How to protect against ticks Blood-sucking ticks can carry a variety of diseases. How do you protect yourself against ticks? All ticks are arachnids, and all biting ticks belong to the Ixodidae family of so-called “hard ticks.” These ticks go through four life stages: egg (in which the tick pretty much just sits there), larva, nymph and adult. During its larval and nymph stages, americanum latches on to a passing mammal. Ticks need a moist environment to survive, so eliminating leaf litter in your yard can make it less hospitable to ticks by drying out the soil.