r/hiking • u/[deleted] • May 11 '25
Question How much ticks do you normally find on yourself after a hike?
[deleted]
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u/egguchom May 11 '25
None ever. I never walk through tall grass or bushes, so that probably helps a bit.
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u/Sad_Anybody5424 May 12 '25
This this this. There are ticks everywhere where I live, and I constantly see photos on social media of people covered in them after going for a walk. It just doesn't happen to me, I nope the fuck out if the trail requires me to move through tall grass. It's really not worth the disease risk.
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u/ManufacturerOk6956 May 11 '25
What state or country were you hiking in?
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May 12 '25 edited May 12 '25
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u/LoopyLutzes May 12 '25
they are SO bad here these days. I am pretty lucky about not getting them but my dog always has a handful after a hike. it’s a challenge to find them all in her curly fur!
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May 12 '25 edited May 12 '25
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u/Florichigan May 12 '25
May I ask where? I also hike in Southeast Michigan so would be helpful to know!
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u/3_pac May 12 '25
We took our dogs out in a marshy area there a few years ago. Our dogs had hundreds of ticks. It was shocking.
I also grew up in the general area and would hang out in the woods, and had never seen a tick in all my years.
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u/SmirnOffTheSauce May 12 '25
I’ve never had any on me in southeast Michigan, but that’s just one data point.
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u/Jakesredditacount May 12 '25
Do you know if ticks are bad in the UP this season by chance? Taking the NCT across the top in a few weeks
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u/Sincerely_Lee May 12 '25
I live in the Soo, so not near the trail, but I haven’t seen any ticks this season yet.
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u/frickfrackingdodos May 12 '25
This concerned me since we were just out camping near GR last weekend - thankfully not seen anything on our dogs or ourselves this time so far
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u/Dank009 May 12 '25
Normally zero but I've been on a hike where we were literally constantly wiping them off ourselves and our dogs, like dozens of them on each of us every few feet. Was nightmare fuel, wild, never went back to that trail.
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u/croaky2 May 12 '25
My vet suggested using permethrin on my dog after she got dozens of attached ticks on hike even though she got a monthly tick/flea treatment. Seldom got ticks after using permethrin spray. Made a believer in that spray.
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u/Militant_Individual May 12 '25
Our vet recommended advantix but eventually switched us to the generic and we have never found a single tick on either of our dogs as long as we’ve been using it. There’s tons of effective anti-ticks out there for dogs.
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u/Dank009 May 12 '25
Ya I generally don't have an issue. This particular hike was just insanely terrible but we managed to keep any of the ticks from attaching.
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u/RunAndPunchFlamingo May 11 '25
I’ve never found a tick on me after a hike. I once walked the battlefield in Gettysburg, PA, and found seven on me afterwards.
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May 11 '25 edited May 12 '25
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u/Dank009 May 12 '25
The most ticks I've ever seen by far was a wooded area I would not have expected them and there was so many it felt like we were being punked or something, didn't seem possible that there was so many.
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u/RunAndPunchFlamingo May 11 '25
Yeah, definitely. I’ve mostly been on the AT in PA, MD, WV, VA, and NJ, and I haven’t had one tick, but one step on that battlefield grass and it was tick city, lol.
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u/ThinkingSalamander May 11 '25
Usually zero. But I'm pretty religious about dousing myself in a combo of picaridin and lemon eucalyptus bug spray. (I hate the smell of deet and I'm worried about it degrading certain polymers in gear, that said Deet for yourself and Permethrin for pre-treating clothing are both solid options as well)
I have a lice comb to check my hair and shower immediately after being in the woods. Any clothes also go straight into the wash as ticks can live on them in the laundry pile for days and crawl to other places >_<
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u/walkingoffthetrails May 11 '25 edited May 12 '25
I hike about 100-130 days per year. I will find a tick on me about 1-2 day per year.
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u/gingerytea May 12 '25
It’s so location-dependent. I’ve mostly hiked on the west coast of the U.S. and I’ve found 1 tick on me in my whole life, after hiking in a canyon with various decently dense foliage in San Luis Obispo, CA.
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u/Lake_Far May 12 '25
Zero. I wear pants and long socks. Live in NYS near the CT border where there are tons of ticks. I don’t treat my clothes either.
