Can ticks live in your house?

If you are under the impression that ticks cannot survive indoors, this blog is for you.

In our last blog, we talked about the preferred outdoor habitats of ticks. Ticks survive and thrive in areas around our homes, like tall grassy spaces, areas of underbrush, and even in leaf or wood piles. Treating your yard for ticks is an essential part of life in Massachusetts. Mosquito Squad of Worcester clients are offered year-round Charlton tick control with barrier protection sprays from springtime through autumn, as well as extended treatment with tick tubes in the fall and winter. Even still, performing a tick check on yourself, your kids, and your pets is important when you come back inside your home. Many ticks, like the black-legged or deer tick, can live inside your home from 24 hours to a few days.

Which ticks can survive inside your house?

The brown dog tick is said to be able to live and even reproduce inside your home. If you have a designated area for your pets, such as a kennel room, or even a corner of a room with kennels, it is necessary to check them for ticks often. Brown dog ticks are responsible for harmful diseases, such as canine ehrlichiosis and babesiosis. They are also known to transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans.

Soft ticks, such as the O. hermsi, can also thrive indoors. These ticks are not found in Central Massachusetts, but if you travel to known habitats, like rustic cabins in the western United States, you should be aware that these ticks prefer indoor habitats. They are also responsible for passing Borrelia hermsii, bacteria that cause tick-borne relapsing fever.

Charlton tick control is the first step in tick protection, but not the only step.

As noted above, performing a thorough tick check is a necessary step in preventing potentially-infected tick bites. If you find a tick on yourself, a family member, or your pet, proper removal is another essential step. If you find a tick on the loose inside your home, or one attached to a family member, proper disposal is necessary. The best method of tick disposal is putting the tick into a sealable container, like a plastic sandwich bag or a jar, and submerging it in rubbing alcohol. If the tick has been removed from a family member, you might want to hold onto it for future identification in case that family member becomes ill. Knowing the type of tick will help physicians and veterinarians know what to test for if they believe the illness could be caused by a tick bite. And remember to always see a doctor if you or your pet become ill after a known tick bite – even if you do not believe the tick was attached long enough to cause infection.

Charlton tick control is very important for your family’s health and well-being. So is knowing what to do if you find a tick living inside your home. Call Mosquito Squad of Worcester today at (508) 388-5640 for year-round tick protection.