Hiking with more experienced friends in an area where Lyme disease is a serious issue (more northerly part of the Appalachian Trail) --- from them I got into the habit of paying attention to where I would sit to eat lunch, take a break, etc. Never on a log, or grass, or bark chips, that sort of thing. Ideally on solid rock or concrete if available or generally just the most sterile-of-life place I could find.

Of course that's not sufficient in-and-of itself, but I only ended up with one tick to pull out on that trip, and it was a larger type (not the smaller deer ticks that one tends to get that disease from).