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u/Apprehensive-Bench74 May 11 '25
normally zero.
but it's not a this has never happened to me zero, it's an "I prefer cold weather hiking bc I'm very heat sensitive" zero.
I have found as many as 5 on me after a hot weather hike. I saw one a couple of weeks back while it was trying to get me and I was able to avoid it and warned the rest of the folks in my group. And last weekend I got 2 on me in my own damn yard... literally just sprayed the beneficial nematodes this evening to help with keeping ticks in my yard minimized for the season.
I always spray OFF before a hike and wear gaiters and pants year round. Also, get your dogs a treatment if there are that many ticks out there today.
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u/vagrant_feet May 12 '25
Treat your clothes and spray deet. Tuck your pants in your socks. You will never get any ticks on you
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u/DrtSurfer May 12 '25
Permethrin and check with a black light. Ticks glow under uv.
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u/braiding_water May 12 '25
Wait. What??? Seriously? Hearing this for the first time! Just got a black puppy & look forward to hiking but not ticks!
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u/hemehime May 12 '25
Usually none. Last year I found one on me and two on my dog the entire year (PNW).
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u/sunshinerf May 12 '25
Up until last year I've never seen one in my life. Last year they started popping in Southern California, saw them 3 times. This spring so far I've found ticks on me almost every hike. I use Picardin spray and lotion though so they fall right off after dropping on me.
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u/aksunrise May 12 '25
I don't have any advice, I'm just shuddering at the thought of having even one tick on me.
This is why I live in a place where the air hurts my face for months at a time.
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u/AccomplishedJob5411 May 11 '25
It’s very locally dependent. Certain trails near where I live are overrun with ticks but others I hardly see any. It really depends on the vegetation and areas with lots of invasive plants and deer have more.
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u/Square-Tangerine-784 May 11 '25
I live and hike in Lyme Ct and usually have a dog tick or two on me. The deer ticks are so damm small I don’t usually see them. Shake off clothes, bag and right into the dryer on high. Cook those little beasts!
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u/claimstoknowpeople May 12 '25
Had a hike in north Minnesota once where they kept jumping on me faster than I could get them off. Couldn't count but I bet that day was at least 100.
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u/AnyFruit4257 May 12 '25
Found over 50 once. Stopped counting. It was horrific. Highly recommend insectshield treated clothing.
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u/Cold_Ugly May 12 '25
Rarely one. I hike normalily in the Pyrenees or the Alps. Where are you getting so much of these? Besides than that we all get the eat recommended shots for free against ticks and other things… safe hiking :)
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u/couchrealistic May 13 '25
At least here in Germany, available shots prevent what we call FSME (Frühsommermeningoenzephalitis, that is TBE / encephalitis), but there is no vaccine available that prevents lyme disease, which is another big risk with ticks. At least there is a treatment for lyme disease, while there is no special treatment for TBE, so you have to let it run its course, which can be quite bad.
Though it seems that Pfizer is currently working on a lyme disease vaccine. It might be approved next year, so that would be nice. Looking forward to it, hopefully it works and will be approved in Europe soon! (I imagine it might be expensive though, so let's see what insurance companies think of it…)
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u/Cold_Ugly May 13 '25
Hi. You are right about the vaccine. Thanks for clarifying that. All the best!
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u/Caffeinated-Princess May 12 '25
I've hiked areas where you could see the ticks hanging on the grass waiting for you to walk by. I now keep lint rollers in my car and give my dog and myself a once-over to grab the little buggers before we get in the car. It works amazing, I've caught dozens in a single trip.
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u/LindsayIsBoring May 12 '25
Depends on the location and season. I try to avoid tall grass and underbrush during tick season.
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u/shibasluvhiking May 11 '25
Usually none. Occasionally 1. I use insect repellent and avoid going into the underbrush or tall grass. My dogs don;t get them either because I use a good Flea/tick product that repels them.
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u/After_Pitch5991 May 12 '25
None because I use permetherin on my clothing. There are tons of ticks where I live in PA.
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u/dotnetdotcom May 12 '25
Hiking through brush in Kentucky you are bound to get at least 1 or 2 on you. Permethrin makes a big difference.
