A layered routine can help reduce the risk of tick bites: wear a physical barrier like long pants or ultrafine mesh, use an EPA-registered repellent on skin, treat clothing and gear with permethrin (or skip chemicals with mesh), and check for ticks quickly and often. CDC data show tick-bite ER visits running unusually high this season. Our chemical-free mesh clothing is one barrier option.
TL;DR:
- Before a wooded round, combine long pants or ultrafine mesh with a skin repellent registered by the EPA; use permethrin only on clothing and gear.
- On the course, stay in the center of paths or fairways, keep your bag off grass and leaf litter, and avoid wandering into brush.
- After playing, shower soon, inspect hidden areas such as the groin and hairline, and tumble dry worn clothes on high for 10 minutes.
- If you find an attached tick, grasp it near the skin with fine tipped tweezers, pull steadily without twisting, and seek care if symptoms develop.
Table of Contents
- What should you do before you tee off?
- How should you move on the course to lower your risk?
- What is the best routine after your round?
- How do you keep your disc golf bag from carrying ticks?
- How do you remove a tick, and when should you see a provider?
- What is a 90-second tick check you can repeat?
- Why tick safety belongs in disc golf etiquette
- How our mesh clothing fits this routine
- FAQ
- Sources
What should you do before you tee off?
Think of prevention as layers, because no single step covers every gap. Start with clothing: long pants tucked into socks, light colors so a dark tick stands out, and sleeves you can check at a glance. Health guidance notes that physical barriers such as specialized mesh clothing matter because tiny nymph ticks are hard to spot, so keeping them off your skin is the point. We cover fabric choices in more detail in our guide on what to wear for ticks.
Next, repellent. The CDC and EPA recommend EPA-registered repellents for skin containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone. Permethrin is different: it is for clothing and gear only, never skin. EPA says factory-treated clothing is effective at repelling target pests, and the label spells out use and retreat intervals. A spray-on permethrin product label likewise says not to apply it to skin and to follow its drying guidance. Our post on permethrin clothing safety walks through the practical side.
Your pre-round packing list:
- Fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool
- A lint roller for clothes and bag straps
- Spare socks and pants for the drive home
- A sealable bag for used clothes
- Your repellent of choice, applied before you leave the lot
Pro Tip: Dress at the trailhead, not at home. Tucking pants into socks right before you walk in keeps ticks from finding a gap you opened while loading the car.
How should you move on the course to lower your risk?
Ticks wait on leaf litter and tall vegetation, so where you walk matters as much as what you wear. Vector-borne disease guidance recommends walking in the center of trails, and fairways work the same way. Here is how to build that into your round:
- Walk the middle of the fairway or path, and skip shortcuts through brush.
- Plan your disc retrieval before you leave the trail. Use a retriever or pick one clean line into the rough instead of wandering around searching.
- Keep your bag off leaf litter and tall grass, and never toss a jacket on the ground.
- Glance at your socks and pant cuffs between holes, and brush off anything crawling.
- If you spent several minutes in thick brush, stop for a fuller check before moving on.
None of this slows your pace. It just trades a careless habit for a deliberate one, and on a wooded course that trade pays off quickly.
What is the best routine after your round?
Do the work soon. CDC’s Lyme prevention fact sheet recommends showering soon after outdoor activity and checking your body daily. Ticks that have not attached yet often wash off, and a shower makes a hands-on check easier.
Run through this sequence:
- Roll a lint roller over your clothes, shoes, and bag before you get in your car.
- Check armpits, behind the knees, the groin, the waistline, and the hairline, since ticks favor warm, hidden skin.
- Tumble-dry the clothes you wore on high for 10 minutes. The same CDC sheet says this kills ticks on dry clothing.
- If you wear permethrin-treated clothing, follow the label for washing and retreat intervals.
- If you find an attached tick, remove it promptly using the steps further down.
Our post on non-toxic tick prevention covers a family-friendly version of this routine.
How do you keep your disc golf bag from carrying ticks?
