Tick season isn’t what it used to be.
It used to run April to September. Now? It never really ends.
Mild winters change the math. Ticks don’t care about your calendar.
“Ticks can actually be active in any temperature above freezing,” says Dr. Stephane Lareau from Virginia Tech Carilion. Erin Dawicki, who runs LymeAlert, agrees. “There is no longer a firm end.”
If you go outside, you need a strategy. Bites bring more than just an itch. Lyme disease is obvious enough, but Alpha-gal syndrome – a meat allergy triggered by ticks – is rising.
Here is how experts stay safe. And what they hate seeing people do.
Cover Up, Or Else
Shorts look nice. Tank tops breathe. They’re also terrible defenses.
Dr. Amanda Roome of Binghamton University suggests covering everything. Long pants. Long sleeves. Less skin means fewer places for a tick to land.
Erin Dawicki adds one more rule.
Tuck your pants into your socks.
It’s weird. It works.
Wear light colors too. You’ll actually see the black dots crawling on you if your clothes aren’t dark enough to hide them.
Stay on The Path
Ticks like tall grass. They like brush. They hang out in the shadows of wooded areas.
Dr. Lareau says staying on the main trail reduces risk.
But don’t get complacent. Ticks are everywhere.
Your dog might be walking it over to your lap, too. Make sure your pets are on preventative meds. A tick on your pet is a tick on you. Eventually.
Check Constantly
People wait. They hike for hours and only check for ticks when they get home.
That’s the mistake.
Dr. Roome says to scan while you’re out there. Find them before they latch on.
When you do get home? Check again immediately. The less time a tick spends attached, the less chance you have of catching anything.
Look everywhere. Under your arms. Around your ears. Inside your belly button. In your hair. The CDC list is long for a reason. Use a mirror if you have to. Check your kids too.
Get That Outside Clothes Off
Don’t just hang out in your hiking gear.
If you sit on your couch wearing the same pants you walked through the brush in, you’re inviting the ticks inside.
Dr. Roome says ticks crawl around for a bit. They’re hunting. Change clothes when you’re back in civilization. It breaks their path to you.
The Dryer Trick
Did you take off your boots and socks?
Do not put them in the laundry hamper.
Ticks survive in baskets for a while.
Put your outdoor gear in the dryer. High heat. At least ten minutes.
“It’s an effective method of killing ticks,” Erin Dawicki notes. “Ticks are sensitive to being dried out.”
Dry is the enemy.
Shower Early
Undressing isn’t enough. Shower.
This washes off the unattached ticks. It gives you light and privacy for a thorough check. Dr. Lareau calls it the “perfect opportunity” – which is code for: just do it.
Pull It Out. Properly.
If you find one attached?
Don’t burn it.
Don’t paint it with nail polish. Don’t suffocate it with petroleum jelly.
That stuff is old wives’ tales, and Dr. Roome says it might make the tick vomit up bacteria into you. Bad move.
Use fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the head – near the skin, not the belly – and pull straight up. Slowly. Steadily.
Then wash your hands and the bite spot.
Spray Something
Bug spray works. The CDC lists a few ingredients that actually cut it:
- DEET
- Picaridin
- Oil of lemon eucalyptus
- Para-menthane-diol
- 2-Undecanone
There’s also Permethrin. But keep this away from your skin.
Spray your clothes. Or your boots. A 2011 study in the Journal of Medical Entomology found people who sprayed their footwear with Permethrin were 74 times less likely* to get bit.
74 times. Do the math.
Know The Symptoms
Wait too long? You pay for it.
Erin Dawicki stresses that early detection matters for Lyme disease. Symptoms pop up between day 1 and day 28.
- Bull’s-eye rash
- Fever
- Headache
- Stiff neck
- Fatigue
- Swollen lymph nodes
Then there’s Alpha-gal. This usually comes from a Lone Star tick. It’s not immediate. You eat red meat two to six hours later, and your body freaks out.
Hives. Itching. Swelling of the throat. Trouble breathing.
Go to a doctor. Don’t Google it and wait.
Ticks aren’t going anywhere. Winter might be milder this year. That means you should treat October the same way you treated June.
Wear long pants. Tuck them in. Dry your socks.
Check your legs.
Maybe ask yourself – why wait for a bite to change how you hike?
Note: The article sources cite dates in 2024-2026, reflecting forward-dated or current projections used by the original publication.
