I just spray myself with DEET- containing OFF type products. Socks & ankles, wrists, a dab of DEET cologne to neck & ears ( because , mosquitoes & buffalo gnats). I wear long pants as long as I can, then shorts & socks when it’s killer hot, & long sleeve shirts for sun almost always. Still I have gotten a tick occasionally over many years; lucky so far since we have many types of tick-borne infections here. May be most likely to get in trouble when weather is milder, as they’re already active in spring but I might still be in winter mode.

I shower after spending time outdoors.

I use deep woods on outdoor gear before I put it on. Shoes, hats/headcoverings, overshirts, gloves, aprons. I like to use the wipes on my wellies and then stick the sheets in my boot loops. I do not spray myself. I often am wearing full clothes, pants tucked into socks, full sleeves.. Sometimes I'm on the other side of the clothes with just a tank and shorts and if a tick shows up on me, I flick it off. Depends on just what I'm doing outside.

We tend to have a couple doors we use most. By those doors are drop points for clothes when we have been out and about. When we come in it's strip, tick checks. Then fresh clothes or shower depending on the situation. And lots and lots of tick checks throughout the day, lol.

First couple years out here we freaked and went through tons of sprays. Then realized ticks are scary, but they take a while to wander around and latch on so regular checks with a little spray works good. Wearing full clothing helps too- and helps keep me from going crispy. Being sensible and dropping clothes by the door instead of walking through the house to our room to the hampers there.

I tuck my pants in my socks (have never worn shorts in my life).

Agreed, shower after spending time outdoors and change clothes. Sometimes I'll also treat shoes with permetherin. But wearing a Hazmat suit to garden doesn't sound fun, nor does dousing myself in bug spray regularly. FWIW, I have been bitten by deer ticks multiple times without ever contracting Lyme (or any other tick borne illness). Not to minimize the disease as I personally know people who've had bad cases, but Lyme treatments have come a long, long way. Much of the renewed interest in Lyme these days is due to it becoming a catchall diagnosis for vague maladies like brain fog with the aid of some disreputable "doctors."

SImilar to rosa, I've never worn shorts in public in my life lol. And I don't wear them to garden. I'm actually a vampire, so I hardly ever go in the sun and when I garden pretty much the only thing showing is my face. Socks, long pants, muck boots, long-sleeved shirts, gloves, baseball cap. So my sun protection kind of doubles as my tick protection.

In the fall and now, in the spring, when my gardening involves raking and moving a ton of leaves, and carrying them and brush, etc., I am more careful about covering everything and checking for ticks when I come in. During the summer I have to admit I don't bother as much.

No chemical sprays for me. IMO, why spray poison on myself daily to offset the smaller chance of a tick bite? I prefer to take my chances with a physical barrier (clothing). In 25 years of gardening I've been lucky and only had one tick on me which I removed in time.

:)

Dee

I thought I responded, but don't see my post. There is an article in the NYT wirecutter section today on this subject with some good information. I spray my shoes/sneakers and hat and shower when I come inside.

Omg. I was trimming and weeding my blackberries this afternoon and when I got inside I found a tick walking on my hand!

Thank you to everyone who commented!