With warm weather returning, ticks are back too. 

Here are two simple ways to protect yourself:

1. Wear a physical barrier:

Skip the shorts—tuck your pants into your socks or boots to block ticks from reaching your skin.

2. Treat your clothes with permethrin:

This is my go-to method. It’s more effective than insect repellents like DEET (found in OFF), smells better, and only needs to be applied once a year.

Here’s how to do it:

• Mix ½ cup of 10% permethrin (like Bayer Permectrin II) in ~10 gallons of water in a large barrel.
• Dip your outdoor clothing—pants, shirts, socks—until fully soaked
• Hang them to dry outside (they’ll drip)

You can find generic versions of Bayer Permectrin II Insecticide (10%) on Amazon.

Bonus: Permethrin also helps prevent chigger and mosquito bites.

Tip: Try not to wash your treated clothes too often—washing gradually reduces the permethrin’s effectiveness.