Check for ticks
After time in grass or woods, check your whole body, shower within two hours and dry your clothes on high heat.
- How often
- As needed
- Time
- 5 min
- Recommended for
- 39 factors
How to do it
- Before you go out, treat boots, clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin, or buy pre-treated clothing.
- When you come in, check your whole body with a mirror, including under your arms, in and around your ears, inside your belly button, behind your knees, in your hair, between your legs and around your waist.
- Shower within two hours of coming indoors.
- Tumble dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks. If they need washing first, use hot water.
- Check children and pets too.
Why it helps
Ticks can spread Lyme disease and other infections, and they are small enough to miss. Showering within two hours of coming indoors has been shown to lower the risk of Lyme disease, and it is a good time to look for ticks that haven't attached yet.
Be careful
If you get sick in the weeks after time outdoors or a tick bite, see a doctor and mention the possible tick exposure. Permethrin goes on clothing and gear only, never on skin. Let it dry fully. Wet permethrin is highly toxic to cats.
Recommended for
Alabama
Long, humid summers, strong sun, and ticks most of the year.
placeArkansas
Tick country with humid summers and a strong southern sun.
hobbyBirdwatching and photography
Long walks outdoors with binoculars or a heavy camera around your neck.
placeColorado
Thin air, stronger sun, high-radon soil and summer smoke.
placeConnecticut
The town Lyme disease is named for, plus short winter days.
placeDelaware
A high-Lyme state with humid summers on the coast.
placeDistrict of Columbia
Urban heat, summer ozone and ticks even inside the city.
occupationFarmer
Dawn-to-dusk physical work outdoors, around machines and animals.
hobbyGardening
Kneeling, digging, lifting and pulling weeds for hours in the sun.
placeGeorgia
Humid heat, strong sun, southern ticks and radon around Atlanta.
hobbyHiking
Miles of uneven ground, steep descents and long days outdoors.
hobbyHunting
Gunfire, tree stands, cold dawns and heavy hauls out of the woods.
placeIdaho
Mountain radon, smoky summers, cold winters and weak winter sun.
placeIndiana
High-radon soil, gray winters, humid summers and a lot of private wells.
placeKansas
High-radon soil, hard summer heat and ticks in the grass.
placeKentucky
Alpha-gal tick country with radon pockets and muggy summers.
occupationLandscaper
Mowing, digging and lifting outdoors in every kind of weather.
placeMaine
One of the highest Lyme rates in the US, plus radon and arsenic in wells.
placeMaryland
High-Lyme suburbs, radon in the central counties and humid summers.
placeMassachusetts
Lyme country, cold winters and the original vitamin D winter study.
placeMichigan
Long gray winters, lake-effect cold and arsenic in some wells.
placeMinnesota
Deep cold, dark winters, high radon, Lyme ticks and arsenic in wells.
placeMississippi
Long, humid summers, southern ticks and a strong Gulf sun.
placeMissouri
Tick hot spot of the Midwest, with hot summers and radon near Kansas City.
placeMontana
High-radon ground, smoky summers, bitter winters and a short winter sun.
hobbyMountain biking
Rough trails, steep drops and a lot of jolting through your arms.
placeNew Hampshire
Granite bedrock, tick-filled woods, and long, dark winters.
placeNew Jersey
Lyme ticks in the suburbs and radon in the northwestern hills.
placeNew York
Lyme country upstate and on Long Island, with long, gray winters.
placeNorth Carolina
Humid summers, spotted fever ticks, and radon in the mountains.
placeOklahoma
Long hot summers and ticks that can spread spotted fever and alpha-gal.
placePennsylvania
Most counties in EPA's top radon zone, and plenty of Lyme ticks.
placeRhode Island
Small state, big Lyme numbers, and radon in the south.
placeSouth Carolina
Steamy summers, strong southern sun, and lone star ticks.
placeTennessee
Spotted fever ticks, humid heat, and radon in Middle and East Tennessee.
placeVermont
Lyme ticks in green summers, little sun and deep cold in winter.
placeVirginia
Where Lyme ticks and lone star ticks overlap, plus radon in the west.
placeWest Virginia
Lyme ticks moving in, and radon in the eastern hills.
placeWisconsin
Lyme ticks in every county, nitrate in some wells, and long dark winters.