Ticked Off! A 12-Step Tick-Bite Prevention Guide for Lyme Country
We all love the outdoors, but threat of ticks and Lyme Disease is real. Author Janet DeCesare shares her story and important tips to help you tick free.
Quick Reference
- Peak risk months: May, June, and July, when nymphal black-legged ticks feed. Adult activity spikes again October to November.
- The bite that matters: the black-legged (deer) tick, Ixodes scapularis in the East and Midwest, Ixodes pacificus on the West Coast.
- Fastest deterrent: 20 to 30 percent DEET on exposed skin plus permethrin-treated clothing; the CDC says this combination cuts tick attachment by more than 90 percent.
- The bulls-eye caveat: the classic erythema migrans rash appears in only 70 to 80 percent of Lyme cases. Absence of a rash does not rule out infection.
- The 24-hour rule: most tick-borne pathogens transmit after 24 to 36 hours of attachment; a same-day check-and-remove routine matters more than any spray.
- If you find one: save the tick in a sealed bag with a damp cotton ball and take it to your doctor or a state extension lab for identification.
Ticks are having a very good year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now counts roughly 476,000 Americans diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease annually, up sharply from a decade ago. Milder winters, expanding deer populations, and later first-frost dates all push the tick zone northward and westward each season. The steps below are the same routine our field editors and the extension entomologists we consult follow before, during, and after any walk through tall grass.
This post began as a guest column by Janet L. DeCesare, author of the book Ticked Off!. Her personal story sits at the end, in her own words, unedited. Around it we have added the 12 prevention steps she originally listed, cross-checked against CDC guidance and Cornell University’s Northeastern Integrated Pest Management Center tick fact sheets.
Planting Seeds of Knowledge for Lyme Disease Awareness
Ticks known to be infected with Lyme disease are becoming more prevalent in the United States, prompting officials to warn hunters and outdoor enthusiasts to keep their eyes open. Much of the US had an extremely mild winter, which means these little arachnids will be a problem for many.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by the bite of a tick. You become infected when you are bitten by a black-legged tick that happens to be carrying the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The ticks are popularly known as deer ticks, but the rodents in your fields, along with raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, and birds that roam your yard at night, are all potential carriers of black-legged ticks as well.
The following map shows the rampant increase of Lyme disease in the US:
Map courtesy of BestValueSchool.org.
A Few Tips on How to Prevent Contracting Lyme Disease
Every step below is preserved from the original prevention list, with a small note added where CDC guidance has shifted since 2012. Follow the routine, do not cherry-pick.
- 1. Avoid tick-infested areas, such as dense wooded areas, tall grasses, and woodpiles, especially in May, June, and July.
- 2. Wear long pants tucked inside your socks or boots and a long-sleeved shirt tucked inside your pants.
- 3. Wear white or lightly colored clothes so you can spot ticks easily against the fabric.
- 4. Use an insect repellent that contains DEET on your clothing, sparingly and with caution. The CDC now recommends 20 to 30 percent DEET on skin and permethrin-treated clothing for the strongest protection.
- 5. Keep areas around your home and garden clear of leaves, brush, and tall grass, and keep your lawn cut short.
- 6. Remove vegetation close to your home that may attract deer, and put up barriers to discourage deer from coming near.
- 7. Place bird feeders away from the house to keep the ticks the birds carry at a distance from the porch and doors.
- 8. If ticks are a problem on your property, you may consider having tick pesticides applied to your yard and surrounding areas by a licensed applicator.
- 9. If you are in a highly infected tick region, inspect yourself carefully and remove any ticks the moment you get inside.
- 10. After you have been outdoors, check yourself from head to toe: behind the ears, along the hairline, under the arms, under the breasts, and between the thighs. Ticks go where it is warm and moist.
- 11. If a tick bites you, save the tick in a sealed plastic bag with a damp cotton ball and bring it to your doctor or a state extension lab for analysis.
