Tick-borne illnesses are a significant and growing occupational hazard that is preventable with exposures that can lead to serious health consequences for outdoor workers, including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus. Dense vegetation and abundant wildlife populations create ideal conditions for ticks—particularly the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), commonly known as the deer tick. There are many other species of ticks throughout the United States so it is good to know the type or types of ticks that are prevalent in the area of the United States in which you are working.
This article provides practical, field-oriented guidance for minimizing tick bite risk through a layered approach that incorporates hazard assessment, personal protective strategies, administrative controls, and worker education.
Ticks are most active from early spring through late fall, with peak activity typically occurring between May and July. However, in milder winters, ticks can remain active any time temperatures exceed freezing. Occupational risk is highest for workers who spend time in wooded areas, tall grasses, brush, leaf litter, or areas where forests meet open land.
High-risk occupations and tasks include forestry and logging, landscaping and groundskeeping, utility and line work, construction, surveying, park and wildlife management, agriculture and farming. Ticks do not jump or fly. Instead, they engage in “questing,” climbing vegetation and waiting with outstretched legs to attach to passing hosts. Once attached, they may feed for hours to days, increasing the likelihood of pathogen (disease) transmission the longer they remain undetected.
As with any occupational hazard, effective tick bite prevention should align with the hierarchy of controls: elimination, engineering, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment (PPE). While elimination o the hazard is the best course of action, it is generally impractical to eliminate tick habitats entirely in outdoor work environments, certain job planning strategies can reduce exposure. Such job planning includes scheduling work in lower-risk areas when possible, avoiding peak tick activity times (early morning and late afternoon) in heavily infested zones, and limiting unnecessary entry into dense brush or leaf litter. Since elimination has limited applicability, the next step is engineering controls, modifying the work environment which can significantly reduce tick hazards, Engineering controls include vegetation management by keeping grass mowed below 3 inches and remove brush piles in work areas, maintaining clear staging areas that are free from tall grass and leaf debris and reducing attractants for deer and rodents in work areas, as they are primary tick hosts. Employers responsible for fixed sites such as campuses or rights-of-way can incorporate these measures into routine maintenance programs. Otherwise, the use of engineering controls have limited applicability.
The next level in the hierarchy is administrative controls which includes reducing exposure risk through policies, procedures, and worker awareness. Such controls include conducting site-specific hazard assessments and job planning before fieldwork, identify high-risk zones and communicating them clearly to workers in the field, and incorporating tick exposure risk into Job Hazard Analyses (JHAs). Work practices include encouraging workers to stay in the center of trails and avoid brushing against vegetation when possible, discourage sitting directly on the ground, logs, or stone walls, and rotating tasks when possible to limit prolonged exposure in high-risk areas. Workers should be trained to recognize tick habitats and behavior, perform effective tick checks, understand early symptoms of tick-borne diseases, and encouraged to report tick bites promptly. Regular refresher training before peak tick season is highly recommended.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) serves as the last line of defense but is essential in tick prevention. Workers should wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants tucking pants into socks or boots to prevent ticks from crawling underneath clothing, use gaiters in heavily infested areas, and wearing light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to spot.
Insect Repellents may be considered either PPE or Administrative Controls. There are two primary types of repellents that are recommended. The first type are EPA-registered skin repellents with active ingredients such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus. These repellents must be applied according to manufacturer instructions, focusing on exposed skin and clothing. The second type is Permethrin-treated clothing. Permethrin is an insecticide applied to clothing, not skin following the manufacturers instructions. Pre-treated clothing remains effective through multiple wash cycles. Alternatively, workers can treat their own garments using Permethrin, again, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Studies and field experience consistently show that permethrin-treated clothing significantly reduces tick attachment rates.
Prompt detection and removal of ticks is essential, as transmission of many pathogens requires several hours of attachment. Workers should perform full-body checks at the end of each shift for ticks and midday checks during high exposure periods. The checks should pay special attention to areas including behind knees, groin area, armpits, neck and hairline, and behind ears. Another simple hygiene practice includes showering as soon as possible after work, ideally within two hours, to wash off unattached ticks and facilitate inspection. Using hot water, safely, can cause ticks to release. It is also recommended to remove work clothing immediately upon returning home placing the clothing in a dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes to kill ticks. Washing alone may not kill ticks unless hot water is used.
Despite preventive measures, tick attachments may still occur. Proper removal reduces the risk of disease transmission. The recommended removal method includes using fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible then pulling upward with steady, even pressure. Clean the bite area with soap and water or antiseptic. One should avoid twisting or jerking the tick and/or using heat, petroleum jelly, or chemical irritants as these methods can increase the likelihood of disease-causing pathogen transmission.
Employers should establish clear procedures for reporting tick bites and symptoms. This reporting procedure should include documenting the date, location, and body site of the bite. Monitoring for symptoms such as fever, fatigue, muscle or joint aches, and rash (especially bullseye pattern associated with Lyme disease). Symptoms may develop days or weeks after exposure. Workers should seek prompt medical evaluation if they develop flu-like symptoms, a rash appears, and/or if a tick was attached for an extended period (typically >24 hours). Early treatment is highly effective for most tick-borne illnesses.
Besides the establishment of a clear procedure for workers to report tick bites and symptoms, employers play a critical role in protecting workers from tick exposure. Employers have key responsibilities that include providing appropriate PPE and repellents, ensuring access to washing facilities or clean-up supplies, implementing training programs, maintaining records of exposures and incidents, and encouraging a culture of reporting without stigma.
Tick bites represent a serious but preventable occupational hazard for workers in the United States. Through a comprehensive safety approach combining environmental controls, work practices, proper PPE, insect repellents, and ongoing education, employers can significantly reduce the risk of tick exposure and tick-borne disease. The key is consistency. Prevention efforts must be integrated into daily routines and reinforced through training, supervision, and leadership commitment. When workers are equipped with the right knowledge and tools, they can protect themselves effectively even in high-risk environments. Ultimately, successful tick bite prevention is not about eliminating risk entirely—it is about managing it intelligently and proactively.
An informative report on the safety of using Deet can be found here.
An OSHA Fact Sheet, number 4190, titled “Reducing the Risk of Worker Exposure to Disease-Carrying Ticks” can be found here.
For more information and/or assistance, contact:
Wayne Vanderhoof CSP, CIT
Sr. Consultant/President
RJR Safety Inc.