Your bag spends the whole round on the ground, which makes it a hitchhiking platform. When it sits on tall grass or leaf litter, ticks can climb on and later move to you, as CDC vector guidance notes in its advice on treating bags and gear as possible tick vectors. Most of us never think about this until we find a tick on a bag strap.
Practical steps:
- Set the bag on a groundsheet, a bench, or a cleared patch instead of grass.
- Hang it from a branch or hook when the course offers one.
- Brush down straps, pockets, and the base before you load the car.
- Treat fabric gear with permethrin only per its label, and never on skin.
- Store the bag dry and clean between rounds, away from your living space, rather than tossed in a damp corner of the garage.
Course upkeep matters too. If you want context on why habitat management and player habits go together, this golf course safety guide is a useful read.
Pro Tip: Make the lint roller part of loading the car. Roll the bag’s base and straps first, then your own clothes, before anything goes in the trunk.
How do you remove a tick, and when should you see a provider?
Speed and technique both count. Follow these steps:
- Use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool.
- Grasp the tick as close to the skin as you can.
- Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist or jerk.
- Clean the bite site and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
- Note the date and where on your body the tick was attached.
CDC guidance connects prompt removal to lower risk, so do not wait for a convenient moment. Over the following weeks, watch for a rash, fever, fatigue, or joint pain. The CDC’s prevention fact sheet is a good reference for what to look for.
Call a healthcare provider if symptoms appear, if you cannot remove the tick safely, or if part of it stays in the skin. Also mention any allergic symptoms after a bite. Alpha-gal syndrome is an emerging allergic condition linked to certain tick bites, and it needs clinical evaluation.
What is a 90-second tick check you can repeat?
The trick is to do the same order every time so it becomes automatic. Our tick check guide goes deeper, but here is the short version:
- Shoes and socks
- Lower legs and behind the knees
- Groin and waistline
- Armpits and torso
- Arms and hands
- Scalp, neck, and ears
Quick, repeated checks catch nymphs that are too small to notice in one rushed glance. Use a lint roller on your clothes as you go.
Pro Tip: Remember it as “feet up”: start at your feet and work up to your head, and you will never skip the scalp.
Why tick safety belongs in disc golf etiquette
I play a lot of wooded courses, and I used to treat a tick as a shrug-and-flick nuisance. Then it became clear how often a bag or a pant cuff brings one along, and the routine stopped being optional. I now think checking yourself, keeping your bag off the ground, and mentioning a tick-heavy hole to fellow players is as basic as replacing a divot or picking up your trash. It protects your group and makes courses nicer for everyone. For players who want a barrier that needs no sprays, our chemical-free mesh clothing fits right into this approach.
— Thomas
How our mesh clothing fits this routine
We built our clothing to be the physical-barrier layer: ultrafine, breathable mesh, so it blocks ticks without sprays or insecticides. Bug Away Pants for men and Bug Away Pants for women give adult players that layer on the course. If you bring kids along, the Bug Away Kids Set with jacket and pants covers them too. Check the order terms for any available money-back policy. You can read how the fabric works in our post on ultrafine mesh clothing.
Ready to add the barrier layer to your next round? Browse our full lightweight mesh clothing range and pick your set.
This article is general information, not a substitute for advice from a qualified doctor. Consult a qualified healthcare professional about your own circumstances before acting on anything here.
FAQ
How can you protect yourself from ticks while playing outdoors?
Combine layers: long pants or ultrafine mesh, an EPA-registered repellent on skin, permethrin on clothing and gear, and quick tick checks. No single step is enough on its own.
What are early signs of Lyme disease?
A rash, fever, fatigue, and joint pain are the signs to watch for after a bite. Call a healthcare provider if you notice any of them.
Will this be a bad tick season?
CDC reports that weekly ER visits for tick bites are higher than usual for this time of year in most U.S. regions. Treat every wooded round as a risk and keep your routine consistent.
Is disc golf tick protection only for the spring and summer?
Ticks are most active in warmer months, but exposure is a year-round concern. Keep the routine going whenever you play near brush or leaf litter.
Sources
- CDC Data Show Weekly ER Visits for Tick Bites Higher than Usual | CDC Newsroom
- Repellent-Treated Clothing | US EPA