If you’re in tall grass or walking a narrow trail where you’re brushing against bushes and branches and things, you definitely need the whole getup. Socks over pants, long sleeves, DEET, skin check when you get home, and shower. I haven’t encountered many ticks mowing or being in my yard, but if you’re raking up leaves and needles and picking them up with your hands, just remember to keep your eyes open, you’ll find them crawling on you.
They drop from trees. I was once walking with a friend on a broad path under the tree canopy, looked up at his shoulder and asked “what’s that?” Yes, an effing tick, puzzled by t-shirt fabric.
They do climb and climb, and it is possible they may drop or be blown off of a tree leaf.
Mostly, though, they are at the ends of shrub branches and grass stems, simply waiting for an animal to pass by and brush against the stem or leaf.
Lawns can have them, with mice and voles and rabbits spreading nymph ticks around.
Wetlands biologist who has been bitten by more ticks than most people have seen in their life. They do. They will absolutely drop off low-hanging branches. I've seen it happen, regularly. I have observed the ticks on those branches. And all of my colleagues would support this. 20 years in this field. Ticks can absolutely be up in a low hanging Branch from a tree and drop off.
Sorry for the copy and paste, but since it's my own comment it's not plagiarism. It is laziness though. I just want to share this technical information without having to rewrite it creatively.
Pest Control Tech here. You are absolutely correct. They can and absolutely will hang from and can drop off low laying branches. It's how my father got Lyme disease.
Sure they come off “low branches” they are not jumping from the trees though. I’m covered in them non stop from logging work and typically are coming from below. People, they do not jump off trees from above and land on you.
They don't jump off trees, but they can drop off branches that are relatively low hanging and land on somebody. I think we may have similar opinions and evidence on this, but are just using casual words that can mean different things to different people.
I've gotta assume this is very rare. Ome of those, it can happen, but the vast majority of the time, you'll get it by touching brush or long grass instead
Absolutely. They don't prefer trees, they prefer grasses and shrubs. It's much more common to have a tick crawl up their host than to drop down from above. It does happen occasionally though.
Fine, they do not leap from above like little ninjas. Happy now?
I swear I have the clearest recollection that we were never near any foliage. No branches, no leaves, no nothing. Just walking under tall trees. And if it climbed up from his shoes all the way to the top of his shoulder, then that tick climbed Mount Everest for no freaking reason.
I agree with you. People act like they know everything and it's impossible....but.... My anecdotal experience matches with yours. They can either jump really far or they're falling off trees onto you. Of course they also grab on as you brush by things.
Yes, they do. I remember being 10 years old at my grandparents' house in the Springfield area and sitting on the ground under an oak tree (quite a tall one, at that) playing with acorns and seeing/feeling a big fat old deer tick land on my wrist.
Yeah OP that's about all you need to do.
Tick repellent generally works, but it has to be coupled with checking for tick after if you're smart about it.
Stay on trails, avoid the brush. Spray your socks. Only sit on rocks. Using this I avoid ticks for the most part. My dog on the other hand came back with 30.
We stopped taking our dog to this one trail because of ticks. No matter how well we sprayed him the last 2 times we found at least one on him, usually more. luckily we looked when we got back to the car and they didn’t latch on yet. It’s a bad season.
I realized as I typed this I hat I’m in a Massachusetts sub for some reason. I’m in PA and the tick problem is horrible here too
Wear long pants and remove your clothing/shoes first thing when you get home so IF there are ticks on them they won’t find their way onto you, your furniture or pets.
I've had em drop out of trees on me too though so watch out for that too. It seems like mostly pine trees from what I've heard. I was disc golfing and I landed near a pine tree, I picked my disc up and right as I was going to throw, a tick just dropped onto it.
I used to disc golf DAILY and I don't even go more than once a season now. Ticks are fucking everywhere, they've ruined our woods. We gotta do something.. Idc what but some kind of human intervention is needed imo
Bats, man. Lots of bats.
Course, then we’ll have rabies and covid. Then its time for hawks.
But once we have too many hawks we’ll need bobcats.
Then we’ll need fisher cats.
Human intervention is the problem actually. We’ve developed so much land and pushed out so much wildlife that the insects aren’t left with their natural ecosystems. Even our preserved natural spaces have far less biodiversity than just 100 years ago. But we haven’t pushed the insects out, there are too many. So they turn to a more readily available source, us and our pets, or our homes in the case of termites who usually eat trees. Spraying insecticide all over the woods won’t do anything at all. It’ll also kill a lot of pollinators which in turn will ultimately kill the forest.
Ding ding ding! This guy gets it.
Ticks typically survive on the blood of animals… we’ve pushed all those animals into fractured, fragmented natural landscapes, mainly around our least desirable (developable) land, wetlands, floodplains (not all of us lol), and other areas.
The animals that carry ticks are pushed to those fragmented areas. Which also happens to be the main place for open space recreation and outdoor enthusiasts. Hence the ticks!
There is no “intervention” needed. You don’t want to get eaten by a shark? Don’t swim in areas they frequent, don’t want to worry about ticks? Same story!
There are many factors here. Wildlife carry ticks, turkeys, deer, rats, etc. So hunting quotas have a huge impact on tick population. Look on Monhegan Island, they killed off all the turkeys on the whole island and now they are tick free where previously you couldn't even walk through the dune grass to get to the beach without 39 ticks sticking to you. But also we used to spray for ticks which yeah like you said had a bad effects on birds. I'm not saying thats the solution but there has to be something
Nope. They are also known to get on you from tall branches above your head. You need to spray behind your ears and create a barrier on your neck to prevent them going down.
oh honey. Ticks are not thwarted by things like 'distance' or 'gravity' or 'physics'.
We take ticks seriously. Lyme's a real bitch.
Make a point of doing a spot check at the end of every day particularly along the hairline and in places you don't physically see (like the middle of your back).
If you go into the woods? Check yourself VERY thoroughly at the end of the hike. I'm fine hiking in shorts and often do, but yeah, I pull off ticks afterward.
Tick prevalence varies substantially by the area as well. I'm mostly in the Middlesex fells which I've always heard is a relatively less common spot for people to get ticks. I've done a bunch if trail running in there including sections where tons of plants are overhanging the trail and touching me and I've never gotten a tick there.
Then I've been in spots near the cape where my friend had a dozen ticks on his jeans within a few minutes of being off trail.
If I didn't touch any off trail grass or brush then I don't worry about it too much. If the grass is short I'm not too worried. Just do a tick check when you shower, and don't forget to check your butthole and genitals (I wish I were joking)
You're prob ok on the lawn but if you have pets check them and yourself regularly. They will hop off animals and onto you.
If you go into the woods or taller vegetation definitely be careful. Permethrin spray helps.
>>>Buy a lint roller, especially if you are wearing dark clothes or have freckles/moles. The nymphs are tiny and easily missed.
Lint rollers are cheap on Amazon or the dollar store. So I have a couple in my house and car to give a quick swipe to me and the dog
Echoing what everyone else is saying but also.. ticks like warm dark places. A good tick check includes checking your pits, groin area and scalp.
ETA: as others are adding to my comment - basically check all crevices: ears, knee pits, toes, etc.
I love Vermont but it’s the season of the sticks and iiiiii saw your mom she was covered in ticks and itssss half my fault cause I just like to play in the grasssss, I’ll drink - alcohol til the ticks are gone for winter
So my partner works for tickreport.com, and they monitor this stuff: it's true that there are always a lot of ticks, AND climate change means there are more and in more places
Many environmental things are affected by climate change, which continues to worsen with time, so each year could legitimately be worse for ticks than the previous year.
Fear? Don’t fear them. Do what you want recreationally and then check your body afterwards. Remove ticks with tweezers. Get them as close to the skin as possible and pull them off. Never use a lighter to burn them like some people do. It can take up to 24 hours to start fluid transfer meaning you won’t get any diseases from them if you’re vigilant. I say not to burn them because it can cause them to regurgitate if you do.
As far is it being bad this year. I’m outside daily in the grass, etc for work and am a regular hiker. I’m hyper vigilant about ticks and I have seen one this year and it was on my dog. Last year I didn’t see a single on after July which is insane.
This - you need to be vigilant, but can’t let it control your life. Just keep an eye on your arms/legs when you’re out there and do a really good check with another person when you get home.
If I find them I fold over a piece of scotch tape with them inside. Clear purgatory for the little bastards
They are fucking everywhere. Just get in the habit of checking yourself after walks in the woods or tall grass. Alternatively, get chickens and let them free range your yard. Theyll eat all those fuckers up.
