Tick Free NH Partner Toolkit
Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about tick prevention in New Hampshire. Tick risks are serious and changing in our state, and our communications efforts can encourage more people to improve their tick safety practices. Tick Free NH works to raise awareness about the risk of tick encounters and encourage Granite Staters to prevent ticks.
đź’ˇ Want to brush up on your tick knowledge? Our Tick-Safe eLearning Course is a great place to start.
In this @TickFreeNH Partner Toolkit, you’ll find communications materials and a guide to the resources we offer for your community, including:
Changing risks mean you should increase your tick safety
Changing risks mean you should increase your tick safety: Tick risks are changing in New England. Tick-related ER visits are higher than they have been in a decade. Cases of Alpha-gal syndrome (which causes an allergy to red meat and other mammalian products) are spreading in the region. Your tick safety practices have to keep up.
Prevention
Prevention: Most tick exposures happen doing daily tasks near your home. Keep yourself and your loved ones safe by taking steps to prevent ticks on your body, kids, pets, and property:
- Wear tick-repellent clothing. Use permethrin spray on clothes, shoes, and gear. You can also buy pre-treated clothes.
- Tuck pants into socks.
- Wear long sleeves.
- Wear light-colored clothing.
- Visually scan for ticks on your clothes often. You may use a sticky lint roller to help remove loose ticks on the go.
- Use an EPA-registered insect repellent. Learn more about selecting insect repellents for tick protection.
- Stay on the center of paths, avoiding tall grass, brush, leaf litter, and branches
- Reduce the number of ticks that enter your yard, and keep heavily-trafficked areas (like seating areas and playsets) separate from areas that attract ticks
Tick Checks
Tick checks: With kids (and adults) spending time outside during warmer months, make tick checks a part of your daily routine. Especially in the spring, ticks can be about the size of a poppy seed. Bathe daily, and scan the whole body for ticks.
When you come in from outdoors:
Put clothes in a hot dryer on high for ten minutes.
Bathe or shower as soon as possible.
- Do a full tick check. Look closely:
- Under the arms
- In and around the ears
- Inside belly button
- Back of the knees
- In and around the hair
- Between the legs
- Around the waist
Visit tickfreenh.org/remove to learn how to safely remove a tick.
Tick Removal
Tick removal: Using tweezers, grasp the tick close to the skin. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or yank. This can cause tick parts to remain in your skin. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area. Dispose of tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag or container, wrapping it in tape, or flushing it down the toilet. Speak with your doctor about next steps.
Tick-safe Yard
Tick-safe property: You can take steps to reduce the ticks in your yard. There are even things you can do to reduce ticks while protecting pollinators. Ticks love cool, moist areas, which can be created under wood or leaf piles or in shady spots. Perimeter barriers, strategic use of sunshine, clearing away tall grass, and “zoning” your yard by creating separate areas for wood piles and gardens, are just a few tips for reducing ticks on your property. Learn more at tickfreenh.org/create-a-tick-free-yard/.
Social Media Messages and Images
Please feel free to share Tick Free NH social media content. You may:
- Download and share graphics and video from this toolkit
💡 Tip: Add us as a “collaborator” when you post (this option is under the “tag people” feature) to invite us to co-post with you. - Share video links directly from the Tick Free NH YouTube channel: youtube.com/@tickfreenh
- Reshare our posts via our Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn (linked below)
Please tag and follow us on social media to help share tick prevention information:
- Instagram: @tickfreenh
- Facebook:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tickfreenh
🗓️Note: May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month. It’s also historically the peak month for tick-related ER visits in New Hampshire.
Sample social media post text to copy and paste:
No Ticks 2026: Most tick exposures happen doing daily tasks near your home. Keep yourself and your loved ones safe by taking steps to prevent ticks on your body, kids, pets, and property. To learn more about tick prevention, visit TickFreeNH.org. @TickFreeNH
Tick risks are changing in New Hampshire. Do more than just tick checks. Take steps to prevent ticks on your body, kids, pets, and property. Visit TickFreeNH.org to learn more. @TickFreeNH
Tick nymphs can be the size of a poppy seed–and carry disease. When you come in from outside, do a full tick check, and bathe or shower as soon as possible.
Look closely:
- Under the arms
- In and around the ears
- Inside belly button
- Back of the knees
- In and around the hair
- Between the legs
- Around the waist
Put clothes in a hot dryer on high for 10 minutes. Visit TickFreeNH.org to learn more. @TickFreeNH
Tick Free NH Widget for Your Website
Add the Tick Free NH widget to your website to help people find TickFreeNH.org.
Suggested text: Tick Free New Hampshire works to prevent tickborne disease in New Hampshire. Visit their site to learn how to prevent, check for, identify, and remove ticks, and to order free tick educational materials.
How to add the Tick Free NH widget to your website
Share awareness about Tick Free New Hampshire and help prevent tick encounters and Lyme disease. Use our widget on your website and help spread the word!
Order Tick Free NH Materials for Your Community Space
We now offer display stands for rack cards, great for a front desk, waiting room, or community space–as well as library display sets with items for children, including our 🔎 Tick Detective Workbooks.
We also have:
- Healthcare provider materials, including a patient conversation guide
- Guidance for summer camp organizers
- “Tick Check” reminder bag tags
- Tick removal scoops
- Posters, rack cards and wallet cards
Request a Tick-Safe Community Presentation
Tick Free NH works collaboratively with subject matter experts and trainers at UNH, New Hampshire DHHS, and the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-borne Diseases (NEWVEC) to coordinate in-person and virtual trainings upon request.
Learn more about Tick-Safe community presentations at TickFreeNH.org, or fill out the form to Request a Tick-Safe Presentation for your community.
Tick-Safe Online Course
Out Tick-Safe E-Learning Course is incentivized! Granite Staters can get a free tick scoop by completing this on-demand, interactive course. It should take under one hour to complete.
About Tick Free New Hampshire
Tick Free New Hampshire works to prevent tickborne disease in New Hampshire through education, social marketing, research, and collaboration with the Tick Free New Hampshire Council. The Council is comprised of partners across the state with expertise in entomology, medicine, environmental health, training and technical assistance, and communications, working together to further tick prevention in New Hampshire.
- Order free educational materials
- Complete our Tick-Safe course and claim your free tick scoop
- Learn how to reduce ticks in your yard
- Learn how to prevent ticks, including daily tips and repellent suggestions
- Learn how to properly remove and identify ticks
- Find resources for healthcare providers and summer camps