Human Tick Repellent

Summer is the best time of year to go hiking outdoors, have a cook-out in the park, and hit the trails for your run. But while soaking up the great outdoors will get you moving and boost your mood, it still comes with its fair share of risks—like sunburns, heat stroke, and too many common house bugs to count.

These bugs include ticks (tick season, joy!), which have been spiking in numbers across the United States—and they’re carrying diseases with them, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The number of tick-borne disease cases in the U.S.—like Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever—has more than doubled in the last 13 years, per a 2018 report from the CDC. What’s more, preliminary research from the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology finds that alpha-gal allergy—a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite—is a major trigger behind life-threatening reactions.

But fear of these blood-sucking critters shouldn’t keep you inside all season. If you take the proper measures—say, choosing the right tick repellents and doing full-body checks after you’ve been outdoors—you can minimize your chances of ever having to deal with a tick bite.

How we chose the best tick repellents

To choose the best tick repellents, we consulted with top infectious disease experts for what they look for in a spray. We then analyzed best-sellers for features like effective ingredients, ease of use, and value to pick the best of the best.

How to prevent tick bites

First, get to know your surroundings.

If you want to keep ticks away from your body, it’s helpful to know where they like to hang out. Grassy, brushy, and wooded areas are tick minefields—so if you love to go hiking, trail running, biking, camping, spend lots of time in your garden, or take your dog on a daily walk through the park, there’s a good chance you could be exposed to ticks. Be wary of wood piles, leaf litter, rock walls, and beach grass, too.

Does that mean you should completely avoid these areas? Not necessarily—but it does mean you should take extra precautions if you’re going to spend your day in this type of environment. Which leads us to our next point…

Choose the best tick repellent and use it the right way.

You may have heard that natural solutions, like using essential oils for ticks, are effective—but that simply won’t cut it. When it comes to repellents that truly keep ticks away, there are six active ingredients recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that you can look for, according to the CDC:

• DEET
• IR3535