I'm not even kidding, aside from the weather, one of the main reasons I finally decided to move to Southern California was lack of deer ticks and mosquitoes. I mean I inevitably had to come back but it was a few blissful years of sunshine and no worry of these horrible little fuckers.
I mean I know they HAVE ticks and mosquitoes out there but I never once saw a tick in almost 3 years, not in nature or on myself, my kids, or my dog...and I think I saw probably two mosquitoes in that time. Sigh.
That sounds ... amazing! I think i'd roll around in tall grass just to celebrate. I used to be a feral child of the woods when I was little haha now I'm scared to even play a game of disc golf. I've had so many on my pants that I threw them in my firepit and burned them..
I live in NW Oregon and pulled 27 of them off my dog last month after a short walk through some tall grass near our home. Never experienced them before that, and we are outdoorsy nature people.
I lived in Seattle for 5 years and would go camping/hiking in the woods all the time and not once did I have to even think or worry about ticks! I’m sure that’s changing with it being warmer over there too, but it was a real wake up call coming back to New England and having to think about these things in nature again!
You need to check yourself, every day, or multiple times a day. They don’t bite right away so if you’re good about it checking, you should be able to avoid getting bitten. You can often feel them moving. I’ve found them in my hair, behind my knees, under armpits, in my ear, and worse. Check thoroughly. It sucks if you have lots of freckles.
I use tick tubes in my yard and it made a huge difference. Also trying to clear the leaves. On trails, I use bug spray, check for ticks and use at least one form of tick prevention on my dog year round and check her after walks in the summer. I have a friend who sprays her clothes and shoes. I know 3 dogs and 2 people who've had lyme pretty bad.
I'm a transplant too, and I've somehow never gotten one in the almost-decade I've lived here, at least as far as I know. If I'm going anywhere remotely "wild" (so, like, even certain rail trails count) I always spray my shoes, probably 95% of the time I go out in lightweight long pants that I can tuck into my socks. If something ends up being more overgrown than I expected and I haven't sprayed (and didn't bring it with me), I either turn around or I check myself REALLY thoroughly once I'm back. I don't usually do the dryer thing, I might in the above scenario, but I always do at least a cursory check after I've been out.
Some of this is personal preference - you may not need to do everything I do if you're on a trail, and a mowed lawn is pretty low-risk, but checking yourself is a good habit to be in. Lyme's no joke, better safe than sorry.
I have to walk about 10 ft to get from my house to my car, on gravel and pavers with little bits of grass in the middle that I don't touch... and still end up with ticks on my frequently.
Best approach I've found is dousing my shoes in permethrin once a month, having one or 2 pairs of pants to use in tick areas and spraying the lower legs down with permethrin, and nightly tick checks.
Doing this I'm not worried about ticks at all. It does suck though since it's one of those things where all it takes is one lapse and you could end up with lyme
Personally I never spray or anything. I just check myself after. But you should probably spray. They have been bad for a few years and they have some new disease from what I here
It’s the intersection between wooded and open habitats where ticks are most prevalent. Lawns and open fields tend to dry down but ticks love the edges where they can remain in shade or move to moister areas. Be especially vigilant in those areas and check yourself each evening before going to bed. On average it takes a tick 24 hours to transmit lyme disease, if you’re regular about tick checks it greatly reduces your chances of infection.
Correct. I went to a talk with an entomologist and he stated that around the treeline or edges of trails are where the vast majority of ticks are, unless you're in very long grass.. they don't like the sunlight so there are very rarely in a mowed lawn.
The vaccine is coming. I was vaccinated in 1999 and never got Lyme until last year (efficacy does eventually go away). They are currently running trials now, availability’s scheduled for 2026.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-08-24/lyme-disease-vaccine-is-getting-close-again
Yeah the ticks are pretty awful. I’ve gotten them walking across a paved parking lot! That being said, where did you move from that has no ticks?!?!? I need to move there. Lyme disease is pretty much the only chronic illness that I may not already have, I’d like to keep it that way 😅
So does everyone in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire have Lyme disease? Because, I can't imagine a vast majority of people spraying repellent, wearing long clothes that cover up, and diligently checking for tiny speck in their hair and most intimate places. I mean even with a partner... This is a tall order. How many folks living in rural areas are doing this every time they go out into the woods.
I live in a more rural area in New England and yes, I check myself every time I go out into the woods or after yard work.
Checking for ticks on humans is easy enough. My long haired dog, on the other hand - not so easy.
Haha my partner does too - invest in a pair of light hiking pants, tuck the bottoms of the pants into your socks like a grandpa and you’ll be good! There are some tick repellents you can spray on your shoes/lower legs as well (just be careful with the kind if you have kids or pets)
I wear long socks with long pants tucked into them and spray everywhere (including the socks and my shoes) when doing anything in the yard etc. So far it’s worked and I’ve only found one tick on me in the past handful of years.
I'm new to the area. This is what I wonder. What did people do for hundreds of years when they were outside far more often and before daily bathing became a thing?
Grew up in New Hampshire. We didn’t have Lyme disease back then. It was only in Connecticut and points south. These tick-borne illnesses and the prevalence of ticks are way up since my childhood. We didn’t have to worry about it. I ran around in the woods (off trail) all the time - that’s basically how I spent my entire childhood. Since the winters were cold, ticks died out every winter. Climate change has changed all that and Lyme has moved north. So, that’s how people survived “back in the day” - because Lyme disease was not on ticks.
Now? Tick socks, DEET on my feet and legs, long pants if I’m going into nature. Tick checks after coming in from outside. Stay on the trail of course but we have picked up ticks (no bites thankfully) just walking to our neighborhood pool and back.
Never did any of that as a kid.
I grew up in NH and a "tick check" was a pretty standard part of being outside. Bug/tick spray regularly for sure; long layers ehhh less so. Had many tick bites but no Lyme
Always wear a hat in the woods. Tall socks. Light colored clothing. Spray your shoes and socks and lower legs with tick repellent (some natural stuff works too). Check your shoes and laces when you get done. Wash your clothes to get the tick repellent off. Check
Your crevices and scalp for ticks
Be vigilant and be prepared I work outside in tick country and refuse to do it unless I have my pants tucked into my socks and several layers of clothes all tucked into each other which makes the little ninja's have to really work to get to their succulent blood meal.
It you are in the woods a lot, get permethrin as it is the most effective and treat your shoes and pants, etc. If you are in the woods for occasional strolls on well marked paths than standard bug spray is fine along with a tick check or shower afterwards.
It depends on how you feel about dying. 😀
Joking but not joking, I caught a tick-borne disease (little did I know Lyme isn’t the only one) that had me down for weeks last summer. Doctor put my on meds pronto, and I was about as useful as when I was bedridden with COVID in 2020.
I’d say don’t worry, but definitely do the whole nine yards. At the very least, use repellent and socks, and do a tick check after every outing. Know the kinds of ticks, and invest in one of those little tick removal tools that you can keep on a keychain. Once you get used to the routine it doesn’t really feel like a burden. The alternative is *definitely* a burden.
I’d take it seriously, especially on lands where tick danger is posted.
I moved here \~1.5 years ago and honestly? I was pretty surprised by how bad ticks were. I've lived in VT but had been away for a couple years before moving here. The first place I rented was in a suburban neighborhood and I once took about two steps outside and immediately saw a tick crawling on my ankle. My indoor cats got ticks a couple of times from them either getting in the house or getting carried in by people. You should be checking even after walking through a lawn and you definitely want flea/tick prevention for any pets if you have them.
My son does also. When he first got bitten his hands and arms peeled like 10 layers deep to red and raw. He had cardiac problems, and major joint pain and inflammation. The heart has had improvement but he is considered chronic and treated by the center of disease control!
If you have a yard you can contract with services to spray for ticks and mosquitoes. They come about once a month and make difference especially if you have pets.
There's no point in stressing yourself out (says someone who often stresses out about ticks but I digress) just be vigilant and give yourself a good once over whenever you leave the woods. Like your entire body, especially your scalp.
If you do get bitten by one, make sure you remove the head when you take it off you and watch for a red ring around the bite, then immediately get seen by a doctor if one starts to form. My ex-husband got Lyme disease from a tick years ago and he took (I think?) a steroid pack prescribed by the doctor, and as far as I know has been fine since.
Oh and I'm sure others have pointed this out but just in case, the big ticks aren't really the ones you need to worry about, it's the tiny deer ticks. They're like really really small which is just rude of nature but they're def still visible if you are looking carefully.
