The Prevention of Wood Ticks

Wood ticks, such as the Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain wood tick) and Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) species, can contribute to the transmission of diseases that include Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. Preventing ticks from biting can help you avoid illness, especially when ticks become more active during April to September, indicates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Clothes

• Wear clothing that will protect your skin from wood ticks. For example, shirts and pants that fit tightly around your wrists and ankles can prevent ticks from crawling onto your bare skin. If necessary, use tape to pin your pants to your socks. Wearing light-colored clothes can make the detection of ticks easy. You can pick ticks off your clothes prior to entering your home, which will help to avoid bringing ticks into your home.

Insect Repellents

• Use insect repellents on your family and pets when spending time outdoors or in wooded areas. Because vaccines aren't available against tickborne diseases in dogs, prevention from bites are important. Topical products containing permethrin and registered for the use in killing ticks can help your dog. Because cats can have sensitivities to chemicals found within tick products, confer with your veterinarian about non-toxic tick repellents. Permethrin repellents for humans can help to prevent ticks from attaching to your skin and clothes. Depending on the product used, you can apply permethrin repellents to your skin or clothing to help keep ticks at bay.

Yard Prevention

• Keep your yard free of debris.

  Develop a tick-safe zone by manicuring your yard, suggests the CDC. Mowing your grass and keeping vegetation under control can help discourage ticks from coming into your yard. Remove hiding places for ticks, such as accumulated trash or lawn furniture. Create a barrier by placing wood chips between your grass and any wooded areas. As an added measurement of protection, enlist the help of a pest control person to spray acaricide to reduce ticks in your yard, recommends the CDC.

Other Prevention Methods

• Walk only on trails when outdoors. Avoid walking into heavy vegetation. When you disturb weeds and leaf litter, your vibrations attract ticks, who will then grab onto you as you walk by. Put your clothes into a dryer after coming indoors. The heat from a dryer will kill ticks. Inspecting your body to ensure that ticks haven't attached is necessary after spending time outdoors. Also taking a shower can remove ticks that haven't attached to your body.