Safety

Ticks while hiking: how to avoid them, and what to do about a bite

The tick behind most Lyme disease is the size of a poppy seed, and it generally has to stay attached for more than a day to infect you. That gap is what makes a same-day tick check work. Here's what to wear, what to spray, where to look when you get home, and how to pull one out.

SafetyPublished October 6, 202613 min read

An adult female blacklegged tick, also called a deer tick. At this stage it is about the size of a sesame seed.Photo: Scott Bauer, U.S. Department of Agriculture — Public domain, cropped

Many people who get Lyme disease never see the tick that gave it to them. The CDC says patients are often not even aware of a bite before they get sick, and the reason is size. A young blacklegged tick, the nymph, is about as big as a poppy seed.

The same CDC page carries the good news. An infected tick generally has to stay attached for more than 24 hours before the Lyme bacteria move into you. A hike is a few hours long. So what you do the evening after a hike matters more than anything that happens on the trail.

We do most of our hiking in the tri-state area, which sits close to the middle of Lyme country. That makes this the one safety topic that applies to nearly every hike we take, in every month the ground isn't frozen. The routine below takes about ten minutes, and almost all of it happens at home.

The short version

Treat your hiking clothes and shoes with 0.5% permethrin before the season, and put an EPA-registered repellent on exposed skin.
Ticks can't jump, fly or drop from trees. They wait on grass, brush and leaf litter, mostly below knee height, so the middle of the trail is the safest part of it.
Shower and do a full-body check within two hours of getting home. Ten minutes in a hot dryer kills ticks on dry clothes.
Pull an attached tick straight out with fine-tipped tweezers as soon as you find it. Don't wait for an appointment, and skip the matches and petroleum jelly.
Watch the bite for 30 days. A spreading rash or a fever in that window means calling a doctor and telling them about the tick.
October and November are a second peak for adult blacklegged ticks in the Northeast. Fall foliage hikes need the same routine as June ones.

Which ticks bite hikers in the Northeast?

Three ticks account for nearly every bite a hiker in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic is likely to get: the blacklegged tick, the lone star tick and the American dog tick. They carry different illnesses, so it's worth knowing which one you pulled off.

The three are listed in order of how much they matter on a trail here, starting with the one that carries Lyme disease.

Blacklegged tick

Ixodes scapularis, the deer tick

Looks like: Dark legs, black shield, rust-orange body on the female
Size: Poppy seed as a nymph, sesame seed as an adult
Can carry: Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus
Bites as: Nymphs and adult females

This is the tick the routine is built around. The CDC describes it as widely distributed across the eastern United States, and it's the tick that spreads Lyme disease in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

The nymph does most of the damage. The CDC calls nymphs a particularly high risk because there are so many of them and because they're so hard to see. An adult female is far easier to spot, and usually gets found and removed sooner.

Why it's first: It's the only one of the three that carries Lyme disease, and its nymph is the tick people don't notice.

Lone star tick

Amblyomma americanum

Looks like: Reddish brown, with one white dot on the adult female
Can carry: Ehrlichiosis, tularemia, Heartland and Bourbon viruses
Also linked to: Alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat
Bites as: Nymphs and adult females

The white dot on the female's back makes this the easiest of the three to name. The CDC lists it as widely distributed in the Northeast, South and Midwest.

It doesn't carry Lyme disease. What it's known for is alpha-gal syndrome, which the CDC describes as a serious, potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat and other products made from mammals. The agency says more than 110,000 suspected cases were identified between 2010 and 2022.

Worth knowing: A bite from this tick isn't a Lyme risk, but it still needs the same prompt removal and the same 30 days of attention.

American dog tick

Dermacentor variabilis

Looks like: Brown, with pale mottled markings behind the head
Can carry: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia
Highest risk: Spring and summer
Bites as: Mostly adult females

The one most people already recognize, usually from finding it on a dog. The CDC says it's widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains.

It doesn't carry Lyme disease either. Because it's mainly the adults that bite people, it tends to get noticed while it's still walking around looking for a place to settle.

