Preventing Tick Bites, Safely Removing Them, and When to Seek Medical Care

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that weekly rates of ER visits for tick bites are up in all parts of the US except the South Central United States. It is the highest rates of ER encounters for this time of year since 2017.¹

Andrew Handel, MD, pediatric infectious diseases physician at Stony Brook Children's Hospital and Stony Brook’s Regional Tick-Borne Disease Resource Center in Hampton Bays, NY, points out in the northeastern part of the US, there have been a couple of weather-related factors that point to higher tick activity this spring.

“We did get hit with a lot of snow this past winter, and that actually is protective for the ticks. The ticks can hide underneath it, and it creates a layer of insulation, which keeps the ticks from dying off during the winter,” Handel said. “The other major factor here is temperature…as it hits 40 degrees or higher, we know that tick activity starts. And this March was actually a record high for the temperature for that time of year in our area.”

Tick Bite Prevention

Tick-borne diseases are becoming more common and Handel explains that with people being outside and ticks found in large areas of the country, there will be tick encounters. The good news there are multiple strategies to prevent tick bites, including tick avoidance, using insect repellent for both skin and clothes, utilizing your clothes dryer and body checks for ticks.

For tick avoidance, he says when you're outside, you want to make sure that if you're walking on a path, you stay in the middle of the path and to avoid brushing up the tall grass on the sides of the path. For people out in the yard you want to stay away from that edge habitat, any brush or leafy debris that may be on the ground, because that's where the ticks like to hide. For people out in nature for long periods of time, Handel recommends that people wear long pants and to tuck their pants into their socks.

For the insect repellent, Handel recommends spraying on DEET 20% to 30% on the skin. Additionally, for clothes and shoes, individuals can use a solution called permethrin. “You don't want to get it on your skin, but you can spray it on your clothes and your shoes, allow it to dry, and that actually will kill ticks on contact, and it lasts for many washes once the clothes are already in use.”

After people come home from being outside, they want to throw their clothes into the dryer and put them on a high heat for 10 minutes to kill the ticks. Lastly, people should do a tick check on their bodies.

“You want to look behind the knees, in any skin folds, in any body hair, inside the armpits and the groin. Have someone check behind your ears also, because that's where the ticks like to hide the most,” Handel said.

Tick Removal and When to Seek Care

Of course, it is likely that many people will encounter tick bites and Handel counsels on how to remove them. He says all you need is a good pair of tweezers.

“If you find a tick attached, what you want to do is take your tweezers and you're going to grasp as close to the skin as possible, right where it's biting onto, and pull it straight upwards. You don't want to twist, or you don't want to grab onto the belly, because that can actually make it more difficult to remove the tick—and can actually increase your chances of getting a tick-borne infection,” Handel said. “Once you take the tick in your tweezers, you can place it in a sealed bag, and then you can bring it to your medical provider, where they can determine what species it is, because they are different species of ticks that can transmit different infections.”

In terms of seeking care after a tick bite, he offers some ideas of when to visit your provider.

“If you just came in from the outdoors and the tick was attached for a few minutes, under an hour, or if it was a very brief period, then it's really not necessary to go right away to a medical provider,” Handel said. “One of the major reasons that you would want to go is for patients who've been bitten by a tick and it turns out to be a deer tick that was attached for at least 24 to 36 hours. You can speak with your medical provider about if a single dose of doxycycline is a good idea for you, because that can actually be used to prevent Lyme disease. It's about 90% effective.”

In the next installment of the conversation with Handel, he talks further about treatment and the importance of raising awareness during Lyme Disease month (May).

Reference
CDC Data Show Weekly ER Visits for Tick Bites Higher than Usual. CDC. April 24, 2026. Accessed May 11, 2026.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2026/2026-cdc-data-show-weekly-er-visits-for-tick-bites-higher-than-usual.html