04/28/2026
Stay safe! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Cj7XuEySG/?mibextid=wwXIfr
If you're spending time on your land this spring and summer, tick prevention should be part of your routine. In Wisconsin, be especially vigilant from April through September when ticks are most active — and in warm years, they may be moving even earlier.
https://wisconsin-ticks.russell.wisc.edu/on-people/
Before heading out, apply an EPA-registered repellent to your lower body, and consider treating your field clothes with permethrin. Permethrin-treated clothing has been shown to reduce tick bites by 93% in field studies and retains its effectiveness through over 70 washings. While you're out, walk the center of trails rather than pushing through brush along woodland edges, and consider placing a 3-foot barrier of gravel or woodchips between your lawn and wooded areas to limit tick movement onto your property.
https://wisconsin-ticks.russell.wisc.edu/yard-treatments/
When you come back inside, your post-outing habits are just as important. Shower promptly, do a full-body tick check (don't forget behind the knees, armpits, and along the scalp), and run your clothes through a dryer on high heat for 60 minutes — washing alone won't kill ticks, but the heat will. If you find an attached tick, use fine-tipped tweezers, grasp it close to the skin, and pull with steady upward pressure — the clock matters, since your risk of Lyme disease rises significantly after 36 hours of attachment. For complete guidance on personal protection, yard management, tick removal, and identification, visit the UW–Madison tick research team's resource site — it's one of the best evidence-based references available for Wisconsin landowners:
https://wisconsin-ticks.russell.wisc.edu/
Our program just hosted a webinar with Susan Paskewitz, UW–Madison researcher and director of the Midwest Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Disease, to talk about ticks in Wisconsin woodlands. We looked at ticks that could be found in the woods, the diseases they can carry, some ways to prevent tick bites, and an app you can use to help better understand ticks and prevent exposure. You can watch the full recording here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov8IkDdFUzg