Worth knowing: If you hike with a dog, this is the tick most likely to ride home in its coat. Check the dog when you check yourself.

A CDC chart showing four life stages of the blacklegged tick in a row, adult female, adult male, nymph and larva, beside a quarter-inch scale and the edge of a dime — The CDC's own size chart for the blacklegged tick, next to a dime. The nymph, third from the left, is the stage behind most infections.Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Public domain

When is tick season in the Northeast?

Tick season in the Northeast runs any time the temperature is above freezing, with two peaks for the blacklegged tick: nymphs from May through July, and adults in October and November. There's no month when a snow-free trail is reliably clear of them.

The calendar below follows the blacklegged tick, using the seasonal pattern published by the Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases and the Vermont Department of Health. The CDC has nymphs out looking for hosts a little earlier, from April.

March to April
Last fall's adults come back out
Adults that didn't find a host in the fall start looking again as soon as the ground thaws. They're the size of a sesame seed and fairly easy to see on light clothing. Treat your clothes now, before the busy months.
May to July
Nymph season, the one that matters most
These are the peak months for nymphs, which are the size of a poppy seed and easy to miss. They overlap exactly with the best hiking weather of the year. This is when the evening check does the most work.
August to September
A quieter stretch
Blacklegged nymphs are past their peak and the next generation's larvae take over, peaking in August. The CDC still counts September among the months ticks are most active, so the routine stays the same.
October to November
The second peak people forget
Adult blacklegged ticks appear in the fall, and Vermont's health department says tick activity rises again in these two months. Leaf-peeping season is tick season. Don't drop the repellent because the mosquitoes have gone.
Winter
Not gone, only waiting
The CDC says adult blacklegged ticks may be active any time winter temperatures are above freezing. A thawed, snow-free day in January is a day to do the check.

Where on a trail do ticks actually wait?

Ticks wait on low vegetation and in leaf litter at the edges of a trail, usually no more than 18 to 24 inches off the ground according to New York's health department. They can't fly or jump. They hold on with their back legs, stretch out the front pair, and grab whatever brushes past.

The CDC's name for that posture is questing. Once a tick is on you it generally climbs upward until it reaches somewhere protected, which is why a tick that boarded at your ankle is so often found at your waistband or hairline.

More ticks

Tall grass and brush leaning into a narrow trail
Leaf litter, especially in shady, damp woods
The edges where woods meet a field or a lawn
Old stone walls and fallen logs, including the one you were about to sit on
Overgrown side paths and bushwhacks to a viewpoint

Fewer ticks

The bare, packed-down middle of a well-used trail
Open rock ledges and slabs in full sun
Wide woods roads and carriage roads
Dry, sunny ground with nothing growing at shin height
A sit pad or a boulder, as a place for lunch

A small dark tick clinging to the very tip of a dry grass stem with its front legs stretched out, against a soft green background with a strand of barbed wire behind — Questing. An American dog tick at the tip of a grass stem with its front legs out, waiting for something to brush past.Photo: USFWS Mountain-Prairie — Public domain, cropped

How do you avoid ticks on a hike?

You avoid ticks on a hike in three layers: treated clothing and repellent before you leave, staying in the middle of the trail while you walk, and a shower, a full-body check and a hot dryer within two hours of getting home. No single layer is reliable alone, but the three together are.

Everything here comes from the CDC's tick prevention guidance and New York State's, which agree with each other almost line for line.

Before you leave

Treat shoes, socks and pants with 0.5% permethrinFollow the label and do it ahead of time, so everything is dry before you wear it. The CDC says it stays protective through several washings.
Put an EPA-registered repellent on exposed skinDEET, picaridin, IR3535 and oil of lemon eucalyptus are all on the CDC's list.
Wear long pants, and choose light colorsA dark tick shows up on pale fabric. New York's health department also suggests a tight weave.
Tuck pants into socks and your shirt into your pantsIt looks silly and it works. A tick climbing up from your shoe stays on the outside.