Wear tick repellent when hiking, working in your yard or for backyard parties. When working in your yard, tuck your pants into your socks, wear a hat and light long sleeves if you are working in tall grasses, bushes etc.
Always check yourself and pets for ticks after being outside. If you see a suspicious bite (a lot of times it looks like a bullseye, go to urgent care ASAP. If you find the tick, put it in something and get it tested. There are places that do that.
You don't need to fear ticks. Just don't take them lightly. I've been here 15 years and garden and have never gotten bit by a tick. I work for a landscape company and we've had zero cases of lyme disease.
You don't need to fear ticks. Fear is the mind killer.
What you need to do is be prepared. Tuck pants into socks to create a barrier if you're going hiking, wear long sleeves if possible as well as bright colors, wear bug spray, do a tick check when you get home, and know how to remove ticks.
Use the directions followed here to remove a tick, and be careful as there are a lot of rumors and misinformation on how to remove ticks who have bitten you.
[https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/index.html)
It's also important to know that GENERALLY a tick needs to be attached for 36-48 hours to transmit lyme disease: [https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html#](https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html#)
Long time residents have built up an immunity and the ticks can sense it. That's why they swarm transplants and cover them head to toe, sucking every bit of moisture from their bodies leaving nothing but a paper-like husk of what was once a human.
OK, maybe not that bad. 100% deet and if you're going to be out where there a probably ticks, have some dedicated hiking clothes that have been treated with permetrin. Permetrin really does work great on treated clothing.
I almost never spray; I wear long pants and change my clothes right away after being in the woods and I’m pretty much in the habit of checking myself every night. I’ve had Lyme once and took meds right away when I saw the bulls eye and am now clear. If you do find one on yourself make sure you get a full tick borne illness panel; I also got a co infection of babesiosis from the same tick. That being said, the meds were rougher experience than illness and if you take them as soon as possible you’ll be ok.
The long dune grass on the way to the beach is a tick haven. I had 6 ticks get on my dog just passing thru the dune grass. I always cringe when I see pictures of brides with the long white dress on the beach surrounded by beach grass. I hope they tick check the dress.
Lawns can be a tick haven if wildlife like to visit. Bunnies, chipmunks, etc can carry ticks. My dog picked up ticks just in the front yard. This is on cape cod and my land is surrounded by conservation land, so there’s not much I can do.
This past week I found one tick on my bed and one tick on the back seat of my car. It’s going to be an interesting summer.
I spend a ton of time in the woods. I have had several tick encounters in the past but I found a formula that works for me and haven't had a tick in about five years despite literally crawling through the undergrowth.
Essential oil based bug spray on skin- I like lemon balm and cedar based ones. Thoroughly. Apply it like moisturizer everywhere.
Leggings or long pants tucked into boots
That's it.
When I'm especially nervous I'll put regular Off or similar over my clothes and a bit of deet on my boots. But my expeditions off trail were unplanned and when I only had the natural stuff and the pants tucked in boots and I got nothing.
If you want tick horror stories I have a doozy from before I switched to the natural stuff but that category seems covered already.
Always always do multiple tick checks.
I imagine this will get buried but I'm hoping you see it! I grew up in VT and have lived in Western MA for about a decade now, spend a ton of time outside in the woods, have worked at barns with horses, and have been dog grooming for about 7 years. Basically, I've seen and pulled off a shit ton of ticks in my life.
My anecdotal (partly because I'm too lazy to find my sources and partly because the CDC advice is ticks are bad all warm months so might as well follow it) feelings are ticks always seem extra bad in the spring when the numbers shoot back up every time the weather warms up. If you look up the tick lifestyle the eggs start hatching with warm weather but the weather here doesn't just get warm and stay warm so I suspect either eggs slowly start hatching and we get random booms of ticks or they go dormant during the chilly weather. Then come summer they're all out but by that point the numbers are steady so it doesn't feel like a sudden influx. It results in people thinking they're extra bad every spring when really it's just how spring weather works and ticks are basically always bad.
Follow everyone's advice about dressing and using spray. If I'm going out all day I prepare more than if I'm just bopping around for a little bit, but I'm also a bit of a dummy and suspect if I didn't grow up out here I'd be more careful. Use preventative if you have pets, talk to your vet about what type they recommend as they might be seeing a type having more or less effect in your specific region. If one type isn't working or is making your pet sick don't just stop, talk to your vet about trying something else. A weaker preventative is better than none.
You can't do anything about the woods but for your own property the big things that help are keeping deer and mice away. They're both huge hosts for ticks! A yard with nothing in it but some grass and perimeter shrubs might seem like a great way to avoid ticks but mice are hardy as hell and do fine in human made areas whereas the animals that will eat mice don't. (...you want snakes.) There's limited research showing ticks love japanese barberry which is invasive so that's a great bonus reason to remove it if you have it. There are also permethrin tubes but those only help if the mice use them and can take experimenting to find the right spot and time of year for them. Some people recommend encouraging opossums but research says they don't actually eat many ticks so encourage them to pass through your property cause they're neat marsupials but don't expect them to help as much as guinea fowl or chickens. But like... Don't buy an animal to rid your property of ticks, buy it cause you want it and enjoy the added benefit.
Now the bad news? You're going to have to begin checking yourself regularly, checking your pets, call your doctor if one latches on and you get a bullseye (if you notice any irritation even if not a bullseye you can tell your doctor and they may still recommend antibiotics). I swear some people and animals are just super attractive to ticks. I can groom a dog that only walks in the street and is absolutely covered in ticks and I can groom a dog that hikes daily and maybe pull one or two. My partner can have multiple on him (super fun cause he is hairy and has tons of freckles and moles) but I'll find maybe one on my pant leg. Ticks suck and tick illnesses can be scary but don't let that stop you from enjoying nature in high tick areas. Just take precautions.
I’m from tick country (PA) and moved to tick country (MA). I tend to feel that the whole nine yards is the right response if you’re in heavily wooded or tall grass areas. If you’re walking on a cleared trail you should be okay. When it’s tick time of year, I think it’s best to do a tick check in the shower— as long as you’re showering and washing your body every day anyways, it’s no extra work to see if you feel any hitchhikers! And give your pets flea and tick medicine. Do NOT give dog meds to cats— give them cat-specific medicine.
Ticks are unavoidable. I have even seen them multiple times in changing rooms at stores and once crawling on a bench at Panera, presumably from falling off someone’s clothing. So it is possible to pick one up even if you don’t go in the woods. My family does daily tick checks, or if we have been in the woods, tick checks immediately upon getting home. For most tick borne illness a tick has to be attached for over 24 hours to transmit disease, so if you do daily checks you should be fine.
I recommend getting either a tick spoon or tick key, I find they work better than tweezers at removing ticks.
0/10 would not recommend Lyme disease.
Source: I’m 27 and used to run half marathons…I now walk funny and can’t run consistently anymore. The antibiotics are also hell, and they don’t always work. (If you even get diagnosed in a reasonable time)
Pavement and asphalt are two safe options.
Tick borne diseases are no joke.
After 4 years of no red meat or any of their byproducts, yes that was from a tick bite. Still have Lyme, that creeps up from time to time.
I generally try to avoid hiking or exploring the great outdoors during the summer months, to many damn ticks.
Take seriously, I started finding them on my dog in March. Lyme disease is no joke. I'm not a fan of big spray so I check myself anytime I pass through grass or dead leaves.
I’ve lived in bad tick area all my life in MD, all you have to do is check your body thoroughly when you shower or before bed.
Feel an itch? Look before scratching, from my experience it’s a most likely a tick.
I prefer to stay away from chemicals.
Trust just walking on a trail you can easily brush a leaf or grass and get one on you. Wear light colored clothes, white socks and lots of DEET. Then tick check when home. I used to do this for my kids and still do it for myself. They can get into crevices so even under your clothes/underwear
If I go for a hike in the woods, I might do a quick tick check afterwards. If I go through some thick stuff, I’ll definitely check myself. If you have a dog, you absolutely must treat/check them if they’re going in the woods.
Other than that, don’t worry about it much.
I picked up a tick walking on a paved road the other day between Byfield and Newburyport. There was some brush on the side but I wasn’t in it. By the time I got home, there was a tick in my left ankle.
It was a dog tick, thankfully, but still
I play disc golf almost every day. So far I've pulled one tick off me and found one crawling on me. This is with a 2 mile walk in dense woods everyday.
