Online Dermatologist > Tick Bites – How to Prevent, Identify, and Manage

Key Takeaways

• Tick season began early in 2025 due to warmer weather and rising humidity, increasing the risk of bites.

• Ticks thrive in tall grass, leaf litter, and wooded areas—check your skin, pets, and clothes after being outdoors.

• Use protective clothing, EPA-approved repellents, and full-body checks to prevent tick attachment.

• Tick-borne illnesses can cause symptoms like fever, fatigue, and skin rashes — which may appear differently depending on your skin tone.

• Remove ticks promptly with tweezers and monitor for any unusual symptoms—consult a healthcare professional if needed.

With spring temperatures arriving earlier than usual in 2025, tick season has already begun across much of the U.S.—increasing the risk of tick bites and the spread of illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and ehrlichiosis.

Environmental shifts are driving this change. Warmer winters, early springs, and rising humidity have created favorable conditions for ticks to thrive and stay active longer.^[2] In regions like the Northeast, emergency departments are already reporting higher-than-average tick bite cases for this time of year.

Whether you’re hiking, gardening, or simply enjoying the outdoors, it’s now more important than ever to protect yourself. This guide covers where ticks are most active, who’s at higher risk, how to recognize a tick bite, and what to do if you find one attached. You’ll also learn about key tick-borne diseases, symptoms to watch for, and how to safely remove a tick to reduce your risk of complications.

Where Ticks Lurk and When You’re Most at Risk

Ticks lurk in areas of dense vegetation, scrub, woods and grasslands.Individuals who engage in outdoor activities such as hiking, as well as parents, pet owners, and anyone spending time in grassy or wooded areas in North America, face an increased risk of tick exposure. The clustering of certain tickborne rickettsial diseases among individuals with shared environments or close contact, such as family members, pet dogs, coworkers, and military personnel, has been well documented. Notably, dogs and humans share susceptibility to several tickborne rickettsial pathogens, including Rickettsia rickettsii, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, and Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In some cases, the presence of tickborne rickettsial disease in pet dogs may serve as an early indicator for potential human exposure within the same environment.^[4]

How to Prevent Tick Bites

A crucial step in minimizing the risk of tick-borne illnesses is understanding and implementing effective prevention strategies. These strategies encompass personal precautions taken during outdoor activities.

Mindful Navigation

To reduce your chances of encountering ticks, it’s advisable to walk in the center of trails, actively avoiding heavily wooded and brushy areas with tall grass.

Protective Clothing

When venturing into risky places, wearing appropriate clothing can significantly help. This includes long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and tucking your pants into your socks, as well as your shirt into your pants, to create a barrier against ticks crawling onto your skin. Opting for light-colored clothing can also aid in the early detection of ticks. Wearing permethrin-treated or impregnated cloths is also a good option.

Repellent Application

The use of insect repellents is another vital component of tick bite prevention. CDC guidelines on the prevention of tickborne diseases recommend using repellents containing 20 to 30 percent DEET,IR3535, picaridin (1-piperidinecaboxylic acid, 2-[2-hydroxyethyl], 1-methlypropyl ester), or other EPA-registered products on exposed skin and clothing, always adhering to the product’s application instructions. When applying repellent to children, parents should take care to avoid their hands, eyes, and mouth.

Thorough Inspection

After spending time outdoors, particularly in wooded or grassy areas, a thorough skin examination is essential. Conduct a full-body tick check to ensure no ticks are present. Pay close attention to warm, moist areas such as the armpits, groin, and scalp. Remember to also check children, pets, and any outdoor gear for ticks.

Pet Protection

Protecting pets from tick bites is also essential. This can be achieved by regularly applying veterinarian-approved ectoparasite control products, such as monthly topical acaricide products, acaricidal tick collars, oral acaricidal products, and acaricidal shampoos.

If you develop any symptoms like a rash, fever, or body aches within a few weeks of a tick bite, it is important to consult a board-certified dermatologist. Be sure to inform the doctor about the recent tick bite, when it occurred, and the likely location where you were exposed.

What a Tick Bite Looks Like

The diagnosis of tick-borne diseases in the United States can be challenging for several reasons. Many people do not recall being bitten by a tick, the initial symptoms of these diseases are often similar and nonspecific, and ticks in the same geographic area can transmit multiple diseases. Additionally, available diagnostic tests may have limitations in terms of sensitivity, particularly early in the course of the illness. Therefore knowing the symptoms clearly will help you with the correct diagnosis.

Since many tickborne diseases can present with similar signs and symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention if you develop any symptoms within a few weeks of a tick bite.

