Yes, you can be outside this summer and avoid ticks. These are the tips to know.

If you plan on spending any time outdoors this summer, preventing tick bites should be a priority. These spider-like parasites are primarily found in wooded, grassy and brush-filled areas, and while more prevalent in the northeastern U.S. and parts of the Midwest, they live in every state and can be picked up during hikes, dog walks and backyard barbecues. Tick bites can also cause diseases like Lyme, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Heartland virus, so it is critical to avoid contact whenever possible. Here are some tips to keep you, your family and pets safe.

Dress to repel

Protect your skin by covering it. Wear long pants, light-colored long-sleeved shirts and closed-toe shoes, tucking your pants into your socks. Spray clothing, boots and camping gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin, an insecticide, or purchase pretreated garments. Some tick-repellent clothes and accessories have mesh elements, and it is a "combination of these kinds of features — chemical treatment and design — that work best to keep you comfortable," said Popular Mechanics.

Carry tick repellent

DEET is another "effective" tick repellent and can be found in sprays and wipes, The Strategist said. Look for products with an active DEET concentration of 20% to 30%, which will last on the skin for a maximum of eight hours. Off!'s Deep Woods aerosol repellent is a "cost-effective solution for families and groups of friends," while the Deep Woods repellent towelettes are easier to apply and safer to use in an enclosed space. Do not use DEET products along with lotions and sunscreens, as this will decrease efficacy.

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Do spot checks

Most ticks move slowly, taking their time crawling on your skin before latching and feasting on your blood. Once a tick settles in, it could feed for several days, increasing the risk of it spitting an "infectious dose of whatever germ it might be carrying into you," Thomas Mather, the director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Vector-Borne Disease, said to NPR. Doing frequent spot checks makes it easier to catch a tick before the tick can get too comfortable. Look everywhere, including in the hair and under arms, and do a final check of your clothes and body when you are inside and before taking a shower — this will rinse off any ticks you may have missed.

Clean up your yard

Ticks dwell in tall grass, bushes, shaded spots and wooded areas, where it is easy for them to wait until a person or animal walks by and they can climb onto them. Steer clear of these conditions while out on walks or playing with kids, and do some clean up work in your own yard. Regularly mow the lawn, prune bushes, weed overgrown gardens and pick up debris like leaf piles.

Protect your pets in advance

Check with your vet about outfitting your dog or cat with a flea and tick collar or using an oral or topical treatment on your pup (most topical repellents cleared for use in dogs are "super toxic" to cats, The Strategist notes). They can also wear tick-repellant clothing, like Insect Shield's "odorless and surprisingly stylish" red paisley bandana sprayed with permethrin. Do thorough spot checks in their fur (especially in cats and dogs with longer hair, where ticks can hide easily), beneath collars, under tails, in ears and between toes.

How to remove a tick

Take a pair of tweezers and grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible; do not use your fingers or touch the tick with your bare hands. Carefully pull the tick upward, without squeezing the body, then use a disinfectant to clean the area. This is the same method to use when removing ticks from pets. Do not use petroleum jelly or nail polish on the tick, and do not light a match and burn it.

Seek medical attention if you are unable to remove all of the tick, a rash appears, you develop flu-like symptoms or the skin turns red and begins to ooze. You should monitor skin for 30 days after a bite.

A few more things to know about ticks

Ticks like humidity, and with climate change causing warmer temperatures, tick populations are booming. Since 2019, there has been an increase in the number of people becoming sick from tick bites, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, but not all tick bites result in illnesses. "If you remove a tick within 24 hours of attachment, it's fairly unlikely that you will get infected," Sam Telford, an infectious diseases expert at Tufts University, told The Associated Press.