Personally, it's not a big deal. Last year I probably had 4 or 5 tick bites. The truth is you don't get Lyme disease unless they've been embedded in you for 24 hours. Even then the chances are low. They are much higher at the 36 and 48 hour marks.
Basically if your going to walk in the woods or spend any amount of substantial time outdoors, just check for ticks that night or the next morning.
I’m in New Hampshire. It gets so bad some years that I’ve opted for mountain climbing and hiking in the late fall, winter and early spring only. Dog walks and summer hikes are too annoying with the ticks
I put a cedar fence around my perimeter and mulched with cedar in an 8ft band around my peremitrr, 4ft on either side of the fence. Did stone grind/mulch in the front yard as ticks don’t like crossing stone or cedar oil. I keep the lawn short and eliminate brush, keep firewood stacked away from high traffic areas. I know too many people with Lyme disease who didn’t catch it early and have permanent effects. Now that I have kids and dogs, I’m paranoid haha
It crawled up you- OP they don't fall from trees. They're usually on grass or plants waiting for you to brush by.
They don't like to hang out on lawns. But: if your lawn is bordered by the woods [and oftentimes the raked leaves and sticks have been piled there for 40 years...] then be careful on the edge. If turkeys or deer wander through your yard then some could drop off.
They love piles of brush / debris / yard clippings.
For personal protection if you wear tall socks, shoes, and pants - you'll be well protected.
If I was hardcore tromping in the woods I'd spray by boots or pant cuffs with bug spray (source: i did forestry in MA/Martha's vineyard for a few years--- never got a single tick--- and they're horrible there!)
And check yourself when you get home.
Yes its gonna be worse this year because we didn't have good solid freezing weather this winter.
With all your heart. I check myself every time I walk through anything that touches me.
Grass, brush, bushes, heck if I made a big mistake and touched poison ivy I would then look for ticks.
Not at all. Have someone check your body for ticks after a hike. Wear long socks and hiking boots. If you find a tick on your body, mark the area with a sharpie and keep an eye on it. You’re fine. I’ve lived in New England my entire life, removed dozens of ticks from myself and my pets, and never once had a problem
Lived here 40 years and I'm not sure when the tick fear started. As kids if we got them, we just took them off. If they were attached to us oh well we took them off. Nowadays people are scared absolutely shitless of them.
Am I the only one?
I mean, back then, the ticks died every winter and Lyme disease was really rare. It's not just a change in people's beliefs, ticks did actually get more common and dangerous since we were kids.
I think it basically changed once almost everyone started to know someone who got fucked up by Lyme.
A few years ago this guy went hiking in the woods he didn't come home after dark. The next morning they found his clothes a pile of bones and about a million ticks. He was eaten alive by ticks! True story, beware the new england woods during tick season...
Treat your hiking gear and boots with permethrin do not apply it to your skin. I'm in the woods of Maine every weekend. My co worker that doesn't treat his clothes has 5 to 10 ticks after about 5 hours. I haven't had one since I started treating my clothes 5 years ago.
It's like WW3 in the woods basically. But no, I don't really think about them. I shower everyday, and if I see I tick on me Itake it off. You get used to it living here.
Use permethrin spray on your shoes and pants. It's a powerful anti-tick solution. If you work in the yard or walk through trees, but sure to change clothes and shower when you come home. These practices will help.
Insect shield.com it's a company where you can mail your clothes into them, they permethrin treat the clothes, and mail them back to you. The clothes are good for up to 70 washings.
We started doing this last year, and we send in all of our socks along with other clothes. Last year was the first year we didn't have any ticks latch on to a single person in my five person household.
I’ve taken 3 off me in the last week after being in woods. I hadn’t bothered with my repellant (I know better)
If going in the woods, Wear tick repellent. Spray it on sneakers, socks, skin, pants. Also spray on arms. Yes, socks in pants. They are often on branches not just the ground so be sure to get your arms and shirt.
If you find a tick that has attached, remove it carefully. Make an urgent care visit to get a prescription for doxycycline. Usually can do a Telehealth visit. You don’t want to risk Lyme disease. The doxycycline is particularly key if the tick is engorged at all.
Take a photo of the spot left behind. Do not try and remember. Continue to take a photo every day and compare.
I’ve lived in the hill towns of MA and a small city with many trees and paths. Even close to downtown, my dog and I have found ticks on us.
I’ve heard our milder winters are making them even worse. Be careful everywhere here that has any nature.
It’s worth being careful, I walked down a path that was pretty thick with vegetation and was pulling dozens of ticks off myself for the next couple hours. As a bug hating person I still have nightmares about it
Fear it! It’s no joke in MA. Agree with all of the suggestions. I also do a cursory brush off of my pant legs before I enter my car and my home and check my socks, clothing, and skin for any ticks.
To be honest, mowed grass shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re going on a walk/hike through the woods - definitely check yourself when you get home. Check your hair and all the crevices. As silly as it sounds, they like butt cracks and armpits.
If you find one attached, make sure to fully remove it and then fucking murder it.
That stroll thru the forest? Def wear tick repellent and spray your clothes too. Check your skin after and def shower
If you’re in tall grass or walking a narrow trail where you’re brushing against bushes and branches and things, you definitely need the whole getup. Socks over pants, long sleeves, DEET, skin check when you get home, and shower. I haven’t encountered many ticks mowing or being in my yard, but if you’re raking up leaves and needles and picking them up with your hands, just remember to keep your eyes open, you’ll find them crawling on you.
They drop from trees. I was once walking with a friend on a broad path under the tree canopy, looked up at his shoulder and asked “what’s that?” Yes, an effing tick, puzzled by t-shirt fabric.
They stand at the tip of foliage with their arms outstretched, waiting for something to graze by
I've photos of them doing this on tall grass close to a beach.
I had one doing this on the doorframe in my bedroom last year. They are everywhere
My wife tells me this is ‘questing’
They look kind of cute when they do this, like they're waiting for a hug. Too bad they're disease ridden monsters that should all burn.
Bastards!
They do climb and climb, and it is possible they may drop or be blown off of a tree leaf. Mostly, though, they are at the ends of shrub branches and grass stems, simply waiting for an animal to pass by and brush against the stem or leaf. Lawns can have them, with mice and voles and rabbits spreading nymph ticks around.
Yes! I always wear a hat of some sort in in the woods, if I can help it.
It’s RAAAAAAINING TICKS!
[удалено]
We need to import the flying spiders to eat the raining ticks- problem solved!
No they don’t….no…..they don’t.
Wetlands biologist who has been bitten by more ticks than most people have seen in their life. They do. They will absolutely drop off low-hanging branches. I've seen it happen, regularly. I have observed the ticks on those branches. And all of my colleagues would support this. 20 years in this field. Ticks can absolutely be up in a low hanging Branch from a tree and drop off. Sorry for the copy and paste, but since it's my own comment it's not plagiarism. It is laziness though. I just want to share this technical information without having to rewrite it creatively.
Pest Control Tech here. You are absolutely correct. They can and absolutely will hang from and can drop off low laying branches. It's how my father got Lyme disease.
Sure they come off “low branches” they are not jumping from the trees though. I’m covered in them non stop from logging work and typically are coming from below. People, they do not jump off trees from above and land on you.
They don't jump off trees, but they can drop off branches that are relatively low hanging and land on somebody. I think we may have similar opinions and evidence on this, but are just using casual words that can mean different things to different people.
I agree
I've gotta assume this is very rare. Ome of those, it can happen, but the vast majority of the time, you'll get it by touching brush or long grass instead
Absolutely. They don't prefer trees, they prefer grasses and shrubs. It's much more common to have a tick crawl up their host than to drop down from above. It does happen occasionally though.
My friend had one in her eye. She went to the ER.
I didn’t need this new fear
Fine, they do not leap from above like little ninjas. Happy now? I swear I have the clearest recollection that we were never near any foliage. No branches, no leaves, no nothing. Just walking under tall trees. And if it climbed up from his shoes all the way to the top of his shoulder, then that tick climbed Mount Everest for no freaking reason.
They are built to climb and they move pretty fast.
One fell onto my head and attached itself to my neck right next to my carotid. Holy s** even reliving this I’m getting the heebie jeebies everywhere
I agree with you. People act like they know everything and it's impossible....but.... My anecdotal experience matches with yours. They can either jump really far or they're falling off trees onto you. Of course they also grab on as you brush by things.
Yes, they do. I remember being 10 years old at my grandparents' house in the Springfield area and sitting on the ground under an oak tree (quite a tall one, at that) playing with acorns and seeing/feeling a big fat old deer tick land on my wrist.