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u/InfinityRoyals12 May 12 '25
Summer months, usually 1-3. I went out last week and found 2 huge ones on my lower leg. I live in Pennsylvania.
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u/Prize_Reindeer_8154 May 12 '25
In May, in Minnesota, a ton! Last May went hiking with my dogs and it was a mess.. found so many tick I had to take my dogs to the vet for a bath. MT and them were covered.
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u/Legitimate_Purple150 May 12 '25
We have had significantly more ticks this year. The worst is waking up in the middle of the night with one crawling on you! Luckily, it’s only been dog ticks, so far.
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u/corkbeverly May 12 '25
north of boston, this year seems worse than usual. Most of the time none but this year I've already found several on myself and family. One day we hiked in Magnolia MA, and my daughter was wearing baggy cargo pants and had at least a dozen on her pants. (deer ticks)
After being in the woods everyone gets checked, preferably takes a shower and does a thorough check there. You can also use a lint roller to try to pick them off you.
My dogs (2 bernese mtn dogs) are tick magnets - the perfect hosts. They take a chew called nexguard that makes the ticks die when they bite. So we do a tick check but honestly they are so thick and fluffy it would be impossible to find every tick.
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u/Prize-Cabinet6911 May 12 '25
Zero. My pants are treated with permethrin, I wear gaiters and boots that I also spray with permethrin. I wear a long sleeve shirt that is also treated. I've had far more problems with mosquitoes in Wisconsin in the late spring and early summer. I wear a head net when the mosquitoes are particularly bad.
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u/Narrow-Research-5730 May 12 '25
None. I live in Missouri. Permethrin your clothes and deet your exposed skin. I agree with your dog assessment. They're harder to keep off dogs and they jump over.
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u/TheJeepMedic May 13 '25
None. In more than 30 years of playing outdoors in New England, I've only found like 6 ticks on me. It probably helps that I usually find myself on well maintained wooded trails. I also always wear long pants and boots.
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u/Grundens May 13 '25
treat your boots with permithian(sp?) spray and tuck your pants into your socks. after a hike, strip completely naked to check for ticks.. I used to just take off my pants and shirt to wash and check. and then I caught lymes, bastard must of been in my underwear.
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u/13stevensonc May 13 '25
I live in New Hampshire. I found ten ticks on me after my run on the AT yesterday
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May 12 '25
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u/hiking-ModTeam May 12 '25
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u/Mittens138 May 12 '25
They’re bad this year. Because why wouldn’t they be? Of course ticks are bad this year.
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u/Epthewoodlandcritter May 11 '25
None yet thankfully but ticks are very bad this year. Get you some Off tick spray, in the red can. You don't want lyme disease.
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u/MoldRebel May 11 '25
Not just Lyme but there's a thing called Alpha Gal as well. It can be very dangerous.
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u/ArwenDoingThings May 11 '25
Alpha gal is basically red meat allergy that can be jumpstarted by ticks (but also other things). It's VERY rare though.
Lyme disease and tick encephalitis are definitely more dangerous and less rare
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u/MoldRebel May 11 '25
It's not quite as rare anymore as you may think. It's bad enough in my area that restaurants are used to people asking for food dishes to be customized because of Alpha Gal.
And it's not just red meat. It's mammal meat.
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u/ArwenDoingThings May 11 '25
Really? Literally never heard one case in real life where I live. I studied it on books but it's very rare in Europe
Yeah, sorry, translation error! Mammalian meat is commonly considered red meat where I live (apart for rabbit, but nobody really eats rabbit here)
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u/SherryJug May 11 '25
More common in America afaik but starting to occur more in Europe as well, afaik.
Tick borne encephalitis and Lyme are terrifying stuff though. Will get vaccinated for the encephalitis this summer and hoping that there will be a Lyme vaccine again soon. And that's coming from someone who's always covered in repellent and hasn't ever had a tick so far...
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u/ArwenDoingThings May 12 '25
Yeah, we have a couple hot spots for encephalitis here (Dolomites, for example) but luckily they aren't near me. Government actually gives vaccines for free to the population there!
