Avoid going into woods and grasslands and places known to have ticks in late spring and during summer. If you do, protect yourself by wearing a long-sleeved shirt and long pants, making sure that your socks are over your pant legs. Never wear sandals or other open footwear in a tick habitat. Repellent sprayed on the outside of your clothing may help as well. Upon returning, remove all clothing, shower, examine yourself for ticks, and wash clothing immediately to remove any ticks which are hidden in the creases of material.
Check pets before they enter the house.
Flea and tick collars may help reduce the numbers of ticks on pets, and insecticide may help control them in small yards. Carefully follow the instructions on the label. At this time it is not known, though research is underway. There is little available evidence, however, on their efficiency at transmitting Borrefia burgdorferi. Generally, biting insects are infected with the organism at a considerably lower rate than the infection rate of ticks.