Their effectiveness is greatly increased if you also use a permethrin-containing insecticide designed to be applied to clothing rather than your skin. Tuck pants cuffs into boots or socks. Wear long sleeves and light-colored clothing which makes it easier to spot ticks. Stay to the center of hiking paths, and avoid grassy and marshy woodland areas. Inspect yourself, your children, and your pets for clinging ticks after leaving an infested area.
Ticks are hard to see.
If you discover a tick feeding, do not panic. Studies show that an infected tick does not usually transmit the Lyme organism during the first 24 hours. Even in heavily infested areas, only 1 to 2 percent of biting ticks carry the disease. Remove the tick with tweezers, grasping it close to the skin and applying steady upward pressure to make sure you remove all parts of the tick. Then disinfect the area.