Should You Try This Hack To Prevent Tick Bites?

Not many bugs are creepier than ticks. Add the diseases they can transmit, and it’s no wonder we want to do everything we can to keep them from biting us. That’s probably why a sticky-tape-based tick hack on TikTok got nearly half a million likes.

But just because the video is popular doesn’t mean the method is sound. So we asked “The TickGuy,” Thomas N. Mather, Ph.D, if he would recommend this hack.

Mather has devoted more than three decades to researching how to prevent tick bites. He currently serves as director of the University of Rhode Island’s Center for Vector-Borne Disease and TickEncounter Resource Center.

First, the hack itself:

@lakynsappalachianlife Reply to @missy.cherub #ticktock #ticks #lymedisease #lymewarrior #bugspray #SimlishSessions #CompleteMyLook ♬ original sound – Lakyn’s Appalachian Life

How It Works

In the video, the hacker (Lakyn’s Appalachian Life) wraps electrical tape around her jeans, with the sticky side out. She positions the two-to-three-inch-wide wrap above her wader-style boots, and below her knee. The idea is that ticks will stick to the tape and not go any farther onto her clothes.

She says she’s particularly keen on preventing tick bites because she’s had Lyme disease. At the end, she shows proof of her hack working by zooming into a lone star tick stuck to the tape.

Our Expert Weighs In

“Adult ticks are very likely to latch on at knee level, so she’s putting that tape a little low, where the ticks would miss it,” says Mather.

But there’s a lot more to the story. To protect yourself from ticks, it helps to understand their behavior. Different species of ticks have various strategies, depending on their stage of life.

Generally speaking, immature-stage ticks hang out in leaf litter on the ground, waiting for small animals like mice. Adult-stage American dog ticks perch on tall grasses lining hiking trails. Most other adult-stage ticks climb even higher on brushy vegetation, hoping to nab the shoulder or haunch of a passing white-tailed deer.

Regardless, all ticks crawl upward on bodies in search of a suitable, sheltered place to attach themselves. So if a tick aims for the shoulder of a deer, putting tape below your knee won’t help in many situations.

It’s also important to know the ticks in your area because not all carry the same diseases. Only black-legged ticks (aka deer ticks) carry Lyme disease, and those are most abundant in the Northeast, the mid-Atlantic, upper Midwest and Appalachian ridge.

That brings us to another issue with the video. The host discussed a fear of Lyme disease, but the lone star tick she caught isn’t a carrier.

Alternative Methods of Tick Control

In Mather’s research, treating clothes with permethrin was the easiest and most effective method he found.

Use products specifically for clothing, like Sawyer and Insect Shield. You can also buy clothing treated with it, or send in your favorite outdoor clothes to have them treated. A home or professional treatment will last through numerous washings, but be sure to let the treatment dry before going into tick territory.

In backyards, Mather suggests spraying the perimeter with synthetic pyrethroid or permethrin products. These are toxic to bees and other pollinators, however, so don’t spray them on flowers where pollinators might land.

For pets, Mather recommends external application products like Advantix II, Vectra 3D or Seresto collars, which keep ticks from piggybacking into your home. Some people like the convenience of giving their pet chew tablets like NexGard and Simparica, which quickly kill ticks once they bite.

“If you’re in a very high tick area, you could use a product like Seresto along with chew products for double protection,” he says.

“There’s a lot of wishful thinking. People want to use something seemingly less toxic like botanical oils. I get that. But unfortunately, most of those alternatives aren’t very effective.”

The Verdict

“I have nothing against putting the tape on, but I wouldn’t count on it,” says Mather. “You would also need to be more strategic, putting it at the right heights, maybe in two or three places. But there are easier ways to prevent tick bites, which science has also shown to be more effective.

“It’s probably just as protective to tuck in your shirt so a tick would stay on the outside of your clothing longer and be more likely to get brushed off. But I don’t want to be bitten by a tick, so every year I get my gardening clothes treated with permethrin, spray the family’s shoes with it in May, June, July and August and treat my yard with Bifenthrin.”

Find out more about ticks in your area here. Send photos for identification and advice to Mather’s TickSpotters program.