If you intend to walk off-trail anywhere in Iowa, be prepared for thorns. Lightweight walking shorts and walking sandals may be more comfortable in the heat of summer, but they provide little or no protection. Long pants and heavy boots are the best defense. Hazardous Bugs Ticks Several species of ticks are found in Iowa, including the common dog tick, the wood tick, and the black-legged tick, previously known as the deer tick. The latter has gained notoriety as a carrier of Lyme disease, but there is evidence that any tick that has bitten an infected animal may transmit the borrelia bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
Ticks are typically active whenever insects are active.
Ticks tend to crawl uphill until they find cover, and then, when they feel secure, they dig their heads into the skin and begin their meal of blood. To a tick, hair is secure, areas where clothing is snug and does not chafe are secure, and bare skin is not. As a result, ticks frequently hold off on starting their meals until they reach a person's crotch, armpit, beltline or hairline. Under the hair at the back of the neck is a particularly snug place, from a ticks point of view. The first line of defense against ticks is clothing.