“MDH staff person is dressed in white to more easily spot ticks that may grab and crawl onto them while out in the woods” Two adult female and one male black-legged ticks on pant leg (photo from Minnesota Dept of Health Ticks)

13 April 2026

You’ve probably heard of “Dress for Success” career advice. Today we’ll explore dressing for outdoor success to avoid Lyme disease.

This spring there are so many black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) that unless you are vigilant it’s very easy to get a tick on your body, be bitten, and quite possibly get Lyme disease. How vigilant do you have to be? It depends on what you wear.

If you wear summer clothes that expose your arms, legs and toes you’ll need to check frequently while outdoors and check very carefully when you come inside. Look at your ankles and between your toes. Look behind your knees … and in other places you don’t want to expose to the public. This chart does not check toes and ankles because it assumes you’ll wear socks!

How to do a tick check (image from PA Dept of Health & CDC.gov)

If you cover your skin with anti-tick-treated clothing (Spray Your Clothes), you won’t have to obsessively check while you’re outdoors. Wear permethrin-treated …

• Light-colored long pants.
• Light-colored long-sleeved shirt with collar. Ticks are trapped under collar!
• Socks long enough to put over your pant legs.
• Hat with brim. Good for sun, too!
• Closed-toe shoes.

This 1+ minute video illustrates what to wear with extra tips. NOTE: The video says to spray your skin with DEET. Alas, no. DEET prevents mosquito bites but it does not repel ticks.

DEET-and-ticks is the 5th myth in this 8-minute video which includes tips on where the ticks are outdoors.

See more photos in this Tickborne Disease article at the Minnesota Dept of Health.