On the trail

Walk in the center of the trail
Don't sit directly on the ground, on logs or on stone wallsUse a sit pad or bare rock.
Glance at your pants and socks at every breakA tick caught while it's still walking hasn't bitten anyone.
Tie back long hair

Within two hours of getting home

Put your hiking clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutesThat's for dry clothes, and damp ones need longer. If they have to be washed first, the CDC recommends hot water.
ShowerThe CDC says showering within two hours has been shown to reduce your risk, and it's the easiest moment to do the check.
Check under the arms, in and around the ears, and inside the belly button
Check the back of the knees, between the legs and around the waist
Check in and around your hairUse a mirror or another person for what you can't see.
Check the dog, your jacket and your daypackTicks ride indoors on all three and attach to a person later.

Permethrin vs DEET vs picaridin: which one goes where?

Permethrin goes on clothing and gear and never on skin. DEET and picaridin go on skin. They aren't alternatives to each other, and the usual setup for tick country is permethrin on your shoes, socks and pants plus one skin repellent on whatever is left exposed.

	Permethrin	DEET	Picaridin
Where it goes	Clothing, shoes and gear only	Exposed skin, and it can go on clothing	Exposed skin, and it can go on clothing
What it is	An insecticide. The EPA classes it as a synthetic pyrethroid	A repellent	A repellent
How long it lasts	Through several washings when you treat clothes yourself, per the CDC	Hours. The label gives the figure for that product	Hours. The label gives the figure for that product
The rule to remember	Apply it ahead of time and let it dry. Wash treated clothes separately	Keep it off cuts and sunburn, and wash it off when you come indoors	Same handling as DEET

The EPA's review of factory-treated clothing found it unlikely to pose any significant immediate or long-term hazard to the people wearing it. The agency also keeps a search tool that filters registered skin repellents by tick protection time.

Gear for the first layer

Repellent for skin, and the long pants, tall socks and gaiters that close the gap at your ankles, down where ticks wait. None of it replaces the check when you get home.

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How do you remove a tick?

To remove a tick, grasp it with clean fine-tipped tweezers as close to the skin as you can and pull straight out with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk it. Then clean the bite and your hands. That's all there is to the CDC's method, and it takes under a minute.

Do it as soon as you find the tick. The CDC is blunt about this: don't wait to see a healthcare provider to have it taken out.

01
Grip it at the skin
Use clean fine-tipped tweezers and take hold of the tick as close to the surface of your skin as possible. You're aiming for the mouthparts, not the body.
A pair of pointed tweezers weighs almost nothing. Keep one in the first-aid kit and one by the shower.
02
Pull straight out, slowly
Pull away from the skin with steady, even pressure. Twisting or jerking can leave the mouthparts behind.
03
Leave the folk remedies alone
No petroleum jelly, no heat, no nail polish. The CDC warns against all of them, because they can agitate the tick and push infected fluid into the skin. Don't crush it with your fingers either.
04
Get rid of the tick
Put it in rubbing alcohol, seal it in a container, wrap it tightly in tape, or flush it. If you want a record of what bit you, take a clear photo before you get rid of it.
05
Clean up, then keep looking
Wash the bite and your hands with soap and water, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. Then finish the body check. Where there's one tick there may be others.
06
Write down the date
Note the day, where on your body it was, and where you had been hiking. If you get sick in the next few weeks, the CDC says to tell the doctor about the bite, when it happened and where you most likely picked up the tick.

A red rash on the back of an upper arm in a target pattern, with a solid red center, a paler ring around it and a wide red outer ring — The Lyme disease rash, erythema migrans, in its textbook bull's-eye form on the back of an arm. Many are a plain expanding red patch with no ring at all.Photo: James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Public domain, cropped

Safety

The 30 days after a bite

Watch the bite, and yourself, for the next 30 days. The Lyme rash starts at the site of the bite 3 to 30 days later, about 7 days on average, and expands over several days. Fever, chills, headache, fatigue and aching muscles or joints can show up with it or without it.