Common symptoms of tick-related illnesses include,

• Fever/chills: Fever is a potential symptom of all tick borne diseases.
  When infected, you may experience a flu-like illness during the spring and summer months.
• Aches and pains: These can include headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. In untreated cases, this may progress to arthritis, particularly affecting large joints like the knees.
• Rash: Several tick borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), ehrlichiosis, and tularemia, can cause distinctive rashes.
• Tick paralysis: This condition is believed to be caused by a toxin present in the saliva of an attached tick. It can lead to weakness or paralysis that gradually ascends the body. In most cases, movement returns within 24 hours of tick removal. (Tick paralysis is rare but can be life-threatening if not recognized early. Immediate removal usually leads to rapid improvement.)

Early Lyme disease rash from a tick bite — erythema migrans forming a red expanding patch on the upper arm.

How Tick Bites Appear on Different Skin Tones

It’s important to recognize that rashes associated with tick bites may not always present in the classic bull’s-eye pattern and can vary in appearance, especially depending on skin tone. Identifying a tick bite on darker skin can sometimes be more difficult. For example, on darker skin, the discoloration may appear bluish or purplish rather than red. Furthermore, the bull’s-eye rash may be harder to discern on brown or black skin, potentially resembling a bruise. Therefore, thorough skin checks in folds and the scalp are crucial, regardless of skin tone.

Tick Removal: What to Do If You Find One

If you find a tick attached to your skin, dermatologists recommend the following removal steps:

• Use Tweezers: Sterilize the tip of fine-tipped tweezers with rubbing alcohol.
• Grasp Close to Skin: Grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
• Pull Steadily Upward: Apply steady, even pressure when pulling the tick straight upward.
• Avoid Trauma: Remove the tick gently and steadily—do not twist, squeeze, or crush it. These actions can cause the mouthparts to break off and remain embedded in the skin. Also, avoid outdated methods like applying heat, petroleum jelly, or nail polish, as they do not help and may increase the risk of disease transmission.
• Remove Remaining Parts (If Necessary): If the tick’s head or mouthparts remain in your skin, attempt to remove them with the tweezers. If you cannot remove them, consult a board-certified dermatologist.
• Dispose of the Tick Safely: Place the removed tick in a sealed bag or container, submerge it in alcohol, or wrap it tightly in tape for disposal.
• Consider Saving the Tick : You may choose to save the tick in a sealed jar. If you later develop symptoms, the tick can potentially be tested for disease.
• Clean the Bite Area: Thoroughly cleanse the bite area with soap and water after removing the tick.

When to Get a Tick Bite Checked

Performing tick checks and removing ticks as soon as they are detected is a crucial step in preventing potential complications from tick bites. It’s important to monitor the bite area for any signs of infection or unusual skin changes in the weeks following a tick bite. You should seek medical attention if you develop symptoms such as fever, rash, fatigue, or joint pain. Additionally, if you were bitten by an engorged tick (indicating a longer feeding period) or if you are unsure about the source of a rash that develops, it’s advisable to get it checked by a healthcare professional.

Beyond Lyme: Other Tick-Borne Illnesses

Besides Lyme disease, ticks can transmit several other illnesses. The specific disease can often be identified by considering factors such as where the exposure occurred, the type of tick involved, and the characteristics of any rash. For instance, Lyme disease often presents with a unique erythema migrans rash in most patients, which may be enough to start treatment. Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), on the other hand, usually begins with a macular rash on the wrists, forearms, and ankles, which then becomes petechial.

Here’s a brief overview of some other tick-borne diseases:

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF): This is a severe illness, and delayed treatment increases the risk of death. The typical signs of fever, rash, and a known tick bite are often not present when patients first seek medical help. The rash is usually present but can appear late, may not be typical, and can be hard to spot, especially on darker skin. Because RMSF can be more deadly than other tick-borne diseases, doctors often prescribe doxycycline immediately if they suspect this infection.

Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis: This illness is generally milder than RMSF, with the first sign being a lesion at the site of the bite.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis ehrlichiosis: Symptoms include fever, headache, feeling unwell, muscle pain, and stomach issues. A rash occurs in about one third of patients, more often in children. This infection can sometimes cause neurological problems. Older adults (60+) and those with weakened immune systems may have more severe illness. Blood tests often show low white blood cell counts, low platelet counts, and elevated liver enzymes in the first week. The bacteria infect specific white blood cells.

Ehrlichia ewingii ehrlichiosis: This illness is similar to E. chaffeensis ehrlichiosis, but rashes and stomach problems are less common. This bacteria affects different white blood cells.

Anaplasmosis: This infection also affects certain white blood cells. Sometimes, examination of blood smears or bone marrow can reveal clusters of the bacteria within these cells. The ticks that transmit this bacterium can also carry other pathogens, leading to possible co-infections with Lyme disease or babesiosis.

Medical Disclaimer:
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalized assessment, diagnosis, or treatment.