Home / PPE / Insect-Protective Clothing

Insect-Protective Clothing

Ticks, mosquitoes, and biting flies can carry illness and ruin a workday. Clothing is a first layer of protection that works alongside repellent and daily checks.

Why do insects matter for farm workers?

Working in fields, pastures, woods, and around animals brings contact with ticks, mosquitoes, and flies. Some can spread disease, and bites can cause painful swelling or allergic reactions that range from mild to serious.

Local risks differ by region and by season. Ask your local health department or extension office which insects are a concern where you work and when they are most active.

Livestock operations can have biting flies that affect animals and people; ask your veterinarian and extension office about fly management as well as personal protection.

What clothing helps?

Long sleeves and long pants cover skin. Light colors make it easier to spot ticks before they attach. Tucking pants into socks or boots, where practical, reduces gaps, though this should never create a snag hazard near machinery.

Some clothing is sold as treated with insect repellent. Read the product information and follow the maker's directions, and ask the CDC or your doctor whether it suits your situation, especially for children or pregnant workers.

Check that treated clothing fits your tasks and that it will not interfere with safe movement near equipment. Check each garment for gaps at the neck, wrists, and ankles, because ticks tend to find the smallest opening and crawl upward from the ground.

• Long sleeves and pants.
• Light colors to spot ticks.
• Closed shoes and no gaps at wrists and ankles.

What about repellents?

Repellents are regulated products, and the label is the rule. The EPA and CDC have official guidance on choosing and using them, including for children. Use only what the label allows for the age and situation.

Do not apply repellent under clothing, and wash it off as the label says. Keep it away from food, eyes, and open wounds.

Read the label every time, because the directions and product ingredients can change, and compare it with CDC advice for children.

How do I check for ticks?

After outdoor work, check yourself, children, and pets. Look carefully at the hairline, behind the ears, armpits, waist, groin, and behind the knees. Showering soon after work helps you find ticks, and the CDC gives advice on washing and drying clothing afterward.

If you find a tick or become ill after a bite, with fever, rash, or aching, tell a doctor about the bite and when it happened. The CDC explains how to remove a tick.

Ask a family member to check places you cannot see, such as your back and the back of your neck, since ticks can hide in the scalp.

• Check hairline, ears, and neck.
• Check armpits, waist, and groin.
• Check behind knees and between toes.

What about stinging insects and allergies?

People with known allergies to stings should talk with their doctor about a plan and keep any prescribed medication with them. A severe reaction such as trouble breathing, swelling of the face or throat, or fainting is an emergency: call 911.

Teach coworkers and family members to recognize these signs and to know where the medication is kept, since the person affected may not be able to ask for help.

Keep any prescribed emergency medication in a known place in the truck and the house, and check its date regularly.

How do I launder and replace insect-protective clothing?

Follow the care label, especially for treated clothing, and replace worn items. Wash work clothes separately from the rest of the household laundry, and dry them as the CDC suggests for tick control.

Keep outdoor work clothes apart from clean clothes, and store them where children and pets will not sleep on them.

Dry clothes on a high heat setting as the CDC advises for tick control, unless the care label says otherwise.

How do I make it routine?

Keep clothing, repellent, and a mirror or checklist where people leave the field. Talk through it at the start of each season and when new workers arrive.

Check with your local health department for updates on tick and mosquito activity, and ask your extension office about local practices such as managing brush and tall grass around work areas.

Include insects in your seasonal safety talk, and invite workers to share where ticks or mosquitoes are worst on your property.

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. Written by the Farm Safety Editorial Team. See our editorial policy.