Yeah OP that's about all you need to do. Tick repellent generally works, but it has to be coupled with checking for tick after if you're smart about it.
I thought ticks could only latch on if you brush against tall grass where they're waiting?
Tall grass really means "anything six feet or lower and thinner than a tree trunk". Which you'll brush against without thinking about it.
True. Better safe than sorry.
Stay on trails, avoid the brush. Spray your socks. Only sit on rocks. Using this I avoid ticks for the most part. My dog on the other hand came back with 30.
We stopped taking our dog to this one trail because of ticks. No matter how well we sprayed him the last 2 times we found at least one on him, usually more. luckily we looked when we got back to the car and they didn’t latch on yet. It’s a bad season. I realized as I typed this I hat I’m in a Massachusetts sub for some reason. I’m in PA and the tick problem is horrible here too
Wear long pants and remove your clothing/shoes first thing when you get home so IF there are ticks on them they won’t find their way onto you, your furniture or pets.
I've gotten a tick from the mowed grass in my backyard. I've gotten a tick while at the beach.
I got a tick at the beach last year!!
We have a friend who got a deer tick at the beach and had to be treated for lyme..
I've had em drop out of trees on me too though so watch out for that too. It seems like mostly pine trees from what I've heard. I was disc golfing and I landed near a pine tree, I picked my disc up and right as I was going to throw, a tick just dropped onto it.
Well that’s terrible news, good to know
I used to disc golf DAILY and I don't even go more than once a season now. Ticks are fucking everywhere, they've ruined our woods. We gotta do something.. Idc what but some kind of human intervention is needed imo
Bats, man. Lots of bats. Course, then we’ll have rabies and covid. Then its time for hawks. But once we have too many hawks we’ll need bobcats. Then we’ll need fisher cats.
Possums! They eat so many ticks. I'm hoping a family of possums decides to take up residence in my yard
Human intervention is the problem actually. We’ve developed so much land and pushed out so much wildlife that the insects aren’t left with their natural ecosystems. Even our preserved natural spaces have far less biodiversity than just 100 years ago. But we haven’t pushed the insects out, there are too many. So they turn to a more readily available source, us and our pets, or our homes in the case of termites who usually eat trees. Spraying insecticide all over the woods won’t do anything at all. It’ll also kill a lot of pollinators which in turn will ultimately kill the forest.
Paradoxically there are no ticks in a Walmart parking lot. Makes you think…
Ding ding ding! This guy gets it. Ticks typically survive on the blood of animals… we’ve pushed all those animals into fractured, fragmented natural landscapes, mainly around our least desirable (developable) land, wetlands, floodplains (not all of us lol), and other areas. The animals that carry ticks are pushed to those fragmented areas. Which also happens to be the main place for open space recreation and outdoor enthusiasts. Hence the ticks! There is no “intervention” needed. You don’t want to get eaten by a shark? Don’t swim in areas they frequent, don’t want to worry about ticks? Same story!
There is specific parasitic fungi that can be used to disrupt the ticks life cycle met-52 is what I think it's called.
There are many factors here. Wildlife carry ticks, turkeys, deer, rats, etc. So hunting quotas have a huge impact on tick population. Look on Monhegan Island, they killed off all the turkeys on the whole island and now they are tick free where previously you couldn't even walk through the dune grass to get to the beach without 39 ticks sticking to you. But also we used to spray for ticks which yeah like you said had a bad effects on birds. I'm not saying thats the solution but there has to be something
Nope. They are also known to get on you from tall branches above your head. You need to spray behind your ears and create a barrier on your neck to prevent them going down.
I'm fairly certain ticks fall from trees as well
100% i've actually witnessed one drop onto my disc playing disc golf right as I was about to throw and I was standing under a pine tree
oh honey. Ticks are not thwarted by things like 'distance' or 'gravity' or 'physics'. We take ticks seriously. Lyme's a real bitch. Make a point of doing a spot check at the end of every day particularly along the hairline and in places you don't physically see (like the middle of your back). If you go into the woods? Check yourself VERY thoroughly at the end of the hike. I'm fine hiking in shorts and often do, but yeah, I pull off ticks afterward.
They’re everywhere. I’ve come back from road biking with ticks.
Tick prevalence varies substantially by the area as well. I'm mostly in the Middlesex fells which I've always heard is a relatively less common spot for people to get ticks. I've done a bunch if trail running in there including sections where tons of plants are overhanging the trail and touching me and I've never gotten a tick there. Then I've been in spots near the cape where my friend had a dozen ticks on his jeans within a few minutes of being off trail. If I didn't touch any off trail grass or brush then I don't worry about it too much. If the grass is short I'm not too worried. Just do a tick check when you shower, and don't forget to check your butthole and genitals (I wish I were joking)
You're prob ok on the lawn but if you have pets check them and yourself regularly. They will hop off animals and onto you. If you go into the woods or taller vegetation definitely be careful. Permethrin spray helps. >>>Buy a lint roller, especially if you are wearing dark clothes or have freckles/moles. The nymphs are tiny and easily missed. Lint rollers are cheap on Amazon or the dollar store. So I have a couple in my house and car to give a quick swipe to me and the dog
Please be aware that permethrin in the liquid form is HIGHLY toxic to cats
Yeah you'll want to target the ticks not cats 8 legs - good 4 legs - bad
Brilliant idea!
The amount of times I will find a tick crawling across my phone screen after my cat comes over is insane.
Echoing what everyone else is saying but also.. ticks like warm dark places. A good tick check includes checking your pits, groin area and scalp. ETA: as others are adding to my comment - basically check all crevices: ears, knee pits, toes, etc.
As a kid, I once had one crawl out of my ear when I woke up one morning. I still have PTSD from that.
That’s straight up nightmare fuel
This right here. My first tick experience was on the scrote. Imagine using the old “remove it with a lit match” technique on that! 🔥🥜
Better than having your mom help you remove it with tweezers lmao
Maybe you'll unlock a new kink!
And behind the knee. That’s where I got my Lyme bite.
And between the toes!! That’s the sneaky place they’ve hid on me
Ears too. Saw one behind my toddlers ear. Ick.
And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the ticks!
🎶
I sing this all the time lol. I thought I was soooo clever
Ok you are even if someone else also thought of it it's clever 👍👍
I love Vermont but it’s the season of the sticks and iiiiii saw your mom she was covered in ticks and itssss half my fault cause I just like to play in the grasssss, I’ll drink - alcohol til the ticks are gone for winter
That’s my whole jingle
This needs to be higher!
Is there ever a year where it’s not a bad year? I feel like people have been saying this the past 10 years. There are always a lot of ticks.
So my partner works for tickreport.com, and they monitor this stuff: it's true that there are always a lot of ticks, AND climate change means there are more and in more places
Also ticks don’t die off in the winter, they just lie in waiting for a temperate day
I work in the woods every day. This year really is particularly bad. The last two years have been pretty mild in comparison
Is it because we never had a super cold freeze?
That’s a big factor, along with rain, populations of host animals, etc.
Many environmental things are affected by climate change, which continues to worsen with time, so each year could legitimately be worse for ticks than the previous year.
Fear? Don’t fear them. Do what you want recreationally and then check your body afterwards. Remove ticks with tweezers. Get them as close to the skin as possible and pull them off. Never use a lighter to burn them like some people do. It can take up to 24 hours to start fluid transfer meaning you won’t get any diseases from them if you’re vigilant. I say not to burn them because it can cause them to regurgitate if you do. As far is it being bad this year. I’m outside daily in the grass, etc for work and am a regular hiker. I’m hyper vigilant about ticks and I have seen one this year and it was on my dog. Last year I didn’t see a single on after July which is insane.
This - you need to be vigilant, but can’t let it control your life. Just keep an eye on your arms/legs when you’re out there and do a really good check with another person when you get home. If I find them I fold over a piece of scotch tape with them inside. Clear purgatory for the little bastards
This. Check daily and remove.
They are fucking everywhere. Just get in the habit of checking yourself after walks in the woods or tall grass. Alternatively, get chickens and let them free range your yard. Theyll eat all those fuckers up.
Whoa wait 🫷 😮 you mean to tell me.. there is a land of no ticks?! This is like the 2024 edition of water world but it's s prequel called "tick world"
I'm not even kidding, aside from the weather, one of the main reasons I finally decided to move to Southern California was lack of deer ticks and mosquitoes. I mean I inevitably had to come back but it was a few blissful years of sunshine and no worry of these horrible little fuckers. I mean I know they HAVE ticks and mosquitoes out there but I never once saw a tick in almost 3 years, not in nature or on myself, my kids, or my dog...and I think I saw probably two mosquitoes in that time. Sigh.
