Tick Awareness and Safety Tips for Youth Working with Livestock

Why Tick Safety Matters

Ticks are common in barns, pastures, wooded edges, and brushy fencerows where livestock are raised. Youth involved in 4-H and FFA livestock projects often work in these environments and may be exposed to ticks. Some ticks can transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Humans become infected through tick bites, not from direct contact with livestock. However, livestock can carry ticks that may transfer to people or other animals, which makes preventing tick bites an important part of safe livestock management.

Common Tick Species in West Virginia

Blacklegged Tick (Deer Tick) – Ixodes scapularis

Ticks do not hatch carrying disease, and diseases are not passed from adult ticks to their eggs. Larvae hatch uninfected and must feed on an infected host to acquire disease-causing organisms, most commonly from small mammals such as mice and other rodents. Deer are often blamed for spreading Lyme disease; however, this is a false assumption. Deer do not infect ticks, but they play an important role in supporting tick populations by providing a host for adult ticks to feed and reproduce. Not all tick bites lead to disease, but awareness remains important for those spending time outdoors.

Nymph ticks are most responsible for spreading Lyme disease to humans because they are very small, active during spring and early summer, and often go unnoticed long enough to transmit disease.

Personal Protection Before Chores

Wearing the right clothing is one of the simplest ways to protect yourself. Choose long pants and long sleeves, and tuck your pants into your boots or socks. Light-colored clothing helps you spot ticks before they attach. Ask an adult to help apply insect repellent before you start chores. Repellents that contain DEET or permethrin work best for preventing tick bites, but they must be used carefully and according to the product label. Never spray permethrin directly on your skin—it is meant for treating clothes and boots only.

It’s also a great idea to keep a small tick safety kit in the barn, show box, or truck. Include a pair of fine-tipped tweezers, alcohol wipes, a few small plastic bags, and a notebook to record where and when you found a tick. Keeping notes helps track when and where ticks are most active on your farm.

While Working with Animals

When you’re outside feeding, watering, or exercising animals, stay in the center of pathways and avoid walking through tall grass or thick brush whenever possible. If you must go into these areas, check yourself often—especially your arms, legs, neck, and waistline. Ticks often crawl for several hours before biting, so catching them early helps prevent them from attaching.

After Outdoor Work

When chores are finished, head inside and take a shower as soon as possible. Showering helps remove ticks before they have time to bite and also gives you the chance to do a full body tick check. Pay close attention to areas where ticks like to hide—behind the knees, under the arms, around the waist, and in your hairline. Clothing that’s been worn outside should be placed in the dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes to kill any ticks that might still be on them. Washing clothes first is fine, but you should still place clothing in a dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes to kill ticks (CDC, 2024). Inspect pets and farm dogs since they can carry ticks into homes, vehicles, and barns.

If You Find a Tick

If you find a tick attached to your skin, don’t panic. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull upward slowly and steadily. Do not twist or squeeze the tick, as that can cause parts to break off and remain in the skin. Once the tick is removed, clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. Tell a parent, guardian, or club leader so they can record where you found the tick and when. Place the tick in a small plastic bag labeled with the date and where you were working. This information can be useful if you begin to feel sick later. If you notice a rash, fever, headache, or body aches within a few weeks of a bite, tell your parents or doctor right away.

Reducing Tick Habitat on the Farm

Good farm management practices also help reduce tick populations. Keep grass and weeds trimmed around barns, fences, and feed areas. Stack hay and firewood off the ground and away from wooded areas. Clean up old brush piles where mice, small animals, and common tick carriers like to live. If you have farm dogs, talk to your veterinarian about tick prevention medicine. Ticks can easily travel into homes or barns on pets.

Show and Fair Time

During livestock shows and fairs, you’ll be around many animals and people, often in outdoor or grassy areas. Wear clean clothes each day and store dirty clothes in a separate sealed bag. Check your animals and grooming areas daily—ticks can crawl from animals to humans and vice versa. Make tick checks part of your daily show routine, just like feeding and watering your animals.

Quick Tick Safety Checklist

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