- 12. If you think you may have Lyme disease, look for telltale signs. In some cases this is a bull’s-eye rash. Not everyone gets a rash, so see your doctor fast if you have flu-like symptoms after a bite.
How To Remove A Tick, Step By Step
If you find a tick attached, remove it correctly. The CDC tick removal instructions are specific:
- Use fine-tipped tweezers, not fingers.
- Grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible.
- Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist or jerk the tick.
- Clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
- Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet. Never crush a tick with your fingers.
Old folk methods (nail polish, petroleum jelly, a hot match) can make the tick regurgitate saliva into the wound and increase the risk of infection. Skip them.
Where Lyme Actually Hits Hardest In North America
Roughly 95 percent of confirmed US Lyme cases come from 15 states. The CDC state-by-state Lyme surveillance table lists the current top zones:
- Northeast and Mid-Atlantic: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia. Highest incidence per 100,000 residents.
- Upper Midwest: Minnesota, Wisconsin, and expanding into Iowa and eastern Dakotas as winters warm.
- Pacific Coast: lower total case counts, but Ixodes pacificus is established in coastal California, Oregon, and Washington, with a genuine northern-coast risk pocket in Humboldt and Mendocino counties.
- South and Southwest: lone star tick, not the black-legged tick, is the dominant vector; different bacterial risks, same head-to-toe check-in routine.
- Canada: Public Health Agency of Canada now lists parts of Nova Scotia, southern Quebec, southeastern Ontario, and southern Manitoba as endemic for Lyme.
Yard Habits That Actually Reduce Tick Load
Cornell’s New York State Integrated Pest Management team publishes a homeowner tick-checklist that pairs well with the classic Almanac best-day-to-mow advice: cut short, cut on a dry day, cut regularly.
- Mow the lawn once a week during peak tick months. Ticks quest on grass blades above 4 inches.
- Rake leaf litter and clear brush along the yard/woods boundary.
- Create a 3-foot-wide wood-chip or gravel barrier between lawn and woods to interrupt tick travel.
- Stack firewood neatly in a dry, sunny spot. Chipmunks nest in damp woodpiles.
- Move play equipment away from the wooded edge and keep it in full sun.
A Personal Reflection from Janet Lee DeCesare
My wish for all of you is to enjoy the outdoors, because it is a beautiful world we live in. But be cautious with it. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to share with you my journey. No matter what detours may enter your life, how you choose to look at them can either strengthen you or deplete your energy and recovery efforts. I choose to think positively and I have grown into a much stronger woman because of it.
I know all too well what having Lyme disease is like to live with. I contracted Lyme in 1995, along with a co-infection called Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I was compelled to write a book about my own personal journey and prayed that the struggles I encountered will inspire other Lyme disease victims and their caregivers.
In the process of dealing with this disease, I became very ill, which led me to write in a journal what I was experiencing. Throughout those treacherous years of suffering with a mystery disease that no one understood or had even heard of, I knew I was in for a battle for survival. It is so important to me to share this information with you because I was not prepared for what I had to deal with. Through understanding and finding doctors who know what Lyme disease is, I am finally accepting my journey and getting on with life. Over time, I have learned that, as my doctor said so eloquently, ‘Lyme disease does not have Janet; she has it.’
Janet Lee DeCesare is determined to research Lyme disease and work to find a cure. Janet also loves to write, read, crochet, do crafts with her granddaughter, spend time with her family, and sail with her husband. Her goal is to reach out to others who may have Lyme disease and are unaware of it, and to offer hope and inspiration.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are ticks most active in the United States?
Nymphal black-legged ticks feed most heavily in May, June, and July, and adults spike again in October and November. Warm winters extend both windows. In parts of the Southeast, tick activity now runs nearly year-round.
Do all tick bites cause Lyme disease?
No. Only ticks carrying Borrelia burgdorferi transmit Lyme, and even an infected tick usually needs 24 to 36 hours of attachment to transmit the bacterium. Prompt removal is your strongest single tool.