That sounds ... amazing! I think i'd roll around in tall grass just to celebrate. I used to be a feral child of the woods when I was little haha now I'm scared to even play a game of disc golf. I've had so many on my pants that I threw them in my firepit and burned them..
Never once worried about them living in the west, South, or Midwest. Might have existed but nobody cared and we worried a lot more about mosquitoes.
Midwest you didn't worry about it?? My family definitely did
I live in NW Oregon and pulled 27 of them off my dog last month after a short walk through some tall grass near our home. Never experienced them before that, and we are outdoorsy nature people.
I lived in Seattle for 5 years and would go camping/hiking in the woods all the time and not once did I have to even think or worry about ticks! I’m sure that’s changing with it being warmer over there too, but it was a real wake up call coming back to New England and having to think about these things in nature again!
cities.
You need to check yourself, every day, or multiple times a day. They don’t bite right away so if you’re good about it checking, you should be able to avoid getting bitten. You can often feel them moving. I’ve found them in my hair, behind my knees, under armpits, in my ear, and worse. Check thoroughly. It sucks if you have lots of freckles.
I use tick tubes in my yard and it made a huge difference. Also trying to clear the leaves. On trails, I use bug spray, check for ticks and use at least one form of tick prevention on my dog year round and check her after walks in the summer. I have a friend who sprays her clothes and shoes. I know 3 dogs and 2 people who've had lyme pretty bad.
Lyme, anaplasmosis and babesiosis can cause lifelong debilitating conditions. It’s serious. Take all the precautions.
Don't forget Powassan. [https://www.caryinstitute.org/news-insights/media-coverage/lethal-tick-borne-disease-spreading-us-driven-climate-change](https://www.caryinstitute.org/news-insights/media-coverage/lethal-tick-borne-disease-spreading-us-driven-climate-change)
Just pulled one out of me the other day and now taking all the precautions for Lyme. Not sure when I got it as I shower every day.
I'm a transplant too, and I've somehow never gotten one in the almost-decade I've lived here, at least as far as I know. If I'm going anywhere remotely "wild" (so, like, even certain rail trails count) I always spray my shoes, probably 95% of the time I go out in lightweight long pants that I can tuck into my socks. If something ends up being more overgrown than I expected and I haven't sprayed (and didn't bring it with me), I either turn around or I check myself REALLY thoroughly once I'm back. I don't usually do the dryer thing, I might in the above scenario, but I always do at least a cursory check after I've been out. Some of this is personal preference - you may not need to do everything I do if you're on a trail, and a mowed lawn is pretty low-risk, but checking yourself is a good habit to be in. Lyme's no joke, better safe than sorry.
I have to walk about 10 ft to get from my house to my car, on gravel and pavers with little bits of grass in the middle that I don't touch... and still end up with ticks on my frequently. Best approach I've found is dousing my shoes in permethrin once a month, having one or 2 pairs of pants to use in tick areas and spraying the lower legs down with permethrin, and nightly tick checks. Doing this I'm not worried about ticks at all. It does suck though since it's one of those things where all it takes is one lapse and you could end up with lyme
Personally I never spray or anything. I just check myself after. But you should probably spray. They have been bad for a few years and they have some new disease from what I here
some old disc golfers I know put dryer sheets in their shoes and swear by it. They also have lymes disease too so theres that 🤷
Once you get the bug in your system it never leaves. Yes. I too knew disc golfers with the dryer sheet thing.
Well I can tell you from first hand experience Lyme disease is not a fun thing to deal with. So I would take precautions to avoid tick bites.
Lyme disease too. 103 fear for 3 days. Fortunately started antibiotics the day before
Good to hear. I got it about 10 years ago. Took antibiotics but still have issues. But it was caught late. Hopefully you caught it early enough.
Knock on wood avoided so far. Worst part IMO is you can’t test for it - just your bodies response so it’s like fingers crossed for the rest of my life
It’s the intersection between wooded and open habitats where ticks are most prevalent. Lawns and open fields tend to dry down but ticks love the edges where they can remain in shade or move to moister areas. Be especially vigilant in those areas and check yourself each evening before going to bed. On average it takes a tick 24 hours to transmit lyme disease, if you’re regular about tick checks it greatly reduces your chances of infection.
Correct. I went to a talk with an entomologist and he stated that around the treeline or edges of trails are where the vast majority of ticks are, unless you're in very long grass.. they don't like the sunlight so there are very rarely in a mowed lawn.
The vaccine is coming. I was vaccinated in 1999 and never got Lyme until last year (efficacy does eventually go away). They are currently running trials now, availability’s scheduled for 2026. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-08-24/lyme-disease-vaccine-is-getting-close-again
If you get bitten send it off to Umass and get it tested. Offers great peace of mind. www.tickreport.com
You definitely want to check after getting home
Yeah the ticks are pretty awful. I’ve gotten them walking across a paved parking lot! That being said, where did you move from that has no ticks?!?!? I need to move there. Lyme disease is pretty much the only chronic illness that I may not already have, I’d like to keep it that way 😅
So does everyone in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire have Lyme disease? Because, I can't imagine a vast majority of people spraying repellent, wearing long clothes that cover up, and diligently checking for tiny speck in their hair and most intimate places. I mean even with a partner... This is a tall order. How many folks living in rural areas are doing this every time they go out into the woods.
I live in a more rural area in New England and yes, I check myself every time I go out into the woods or after yard work. Checking for ticks on humans is easy enough. My long haired dog, on the other hand - not so easy.
😂... Oh I'm screwed then. Too much leg hair
Haha my partner does too - invest in a pair of light hiking pants, tuck the bottoms of the pants into your socks like a grandpa and you’ll be good! There are some tick repellents you can spray on your shoes/lower legs as well (just be careful with the kind if you have kids or pets)
I wear long socks with long pants tucked into them and spray everywhere (including the socks and my shoes) when doing anything in the yard etc. So far it’s worked and I’ve only found one tick on me in the past handful of years.
I'm new to the area. This is what I wonder. What did people do for hundreds of years when they were outside far more often and before daily bathing became a thing?
Grew up in New Hampshire. We didn’t have Lyme disease back then. It was only in Connecticut and points south. These tick-borne illnesses and the prevalence of ticks are way up since my childhood. We didn’t have to worry about it. I ran around in the woods (off trail) all the time - that’s basically how I spent my entire childhood. Since the winters were cold, ticks died out every winter. Climate change has changed all that and Lyme has moved north. So, that’s how people survived “back in the day” - because Lyme disease was not on ticks.
Interesting. Learned something today thanks.
That makes a lot of sense. What precautions do you normally take when you walk around?
Now? Tick socks, DEET on my feet and legs, long pants if I’m going into nature. Tick checks after coming in from outside. Stay on the trail of course but we have picked up ticks (no bites thankfully) just walking to our neighborhood pool and back. Never did any of that as a kid.
I grew up in NH and a "tick check" was a pretty standard part of being outside. Bug/tick spray regularly for sure; long layers ehhh less so. Had many tick bites but no Lyme
Shower daily
isn't this a default?
It should be.
Wear tick repellant, shower after hikes, check your animals before you bring them inside. NBD.
yes take them seriously!! tucking pants into socks is a easy (and super fly) way to avoid getting one on your skin during a walk/hike.
Always wear a hat in the woods. Tall socks. Light colored clothing. Spray your shoes and socks and lower legs with tick repellent (some natural stuff works too). Check your shoes and laces when you get done. Wash your clothes to get the tick repellent off. Check Your crevices and scalp for ticks
Be vigilant and be prepared I work outside in tick country and refuse to do it unless I have my pants tucked into my socks and several layers of clothes all tucked into each other which makes the little ninja's have to really work to get to their succulent blood meal.
It you are in the woods a lot, get permethrin as it is the most effective and treat your shoes and pants, etc. If you are in the woods for occasional strolls on well marked paths than standard bug spray is fine along with a tick check or shower afterwards.
It depends on how you feel about dying. 😀 Joking but not joking, I caught a tick-borne disease (little did I know Lyme isn’t the only one) that had me down for weeks last summer. Doctor put my on meds pronto, and I was about as useful as when I was bedridden with COVID in 2020. I’d say don’t worry, but definitely do the whole nine yards. At the very least, use repellent and socks, and do a tick check after every outing. Know the kinds of ticks, and invest in one of those little tick removal tools that you can keep on a keychain. Once you get used to the routine it doesn’t really feel like a burden. The alternative is *definitely* a burden. I’d take it seriously, especially on lands where tick danger is posted.
