For me, March in Michigan is a month of combing the woods for deer antlers and scouting fresh turkey spots. As the snow melts, the woods wake up.
Red-winged blackbirds are back, trilling from the cattails in my front yard, and the first green buds poke through the damp earth.
Life is stirring. So are the ticks. I’ve already picked one off my pants today. Having dealt with “Lyme disease,” I don’t mess around with these little devil spawns.
Over the years, I’ve come up with a simple three-step approach to staying tick-free when I’m out on a hike. Nothing is perfect (aside, maybe, from a bubble-boy suit) but this should keep you tick-free this spring:
Step 1: Check Yourself
Ticks are sneaky. They snag your pant leg of nowhere and move quicker than you’d think, latching on before you ever feel them. I wear lighter-colored clothing like tan or gray because it makes those dark little dots stand out. A quick scan every half hour or so makes a big difference.
Pro tip: Keep an eye on areas like behind your knees, under your arms, and along your waistband. Ticks are attracted to heat and tend to focus on these spots.
Step 2: Stay Tucked
I seal off access to my skin. Everything gets tucked in. I also throw a pair of gaiters over my boots.
Think of ticks like they’re heat-seeking missiles. They’ll crawl through any gap in your clothing they can find, especially around your legs. Gaiters are sweet because they cover my lower legs and seal off entry points, as ticks climb up from grass or deadfall. Plus, they keep you dry in what tends to be a muddy month.
Pair that with tucking my pants into my socks and my shirt into my waistband, and I’ve got a pretty solid fortress going. It’s not glamorous, but it works.
Step 3: Spray Down
I also treat my gear with permethrin. This stuff is a game-changer. I spray it on my clothes, boots, and my backpack a day or two before heading out and let it dry completely. It’s not for skin, but on your gear it kills ticks on contact and keeps working for weeks. Permethrin’s available at REI or Walmart, depending on your political leanings.
This time of year feels like a landscape-wide resurrection. Hope is in the air.
The woods are calling us. Let’s not let ticks slow us down.
James Zandstra is an experienced outdoorsman with a passion for the Mitten State. Follow his work on X @TheFairChase1.