Does everyone with Lyme get a bull’s-eye rash?
No. The erythema migrans rash appears in roughly 70 to 80 percent of confirmed Lyme cases. Absence of a rash does not rule out infection. Flu-like symptoms 3 to 30 days after a tick bite warrant a doctor’s visit.
What is the safest way to remove a tick?
Use fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible, and pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist. Clean the bite area with rubbing alcohol. Never use nail polish, petroleum jelly, or a hot match.
Is DEET safe to use on kids?
The CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics both approve 10 to 30 percent DEET on children older than 2 months. Apply once per day, avoid hands and around the eyes, and wash it off when the child comes indoors.
Do essential oils actually repel ticks?
Some (cedarwood oil, geraniol) show modest repellency in lab studies, but effect times are short compared with DEET or picaridin. Use them as a supplement, not the primary line of defense.
What should I do with a tick I pulled off?
Save it in a sealed plastic bag with a damp cotton ball. Your doctor or your state extension lab can identify the species and, in some states, test the tick for Lyme and other pathogens.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at questions@farmersalmananac.com.
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
A few years ago here it was fleas. We were badly infested and it took a long while to get them under control. I couldn’t have guests because the fleas would attack them! Several times on of my neighbors saw a freckle on my leg, (same one each time), and yelled at me for bringing fleas into her home.
I contracted Lyme in June of 2016. I spent a week in the hospital, where I underwent numerous tests including a very painful spinal tap. The doctors were ready to put me in the psych ward because I was raving. They didn’t because my doctor told them I wasn’t crazy and they shouldn’t put me there. I have tested positive for Lyme five times in recent years and have only been sick once. I believe I had Lyme at least twice before this. The doctors I went to had no idea what I had and one of them took one look at me and diagnosed me with the flu, which I definitely did not have. No one tested me for Lyme then. It is only my guess that it was Lyme based in how I felt then and how I felt in 2016.
Be careful out there! Ticks are everywhere and Lyme is the new epidemic! If you have pets be sure they are treated and remember that they can carry ticks into your home. I check my cats and destroy any ticks I find.
Lyme disease and Rocky Mt. Spotted Fever are not the only diseases ticks carry. They also carry Ehrlichiosis- Definition:Ehrlichiae are transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected tick. The lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) is the primary vector of both Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii in the United States.
If a tick carrying the bacterium that causes ehrlichiosis has been feeding on you for at least 24 hours, the following flu-like signs and symptoms may appear — usually within seven to 14 days of the bite:
Mild fever
Headache
Chills
Muscle aches
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Fatigue
Loss of appetite
Joint pain
Confusion
Rash
Cough
Some people infected with ehrlichiosis may have symptoms so mild that they never seek medical attention, and the body fights off the illness on its own. But untreated ehrlichiosis with persistent symptoms can result in an illness serious enough to require hospitalization.
This happen to me in 2012 and was put in the hospital for 3 days in a regular room, but the day I was to go home, I crashed and was put in ICU for an additional 2 days. Total days after coming out of ICU was 7 days. I still suffer with headaches and I am very sensitive to light. I have to wear dark sunglasses to be able to go out and enjoy the outdoors, even on cloudy days.
Please be careful everyone. Ticks are nothing to play around with. The are horrible bugs.
There is also evidence that lymes disease could possibly be transmitted through bodily fluid, another reason to practice safe sex.
Yep I got Lyme 2x from husband, never was bit but pulled the 2 off of him.
This is a rising epidemic and I see this in quite a few of my patients. Be very careful when outdoors and follow the advice in the article.
Ticks are not insects, they don’t fly or jump, they are arachnids like spiders, scorpions and mites they smell your Carbon Dioxide and latch on to your clothing , Deet is harmful to you, but Lavender essential Oil is not, it may not kill the tick, but it also will not latch on to you either, they don’t like the smell, so they will quickly depart.