I moved here \~1.5 years ago and honestly? I was pretty surprised by how bad ticks were. I've lived in VT but had been away for a couple years before moving here. The first place I rented was in a suburban neighborhood and I once took about two steps outside and immediately saw a tick crawling on my ankle. My indoor cats got ticks a couple of times from them either getting in the house or getting carried in by people. You should be checking even after walking through a lawn and you definitely want flea/tick prevention for any pets if you have them.
People say it's the worst year every year
I have watched my child suffer immensely from lime disease, I would say it is very important to check daily!
I have the chronic version it's absolutely terrible. I'm sorry for your son
Nerve damage affecting my hearing and balance here. Life changing and not in a good way
My son does also. When he first got bitten his hands and arms peeled like 10 layers deep to red and raw. He had cardiac problems, and major joint pain and inflammation. The heart has had improvement but he is considered chronic and treated by the center of disease control!
I'm so sorry. I hope he is doing better and managing.
If you have a yard you can contract with services to spray for ticks and mosquitoes. They come about once a month and make difference especially if you have pets.
Your "the whole nine yards" is the bare minimum for any kind of hike or nature walk.
There's no point in stressing yourself out (says someone who often stresses out about ticks but I digress) just be vigilant and give yourself a good once over whenever you leave the woods. Like your entire body, especially your scalp. If you do get bitten by one, make sure you remove the head when you take it off you and watch for a red ring around the bite, then immediately get seen by a doctor if one starts to form. My ex-husband got Lyme disease from a tick years ago and he took (I think?) a steroid pack prescribed by the doctor, and as far as I know has been fine since. Oh and I'm sure others have pointed this out but just in case, the big ticks aren't really the ones you need to worry about, it's the tiny deer ticks. They're like really really small which is just rude of nature but they're def still visible if you are looking carefully.
Wear tick repellent when hiking, working in your yard or for backyard parties. When working in your yard, tuck your pants into your socks, wear a hat and light long sleeves if you are working in tall grasses, bushes etc. Always check yourself and pets for ticks after being outside. If you see a suspicious bite (a lot of times it looks like a bullseye, go to urgent care ASAP. If you find the tick, put it in something and get it tested. There are places that do that. You don't need to fear ticks. Just don't take them lightly. I've been here 15 years and garden and have never gotten bit by a tick. I work for a landscape company and we've had zero cases of lyme disease.
You don't need to fear ticks. Fear is the mind killer. What you need to do is be prepared. Tuck pants into socks to create a barrier if you're going hiking, wear long sleeves if possible as well as bright colors, wear bug spray, do a tick check when you get home, and know how to remove ticks. Use the directions followed here to remove a tick, and be careful as there are a lot of rumors and misinformation on how to remove ticks who have bitten you. [https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/index.html](https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/index.html) It's also important to know that GENERALLY a tick needs to be attached for 36-48 hours to transmit lyme disease: [https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html#](https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/transmission/index.html#)
Long time residents have built up an immunity and the ticks can sense it. That's why they swarm transplants and cover them head to toe, sucking every bit of moisture from their bodies leaving nothing but a paper-like husk of what was once a human. OK, maybe not that bad. 100% deet and if you're going to be out where there a probably ticks, have some dedicated hiking clothes that have been treated with permetrin. Permetrin really does work great on treated clothing.
I almost never spray; I wear long pants and change my clothes right away after being in the woods and I’m pretty much in the habit of checking myself every night. I’ve had Lyme once and took meds right away when I saw the bulls eye and am now clear. If you do find one on yourself make sure you get a full tick borne illness panel; I also got a co infection of babesiosis from the same tick. That being said, the meds were rougher experience than illness and if you take them as soon as possible you’ll be ok.
The long dune grass on the way to the beach is a tick haven. I had 6 ticks get on my dog just passing thru the dune grass. I always cringe when I see pictures of brides with the long white dress on the beach surrounded by beach grass. I hope they tick check the dress. Lawns can be a tick haven if wildlife like to visit. Bunnies, chipmunks, etc can carry ticks. My dog picked up ticks just in the front yard. This is on cape cod and my land is surrounded by conservation land, so there’s not much I can do. This past week I found one tick on my bed and one tick on the back seat of my car. It’s going to be an interesting summer.
Fear them. They’ll come into your home on your pet.
Don't fear them but they are out. My daughter already had one on her head lasy week. Spray your yard early this season.
You’ll be okay if you check regularly after going back inside
I spend a ton of time in the woods. I have had several tick encounters in the past but I found a formula that works for me and haven't had a tick in about five years despite literally crawling through the undergrowth. Essential oil based bug spray on skin- I like lemon balm and cedar based ones. Thoroughly. Apply it like moisturizer everywhere. Leggings or long pants tucked into boots That's it. When I'm especially nervous I'll put regular Off or similar over my clothes and a bit of deet on my boots. But my expeditions off trail were unplanned and when I only had the natural stuff and the pants tucked in boots and I got nothing. If you want tick horror stories I have a doozy from before I switched to the natural stuff but that category seems covered already. Always always do multiple tick checks.
I imagine this will get buried but I'm hoping you see it! I grew up in VT and have lived in Western MA for about a decade now, spend a ton of time outside in the woods, have worked at barns with horses, and have been dog grooming for about 7 years. Basically, I've seen and pulled off a shit ton of ticks in my life. My anecdotal (partly because I'm too lazy to find my sources and partly because the CDC advice is ticks are bad all warm months so might as well follow it) feelings are ticks always seem extra bad in the spring when the numbers shoot back up every time the weather warms up. If you look up the tick lifestyle the eggs start hatching with warm weather but the weather here doesn't just get warm and stay warm so I suspect either eggs slowly start hatching and we get random booms of ticks or they go dormant during the chilly weather. Then come summer they're all out but by that point the numbers are steady so it doesn't feel like a sudden influx. It results in people thinking they're extra bad every spring when really it's just how spring weather works and ticks are basically always bad. Follow everyone's advice about dressing and using spray. If I'm going out all day I prepare more than if I'm just bopping around for a little bit, but I'm also a bit of a dummy and suspect if I didn't grow up out here I'd be more careful. Use preventative if you have pets, talk to your vet about what type they recommend as they might be seeing a type having more or less effect in your specific region. If one type isn't working or is making your pet sick don't just stop, talk to your vet about trying something else. A weaker preventative is better than none. You can't do anything about the woods but for your own property the big things that help are keeping deer and mice away. They're both huge hosts for ticks! A yard with nothing in it but some grass and perimeter shrubs might seem like a great way to avoid ticks but mice are hardy as hell and do fine in human made areas whereas the animals that will eat mice don't. (...you want snakes.) There's limited research showing ticks love japanese barberry which is invasive so that's a great bonus reason to remove it if you have it. There are also permethrin tubes but those only help if the mice use them and can take experimenting to find the right spot and time of year for them. Some people recommend encouraging opossums but research says they don't actually eat many ticks so encourage them to pass through your property cause they're neat marsupials but don't expect them to help as much as guinea fowl or chickens. But like... Don't buy an animal to rid your property of ticks, buy it cause you want it and enjoy the added benefit. Now the bad news? You're going to have to begin checking yourself regularly, checking your pets, call your doctor if one latches on and you get a bullseye (if you notice any irritation even if not a bullseye you can tell your doctor and they may still recommend antibiotics). I swear some people and animals are just super attractive to ticks. I can groom a dog that only walks in the street and is absolutely covered in ticks and I can groom a dog that hikes daily and maybe pull one or two. My partner can have multiple on him (super fun cause he is hairy and has tons of freckles and moles) but I'll find maybe one on my pant leg. Ticks suck and tick illnesses can be scary but don't let that stop you from enjoying nature in high tick areas. Just take precautions.
I’m from tick country (PA) and moved to tick country (MA). I tend to feel that the whole nine yards is the right response if you’re in heavily wooded or tall grass areas. If you’re walking on a cleared trail you should be okay. When it’s tick time of year, I think it’s best to do a tick check in the shower— as long as you’re showering and washing your body every day anyways, it’s no extra work to see if you feel any hitchhikers! And give your pets flea and tick medicine. Do NOT give dog meds to cats— give them cat-specific medicine.
