clothing treatment, shake outdoor clothing before bringing it in, or tumble dry on high heat for 20 minutes; ticks dehydrate and die at high temperatures.
7. Pet checks, if pets have been outdoors, carefully check their ears, armpits, groin, and other areas.

Yard environmental management

4. Mow the lawn regularly to keep grass below 5 cm.
5. Remove leaf litter and weeds around the yard edges.
6. Create a barrier of wood chips or gravel between the lawn and wooded areas.
7. Spray the perimeter of the yard with permethrin-containing household insecticide for residual protection.