Even after staring at the photo of this poppy seed muffin for a few minutes, I couldn't find anything that looked like a tick until I saw the zoomed in version. Which instantly made my skin crawl and think every freckle on me was a tick. I have three dogs who are outside pretty frequently and we do a lot of hikes and other things in the woods so I'm always pretty paranoid about bringing a tick in or missing one during a check. Seeing how small they can be is definitely concerning, even if you think you are checking really well.

  1. Avoid heavily wooded areas or areas with thick leaf cover. Stay on the center of trails.
  2. Use repellents with 20% or more DEET on exposed skin.
  3. Pre-treat clothing or products you always use outside (like tents or boots) with permethrin.
  4. Shower within two hours of coming in from outdoor activities and do a full body check of yourself, pets, and gear.
  5. Tumble dry your clothing on a high-heat setting to kill anything that may have come in from the outside.

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