Any of that inside the window means calling a doctor and telling them about the tick: when it bit you and where you were hiking. The CDC says the rash appears in roughly 70 to 80 percent of infected people, so no rash doesn't mean no infection.

If the tick was a blacklegged tick, it looked swollen with blood instead of flat, and you live or hike where Lyme disease is common, call sooner. New York's health department says antibiotics within three days of a bite may help some people when there's evidence the tick fed for more than a day. That's a decision for a doctor, not for this page.

The numbers the routine is built on

24+ hrs
How long an infected tick generally has to be attached to pass on Lyme disease: 2 hrs
The window for a shower and a full-body check after you come indoors: 10 min
On high heat in the dryer to kill ticks on dry clothes: 30 days
How long to watch for a rash or a fever after a bite

What do the words on a tick warning sign mean?

Nymph: The young, poppy-seed-sized stage of a tick, between larva and adult. Blacklegged nymphs peak from May through July in the Northeast.
Questing: How a tick hunts. It holds a grass stem or leaf with its back legs and stretches the front pair out to grab a passing animal.
Engorged: Swollen with blood. An unfed tick is flat. The CDC's guide for clinicians treats a flat tick as unlikely to have passed on Lyme disease and an engorged one as a higher risk, so tell a doctor which you found.
Erythema migrans: The expanding red rash of early Lyme disease. It can reach 12 inches or more across and sometimes clears in the middle to form a bull's-eye.
Alpha-gal syndrome: An allergy to red meat and other mammal products that can follow a tick bite, most often a lone star tick's in the United States.
Permethrin: An insecticide for clothing and gear, used at 0.5% strength. It goes on fabric and is never applied to skin.
DEET: A skin-applied repellent that has been widely used for many years, and one of the active ingredients the CDC lists for ticks.
Picaridin: A skin-applied repellent on the same CDC list as DEET, used the same way on exposed skin.

Where the tick check belongs in the plan

Photo: Beyond My Ken — CC BY-SA 4.0

Destinations

Top 10 one-day hikes within an hour of Manhattan

Photo: Quintin Soloviev — CC BY 4.0

Destinations

Top 5 day hikes in New Jersey worth the drive

Photo: Juliancolton — CC BY-SA 4.0

Destinations

Top 5 long day hikes in Harriman State Park

Photo: Famartin — CC BY-SA 4.0

Destinations

The Appalachian Trail, explained

Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain

Safety

Hiking in bear country

Questions about ticks and hiking

How long does a tick have to be attached to give you Lyme disease?

Generally more than 24 hours. That's the CDC's figure for the Lyme bacteria, and it's why a same-day tick check works so well.

It isn't a promise, and it's specific to Lyme disease. Ticks carry other illnesses too, so the right response to any attached tick is the same: take it out now.

Do ticks jump or fall out of trees?

No. The CDC says ticks can't fly or jump, and New York's health department says deer ticks don't drop onto people either. They wait on grass, brush and leaf litter, usually no more than 18 to 24 inches off the ground, and climb upward once they're on you. A tick found on your scalp has usually crawled there from lower down.

Are there ticks in the fall and winter?

Yes. Adult blacklegged ticks appear in the fall, with October and November a second peak in the Northeast. The CDC says adults may be active any time winter temperatures are above freezing.

The only reliably tick-free hiking in this part of the country is on snow or frozen ground.

Should I take antibiotics after a tick bite?

Not routinely. The CDC says that in certain circumstances a single dose of doxycycline after a tick bite, in an area where Lyme disease is common, may lower the risk.

New York's health department narrows that to blacklegged tick bites where the tick fed for more than a day, with treatment started within three days. If that sounds like your bite, call a doctor promptly and let them decide.

Does every tick bite cause Lyme disease?

No. Only blacklegged ticks carry it in the East, only some of them are infected, and an infected one generally needs more than 24 hours attached. Lone star ticks and American dog ticks don't spread Lyme disease, though they can carry other illnesses.

