Where I live (SW Missouri Ozarks) Lyme disease isn't as common places back east but ticks and getting bit by them are, especially this time of year. We get lot

Where I live (SW Missouri Ozarks) Lyme disease isn't as common places back east but ticks and getting bit by them are, especially this time of year. We get lots of folks coming here to hike and camp and backpack in the Summer months, but most locals don't. We go to creeks and streams and lakes and hang out on the rocky banks and gravel bars and swim, boat, canoe (float trips), and if we camp out we set up our tents on those rocky banks. I (and most everyone I know here) treat clothes I wear when working outside with permethrin. I spray my shoes, socks, denim jeans, and T-shirts. Those will last at least a month and a couple washings. We also do "Tick Checks" when we get inside after being outdoors. We do get out, most of us live in forested areas and we have gardens and lawns to tend to, so we do get bit, there's no getting around it, but we get those ticks off fast. I've never had an engorged tick on me. And I treat my clothes when I go hiking, camping, and backpacking in the cool season too (Late Nov - Mid-March), but the ticks are not near as bad then. So, those practices likely also have to do with why very few locals get Lyme.