The Basics
Spending time together outdoors is good for the whole family. Don’t let bug bites ruin your fun.
Most bug bites are harmless, but some mosquitoes and ticks carry diseases.
- You can get serious diseases from mosquitoes, like West Nile virus, Eastern equine encephalitis, and dengue fever.
- Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are 2 of the serious diseases you can get from ticks.
The good news is that you can take easy steps to protect yourself and your family from mosquito and tick bites.
Take steps to avoid bites from mosquitoes and ticks.
- Get rid of standing (still) water around your home to keep some types of mosquitoes from laying eggs near your house.
- Cut back brush and tall grasses and get rid of fallen leaves to keep ticks away.
- Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and socks.
- Use bug repellent (also called bug spray or insect repellent) on skin and clothing.
- After spending time outside, check everyone for ticks.
- Take a shower after coming inside to help get ticks off of you.
- Use a tick collar or other repellent product on your pets. And remember to check your pets for ticks.
Take Action!
Follow these tips to avoid bites from mosquitoes and ticks.
Keep mosquitoes away from your home.
Many mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing (still) water. To help keep mosquitoes away:
- Empty water from unused or forgotten items (like flower pot bases, old tires, buckets, and toys) in your yard. Turn them upside down.
- Change the water in your kids’ wading pool at least once a week. Be sure to store the pool on its side.
Keep ticks away from your home.
Many types of ticks live in areas with woods, brush, or high grass. Animals, like dogs and deer, may also carry ticks in their fur. To keep ticks away from your lawn:
- Clear brush, tall grasses, and fallen leaves from around your home. Mow the lawn often.
- Use wood chips or gravel to separate your patio or play equipment from wooded and brushy areas.
- Remove plants that attract deer, and put up a fence to keep deer out of your yard.
- Consider applying tick control products to your yard. You can do this yourself or hire a pest control company.
- Ask a vet for tick control medicine or tick collars for your pets. Dogs and cats need different tick control medicines, so make sure to get the right one.
Use bug repellent.
Bug repellent makes it harder for mosquitoes and ticks to find you.
What type of bug repellent do I need?
- Use a bug spray with 20 to 50% DEET to avoid tick and mosquito bites. Check the label.
- You can also look for repellents with picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or IR3535 to avoid mosquito bites.
- It’s a good idea to use sunscreen when you are outside, but look for a separate sunscreen lotion. Don’t use bug repellent that has sunscreen already mixed in.
- Use a spray with permethrin on your clothes, shoes, and camping gear to repel and kill ticks. (Don’t use permethrin directly on your skin.)
How do I use bug repellent?
- Spray it on your clothes or on exposed skin.
- Don’t spray repellent directly on your face. Instead, use your hands to carefully rub it on your face. You can also use wipes that contain bug repellent to wipe it on your skin.
- Don’t use repellent on babies under 2 months old.
- Find out how to use insect repellents safely on children.
- Wash repellent off skin with soap and water when you come inside.
Wear long pants, shirts with long sleeves, and socks.
Cover up your skin so that it’s harder for mosquitoes and ticks to bite you. This is especially helpful in the morning and evening when many mosquitoes bite most.
Check for ticks after spending time outside – even in your yard.
Check everybody in the family, including pets. Check the entire body, especially:
- Under the arms
- In and around the ears
- Back of the knees and between the legs
- Around the waist and inside the belly button
- In and around hair
Get more tips on doing a tick check [PDF - 82 KB].
Take a shower after being outside in an area that might have ticks.
A shower can help get ticks off of you and lower your risk of Lyme disease. Try to shower within 2 hours of coming inside.
Use tweezers to remove a tick as soon as you see it.
- Get the tick near its head or mouth.
- Gently pull the whole tick straight out. Be careful not to crush or twist the tick.
- Wash your hands and the bite with soap and water.
- Put rubbing alcohol on the bite.
Don’t use a hot match to kill and remove a tick. Get more tips on removing ticks.
Tell the doctor if you get sick after a tick bite.
If you or your kids get a rash or fever after getting bitten by a tick, call the doctor. Tell the doctor about the tick bite, when it happened, and where you think you were when you got the bite.