Are ticks a problem on the Appalachian Trail?

Yes. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy says ticks have been documented in every state the trail crosses, and calls Lyme disease the most commonly transmitted tick-borne illness.

A study published in the National Park Service journal Park Science swept for ticks at 42 shelter areas along the trail. It found them rarely around shelters and tent sites, and 14.5 times more likely on the trail itself. The same article cites a separate survey of trail hikers in which 9 percent said they had been diagnosed with Lyme disease.

Is permethrin safe to wear?

The EPA's assessment of factory-treated clothing found it unlikely to pose any significant immediate or long-term hazard to the people wearing it, and noted that permethrin is poorly absorbed through the skin. It's made for fabric, though. New York's health department notes that permethrin products are registered for clothing only, not skin. Follow the label when you treat your clothes, and let them dry before you wear them.

What if the tick's head stays in?

Don't worry about it. The CDC says your body pushes the mouthparts out over time as the skin heals. You can lift them out with tweezers if they come easily, and if they don't, leave them alone. New York's health department adds that the mouthparts alone can't transmit Lyme disease. Clean the area and watch the spot for the same 30 days as any other bite.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these. Conditions, fees and rules change — check the official page before you go.

Preventing Tick Bites — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
What to Do After a Tick Bite — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
How Lyme Disease Spreads — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
Signs and Symptoms of Untreated Lyme Disease — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
Preventing Lyme Disease — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
Where Ticks Live — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
About Ticks and Tickborne Disease — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
About Alpha-gal Syndrome — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
Lyme Disease Prophylaxis After Tick Bite — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · checked October 6, 2026
Lyme Disease and Other Diseases Carried by Ticks — New York State Department of Health · checked October 6, 2026
Be Tick Free - A Guide for Preventing Lyme Disease — New York State Department of Health · checked October 6, 2026
Tick and Insect Repellents: Deciding on Their Use — New York State Department of Health · checked October 6, 2026
Tick Activity in Vermont — Vermont Department of Health · checked October 6, 2026
Blacklegged Tick (aka Deer Tick) Ixodes scapularis — Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases · checked October 6, 2026
Repellent-Treated Clothing — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · checked October 6, 2026
Find the Repellent that is Right for You — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · checked October 6, 2026
Tick surveillance and disease prevention on the Appalachian Trail — National Park Service, Park Science · checked October 6, 2026
Tick Smart: 5 Tips for Hikers to Prevent Tick-Borne Illness — Appalachian Trail Conservancy · checked October 6, 2026

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Getting lost on a hike turns into real trouble when you keep walking after you know you're lost. What to do in the first ten minutes, how rescuers find you with or without a cell signal, and what to set up before you leave so you're quick to find.

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Safety

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The short version

Which ticks bite hikers in the Northeast?

Blacklegged tick

Lone star tick

American dog tick

When is tick season in the Northeast?

Last fall's adults come back out

Nymph season, the one that matters most

A quieter stretch

The second peak people forget

Not gone, only waiting

Where on a trail do ticks actually wait?

More ticks

Fewer ticks

How do you avoid ticks on a hike?

Before you leave

On the trail

Within two hours of getting home

Permethrin vs DEET vs picaridin: which one goes where?

Best Bug Spray for Hiking of 2026

Best Hiking Pants of 2026

Best Hiking Socks of 2026

Best Hiking Gaiters of 2026

How do you remove a tick?

Grip it at the skin

Pull straight out, slowly

Leave the folk remedies alone

Get rid of the tick

Clean up, then keep looking

Write down the date

The numbers the routine is built on

What do the words on a tick warning sign mean?

Top 10 one-day hikes within an hour of Manhattan

Top 5 day hikes in New Jersey worth the drive

Top 5 long day hikes in Harriman State Park

The Appalachian Trail, explained

Hiking in bear country

Questions about ticks and hiking

Sources

What to do if you get lost hiking

Altitude sickness on a hike, and the descent that cures it

Hiking in the heat