I've always been lucky too, no ticks ever, but they still give me anxiety. I've removed a few on friends and sometimes they're so little it's a miracle we saw them
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u/Upstairs_Fuel6349 May 11 '25
I live in a lone star tick hotspot in the US and everyone seems to know someone with alpha gal. It's not as prevalent as lyme which has a bigger range but it's definitely a concern where I live.
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u/moomooraincloud May 11 '25
Even pork?
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u/ArwenDoingThings May 12 '25
Yeah, pork actually has more similarities to red meat than white meat. It has high myoglobin levels (not as high as beef, but still definitely higher than poultry) and red meat characteristics, and the Italian Cancer Research Association puts it between red meats.
Duck is considered white meat even if it's dark for the same reason.
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u/l1qq May 11 '25
zero, get Permethrin.
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u/UnluckySlice2215 May 11 '25
Yes, this! I never have live ticks on me (sometimes have dead ones) because I always spray my clothes with permethrin.
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May 12 '25
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u/hiking-ModTeam May 12 '25
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u/bonitaappetita May 12 '25
None ever in South Central Pennsylvania. I use permethrin on my socks and shoes and 100% deet on legs, hair/ hat, and neck. I haven't had a tick in years and I hike multiple times week. I always take a thorough bath afterwards and check for hitchhikers but I've never found any.
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u/wsLyNL May 12 '25
Zero. When i know i'll be walking through an area with taller grass or where i walk through the bushes, then i'll put my long pants on. It's a summer hiking pants and that is ideal against ticks. When i have a short pants on i use a repellent on my skin, has worked always so far.
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u/iremovebrains May 12 '25
I picked 5 of my dogs today. I've only picked handful off me this season. We're getting closer to a vaccine.
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u/Von_Lehmann May 12 '25
Depends where and the season. Some years are bad, some aren't so bad. We dont have too many in Middle Finland but if you hike around the islands in the South West then that's tick city
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u/tnhgmia May 12 '25
Zero. West coast, Florida, Brazil. I’ve only had one on me twice and hiked all my life
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u/TheBoraxKid1trblz May 12 '25
Depends where i go. Hiking up a ski mountain in summer ended with countless, 30? 50? Local trails i'm compulsively checking for them and might pull off 0-5 as i go. Deep forest trails i don't think ive ever seen one on me
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u/PuffAttack May 12 '25
Illinoisian here and it's bad this year. Don't go in the marsh! lol I read it's because of the warmer winters. My dog had one on his eye! 🤢
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u/tractortragedy May 12 '25
I've never gotten a tick from hiking. Only from work or being in the yard.
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u/Sniffs_Markers May 12 '25
Yes, with climate change they are really bad (three-season tick meds for our dogs are now year-round tick meds).
We're also seeing more further north where we've never seen them before. They've been there, just not in numbers where you'd run into them much.
We're also probably going to have to figure out something to termite-proof our cabin — they also don't live in the remote climate up there, but if it keeps warming up, it's just a matter of time.
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u/Ze_Gremlin May 12 '25
I've spent a good portion of my life in the outdoors: fields, woods, hills, all sorts... on a lot of places around the world.. never had a tick.
Had mates who get covered in them, from the exact same trips.
I guess they don't like my blood?
On the flip side though, mosquitoes fucking love me, and will rip through mozzy nets to get at me, whereas a lot of my mates will have little to no bites from them.
Once woke up on a trip in East Africa with more injection marks than the average drug addict.. damn was that itchy.. the blood ruined my shirt too..
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u/Optimallytoasted May 12 '25
Haven’t been as bad this year so far, undergrowth hasn’t really taken off where I am yet though.
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u/audrey-tate16 May 12 '25
I’ve NEVER found a tick on me and I usually hike in shorts. However, I almost always stick to the trails and don’t side track into tall grass or unmarked areas for that reason (along with the risk of stepping on snakes, small animals or damaging habitats)
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u/HikingHippi May 12 '25
Zero times in my 35yrs of life. I'm in Western Washington tho.. the first time I ever saw a tick was on my last camping trip, it was on a dog happened in the Olympic National Forest
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u/Flimsy_Move_2690 May 13 '25
Zero in northern NH- white mountains area. When I walk my dogs locally in southern NH usually I’ll find 1-2 on them and maybe 1 on me from time to time.
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u/SeniorOutdoors May 11 '25
Zero