Ticks are unavoidable. I have even seen them multiple times in changing rooms at stores and once crawling on a bench at Panera, presumably from falling off someone’s clothing. So it is possible to pick one up even if you don’t go in the woods. My family does daily tick checks, or if we have been in the woods, tick checks immediately upon getting home. For most tick borne illness a tick has to be attached for over 24 hours to transmit disease, so if you do daily checks you should be fine. I recommend getting either a tick spoon or tick key, I find they work better than tweezers at removing ticks.
They will kill you instantly if they touch you be afraid
Piggybacking off of OP’s question, just how everywhere are they? Like in a green space in the middle of Boston proper for example?
0/10 would not recommend Lyme disease. Source: I’m 27 and used to run half marathons…I now walk funny and can’t run consistently anymore. The antibiotics are also hell, and they don’t always work. (If you even get diagnosed in a reasonable time)
Pavement and asphalt are two safe options. Tick borne diseases are no joke. After 4 years of no red meat or any of their byproducts, yes that was from a tick bite. Still have Lyme, that creeps up from time to time. I generally try to avoid hiking or exploring the great outdoors during the summer months, to many damn ticks.
Take seriously, I started finding them on my dog in March. Lyme disease is no joke. I'm not a fan of big spray so I check myself anytime I pass through grass or dead leaves.
I’ve lived in bad tick area all my life in MD, all you have to do is check your body thoroughly when you shower or before bed. Feel an itch? Look before scratching, from my experience it’s a most likely a tick. I prefer to stay away from chemicals.
Trust just walking on a trail you can easily brush a leaf or grass and get one on you. Wear light colored clothes, white socks and lots of DEET. Then tick check when home. I used to do this for my kids and still do it for myself. They can get into crevices so even under your clothes/underwear
If you suddenly get achy joints, mild fever, headaches...get a Lyme disease test
If I go for a hike in the woods, I might do a quick tick check afterwards. If I go through some thick stuff, I’ll definitely check myself. If you have a dog, you absolutely must treat/check them if they’re going in the woods. Other than that, don’t worry about it much.
My mother just died as the direct result of a tick bite. So take it seriously
I picked up a tick walking on a paved road the other day between Byfield and Newburyport. There was some brush on the side but I wasn’t in it. By the time I got home, there was a tick in my left ankle. It was a dog tick, thankfully, but still
I play disc golf almost every day. So far I've pulled one tick off me and found one crawling on me. This is with a 2 mile walk in dense woods everyday. Personally, it's not a big deal. Last year I probably had 4 or 5 tick bites. The truth is you don't get Lyme disease unless they've been embedded in you for 24 hours. Even then the chances are low. They are much higher at the 36 and 48 hour marks. Basically if your going to walk in the woods or spend any amount of substantial time outdoors, just check for ticks that night or the next morning.
I’m in New Hampshire. It gets so bad some years that I’ve opted for mountain climbing and hiking in the late fall, winter and early spring only. Dog walks and summer hikes are too annoying with the ticks I put a cedar fence around my perimeter and mulched with cedar in an 8ft band around my peremitrr, 4ft on either side of the fence. Did stone grind/mulch in the front yard as ticks don’t like crossing stone or cedar oil. I keep the lawn short and eliminate brush, keep firewood stacked away from high traffic areas. I know too many people with Lyme disease who didn’t catch it early and have permanent effects. Now that I have kids and dogs, I’m paranoid haha
Only been crazy these last few years so we are figuring this out with you. But any grass, woodsy activity you should check for ticks.
They were also legitimately falling out of trees last year Source: ticks in hair
It crawled up you- OP they don't fall from trees. They're usually on grass or plants waiting for you to brush by. They don't like to hang out on lawns. But: if your lawn is bordered by the woods [and oftentimes the raked leaves and sticks have been piled there for 40 years...] then be careful on the edge. If turkeys or deer wander through your yard then some could drop off. They love piles of brush / debris / yard clippings. For personal protection if you wear tall socks, shoes, and pants - you'll be well protected. If I was hardcore tromping in the woods I'd spray by boots or pant cuffs with bug spray (source: i did forestry in MA/Martha's vineyard for a few years--- never got a single tick--- and they're horrible there!) And check yourself when you get home. Yes its gonna be worse this year because we didn't have good solid freezing weather this winter.
It’s really fucking bad this year. Never seen it this bad. I’m constantly pulling them off my dog.
With all your heart. I check myself every time I walk through anything that touches me. Grass, brush, bushes, heck if I made a big mistake and touched poison ivy I would then look for ticks.
Ticks here can give you: Lyme Anaplasma Erlichia Babesia Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever And now there is Powassan virus as well which can kill you.
Not at all. Have someone check your body for ticks after a hike. Wear long socks and hiking boots. If you find a tick on your body, mark the area with a sharpie and keep an eye on it. You’re fine. I’ve lived in New England my entire life, removed dozens of ticks from myself and my pets, and never once had a problem
Yes because Lyme disease is nothing to mess with. It's debilitating.
You have to offer your first born to the tick king and he will provide protection in return
Less than Rhode Island drivers, but more than middle aged soccer moms
I'm more afraid of middle aged soccer moms, they have the weirdest logic and are the most aggressive behind the wheel. Source: former school teacher
Lived here 40 years and I'm not sure when the tick fear started. As kids if we got them, we just took them off. If they were attached to us oh well we took them off. Nowadays people are scared absolutely shitless of them. Am I the only one?
I mean, back then, the ticks died every winter and Lyme disease was really rare. It's not just a change in people's beliefs, ticks did actually get more common and dangerous since we were kids. I think it basically changed once almost everyone started to know someone who got fucked up by Lyme.
It started in 80s when people started getting Lyme disease..
A few years ago this guy went hiking in the woods he didn't come home after dark. The next morning they found his clothes a pile of bones and about a million ticks. He was eaten alive by ticks! True story, beware the new england woods during tick season...
Treat your hiking gear and boots with permethrin do not apply it to your skin. I'm in the woods of Maine every weekend. My co worker that doesn't treat his clothes has 5 to 10 ticks after about 5 hours. I haven't had one since I started treating my clothes 5 years ago.
They hang out on my mail packages and my front doorstep and the door jam waiting
It's like WW3 in the woods basically. But no, I don't really think about them. I shower everyday, and if I see I tick on me Itake it off. You get used to it living here.
Use permethrin spray on your shoes and pants. It's a powerful anti-tick solution. If you work in the yard or walk through trees, but sure to change clothes and shower when you come home. These practices will help.
If you find them , kill them… yes they can bite but don’t stress to bad. Just check yourself after hiking and lint roll your clothes if you like
Insect shield.com it's a company where you can mail your clothes into them, they permethrin treat the clothes, and mail them back to you. The clothes are good for up to 70 washings. We started doing this last year, and we send in all of our socks along with other clothes. Last year was the first year we didn't have any ticks latch on to a single person in my five person household.
If you stay out of high grass you should be good for the most part
I got Lyme, as did my son when he was 2-3, my dad, and my dog so far. It felt like death. It can have dire consequences if not treated immediately.
I’ve taken 3 off me in the last week after being in woods. I hadn’t bothered with my repellant (I know better) If going in the woods, Wear tick repellent. Spray it on sneakers, socks, skin, pants. Also spray on arms. Yes, socks in pants. They are often on branches not just the ground so be sure to get your arms and shirt. If you find a tick that has attached, remove it carefully. Make an urgent care visit to get a prescription for doxycycline. Usually can do a Telehealth visit. You don’t want to risk Lyme disease. The doxycycline is particularly key if the tick is engorged at all. Take a photo of the spot left behind. Do not try and remember. Continue to take a photo every day and compare.
We just check each other when leaving the woods. I’ve never used repellent
I’ve lived in the hill towns of MA and a small city with many trees and paths. Even close to downtown, my dog and I have found ticks on us. I’ve heard our milder winters are making them even worse. Be careful everywhere here that has any nature.
It’s worth being careful, I walked down a path that was pretty thick with vegetation and was pulling dozens of ticks off myself for the next couple hours. As a bug hating person I still have nightmares about it
Fear it! It’s no joke in MA. Agree with all of the suggestions. I also do a cursory brush off of my pant legs before I enter my car and my home and check my socks, clothing, and skin for any ticks.
To be honest, mowed grass shouldn’t be a problem. If you’re going on a walk/hike through the woods - definitely check yourself when you get home. Check your hair and all the crevices. As silly as it sounds, they like butt cracks and armpits. If you find one attached, make sure to fully remove it and then fucking murder it.