Your Guide to Ticks in Kentucky: Prevention, Removal, and Safety Tips
Nicole Meyer • June 2, 2025
If you’ve been to the Red River Gorge or are a lover of the outdoors, you’ve probably experienced the violating feeling of spotting a tick on you after a day of climbing or hiking. During the warmer months, ticks are very common in the Red River Gorge and surrounding areas. Ticks are blood feeding parasites usually found in areas with tall grass, trees, and an abundance of wildlife (particularly deer). Ticks do not fly or jump, but they can drop from trees onto you. They often try to find their way to higher points on your body and can attach to humans and their pets.
Common Ticks Found In The Red River Gorge:
- Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) -usually have a dark brown body and are easy to spot, can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
- Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis)- reddish orange body with a black shield-very common and can carry Lyme Disease.
- Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum) - Aggressive ticks, easily identified by a single white dot on their shield, carry a disease that causes allergic reaction to red meats.
Tick Prevention
- Whether you’re hiking or on trails to climbing areas in the Red River Gorge, try to stay in the center of the trails provided as ticks can attach to you if you rub against trees and weeds
- Avoid sitting directly on the ground as disturbing the leaf litter on the ground may attract ticks
- Wear long-sleeve shirts, long pants, and clothes that cover as much of your skin as possible (it is easier to spot ticks on light colored clothing)
- Apply bug spray that contains DEET
- Be diligent about checking yourselves and your pets often and thoroughly for ticks
- Shower immediately after spending time outside in the Red River Gorge
- If you bring your dog hiking or climbing in the Red with you, consider getting your dog vaccinated against Lyme disease and putting them on a flea/tick preventative
- Consider using permethrin on clothing. It is remarkably effective at incapacitating or killing ticks when they crawl on your clothing.
What To Do If You Find A Tick On You
- Remove the tick using tweezers or a tick removal tool. Pull straight out getting as close to the skin as possible. Do not remove a tick with your bare hands.
- The best way to dispose of a tick after removing it from yourself or your pet is to flush it down the toilet
- Wash the area of the tick bite thoroughly and apply antiseptic
- If you begin to develop any illness, fever, or unexplained inflammation contact your doctor and inform them you have been in contact with a tick
If you do find a tick on you while in the Red River Gorge, and are curious if it carries a disease, a professor at the University of Kentucky is now offering testing to see if the tick does in fact carry a disease.
Click here for instructions on how to mail your removed tick to the University of Kentucky’s Department of Entomology.
Don’t let ticks stop you from enjoying all of the
wonderful outdoor activities the Red River Gorge has to offer, however, do be diligent about using the tools above to help prevent tick bites when planning your visit to the Red! Happy climbing!
If you are coming to the Red River Gorge to climb, your days are probably full of early mornings, long approaches, and sore hands by sunset. Where you stay matters. You want a place that is quiet, comfortable, and welcoming without paying resort prices or feeling boxed into a hotel room. Just a short drive from the climbing areas, Firefly Hills offers something different. It is a small, thoughtfully designed property that feels like home base rather than just a place to sleep. Designed for Outdoor Lovers Firefly Hills was created with people who love the outdoors in mind. After a long day on the rock, you can come back to a peaceful setting where you can actually rest. No loud hallways. No crowded parking lots. Just open space, fresh air, and a front porch that invites you to slow down. Whether you are traveling solo, with climbing partners, or with family, Firefly Hills offers lodging that works for real life and real trips.
The Quiet Magic of Winter in the Red Winter in the Red River Gorge brings fewer crowds, crisp air, and peaceful cliffs that feel worlds away from the busy fall season. While climbing doesn’t stop in winter, it does shift with slower starts, sunnier walls, and a little more intention behind each day. It’s important to remember that winter hours, weather, and access can vary throughout the Gorge, and flexibility is key. This guide is here to help visitors plan realistically and confidently so they can make the most of a winter trip to this special place.
If you’ve spent any time in the Red River Gorge this fall, you already know — 2025 has been one for the books. From crisp sending temps to breathtaking color and some major new additions to our climbing landscape, this season has given us everything we love about autumn in the Gorge… and then some. Here’s why Fall 2025 has been such an incredible time to climb in the Red: 1. The Weather Has Been Perfect for Sending This fall blessed us early. Humidity dipped out sooner than usual, ushering in those ideal, dry conditions climbers dream about. Pair that with consistently cooler temps that have stuck around well into November, and you’ve got prime friction season. Whether you were battling sandstone slopers or dancing up crimps, the rock felt crisp, grippy, and as welcoming as it gets. The kind of weather that makes you dig a little deeper, try a little harder, and maybe even send that project that’s been haunting you all year.
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