Avoiding Tick Habitat
This is roughly the view a tick has while it waits. Stay out of grass like this when you can.
Where you walk and sit outdoors matters as much as what you wear. Ticks aren't evenly distributed. They concentrate in specific spots.
Ticks concentrate at the edges where open land meets wooded areas, in tall grass, and in leaf litter. Open sunny lawn has far fewer ticks than the shaded edge of the woods. Staying in the center of trails and out of the vegetation on the sides reduces contact significantly.
Dry and sunny is their worst environment. They dehydrate quickly and need moisture and shade to survive. A picnic in open sun is meaningfully safer than one at the shaded edge of a woods.
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Specific Spots to Be Careful Around
- The transition zone between lawn and woods, roughly the first 9 feet of woods edge
- Stone walls and rock piles, which mice love to nest in
- Leaf litter and brush piles
- Tall grass and overgrown trail edges
- Logs and fallen branches on the ground
If you're sitting on the ground in any of these areas, put a blanket or tarp down first rather than sitting directly on grass or a log.