Tick bite

I live in NJ.  My house is pretty much in the woods.  Last year, I found a tick embedded in me 3 different times.  Once in May, another time in July, and then again at the end of the summer.  The first two occasions required a course of antibiotics for several weeks because I had a rash at the site of the bite.  I also had to have a Lyme antibody test to make sure I was not infected. 

This year, my husband and I are determined to be extra careful.  There is next to no grass in the back yard.  It's mostly dirt because we left the leaf debris on the lawn over the winter.  When I take the dog outside, I roll up my pant legs or put rubber bands around the bottoms so they don't brush up against any foliage.  I have even taken to wearing a white hat with a wide brim because I have been told ticks can fall out of trees.

Today, I felt something on my skin near the waistband of my pants, and you guessed it--a tick.  This is unbelievable.  I have lived in this house for 20 years and we have always taken our dogs hiking just about every single day all year long.  This past year is the first time I have had any ticks on me in my LIFE.

Does anyone have any other suggestions about prevention?  Walking on the street is not an option.  We live on a back road, and there is literally no shoulder.  There are parks nearby, but I imagine I would be just as vulnerable there.