What to Do When You Find a Tick in Your House

My dog was snoozing on the living room floor when I glimpsed movement on his coat. Upon closer inspection, and much to my horror, dozens of ticks were crawling off of him and onto the carpet. They must have hitched a ride on our hike earlier that day when he was running through tall grass. For weeks afterward, the thought of ticks in my home and car tormented me.

If you’ve got these unwanted visitors, here’s how to get ticks out of your home and prevent them from ever getting in again.

How to Identify Ticks

What do ticks look like?

Ticks are small, oval-shaped bugs with a flat back and no wings or antennae. They vary in color from reddish to brown and black. Lone star ticks, common in the Southeast U.S., have a white dot on their backs.

Ticks are classified as arachnids, which means they have eight legs and are more closely related to mites and spiders than insects (but some newly emerged ticks have only six legs). Tick egg clusters, or nests, look like fish eggs or masses of brown orbs along the forest floor.

“Unfed ticks are tiny, resembling freckles or moles on the skin, while fully fed ticks can swell up from the size of a poppy seed to the size of a raisin,” says Emma Grace Crumbley, an entomologist with Mosquito Squad.

What do tick bites look like?

Tick bites often look like a small red bump. However, you’ll probably notice the tick while it is still attached. While the bites usually aren’t painful, they can swell and be sore for days. Ticks transmitting Lyme disease can leave behind a bullseye mark, and those with Rocky Mountain spotted fever can cause a speckled rash (localized or full-body).

How Did Ticks Get Into My Home?

Ticks primarily live outdoors, so they usually enter homes by hitching a ride on pets and clothing. “It’s important to note that while ticks may enter homes in this manner, they are unlikely to reproduce and establish an infestation indoors,” says Ian Williams, Technical Services Manager at Orkin.

How to Remove Ticks From Pets

Use fine-tipped tweezers held close to the skin (or a tick removal stick) and pull up slowly with a steady motion. The CDC also has a Tick Bite Bot to walk you through the process and determine what further care might be needed. If the head breaks off inside, remove that, too, to prevent infection. Next, clean the bite with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

Once removed, dispose of a tick by putting it in alcohol, wrapping it in tape, flushing it down the toilet or sealing it in a bag or container. Do not crush it with your fingers.

How to Get Rid of Ticks in Your Home

If you find a tick in your home, check your clothing and pets for more loose ticks. Then:

Vacuum and Clean

Thoroughly vacuum carpets, floors and upholstered furniture to remove ticks and their eggs. Pay close attention to cracks, crevices and areas where pets frequently rest, says Williams.

Wash Linens and Pet Bedding

Wash and dry bedding, blankets and pet bedding. Use high heat settings to kill any ticks that may be present.

Treat Outdoor Areas

If you suspect your ticks came from the yard (vs. picking them up on a hike), consider treating areas that could be harboring them, such as long grasses, with tick control products. Especially focus on areas where pets frequent.

How to Prevent Ticks in Homes

Check Yourself and Your Pets for Ticks

When you return from a hike, check pets for ticks and wash clothing to remove any you might not initially spot, says Thomas Dobrinska, entomologist and Technical Service Manager at Terminix. “Ticks are slow crawlers and even slower climbers,” he says, which means you often have time to find them before they bite.

Williams also recommends wearing light-colored clothing so you can easily spot ticks and tucking your pants into your socks to create a barrier between your skin and ticks.

Use Tick Medication and Repellent

If you have pets, use tick and flea medication to keep ticks from being attracted to your pets, and check them for ticks after they’ve been playing in the yard. Also, while outside in tick-prone areas, apply a tick repellent on yourself and your clothing.

Tick-Off Your Yard

Making your yard less friendly to ticks is key to preventing ticks in your home. Since ticks thrive in damp, shaded environments like brush and forest-lined areas, remove debris and keep vegetation trimmed near your house and around high-traffic areas, like paths.

“Ticks tend to avoid crossing paths, mulch or gravel, as that involves long periods of sun exposure, which may lead to drying out and death for the tick,” says Crumbley. “So create a mulch or gravel barrier between your yard and the environment where ticks thrive.”

Also, wild animals can be carriers, so discourage them by moving shelters like wood and rock piles away from high-traffic areas and eliminating food sources like bird feeders and pet food.

When to Call a Pro

If you have a tick infestation in your yard or home, it’s probably best to call a pro. Ticks pose a health risk and have long lifecycles, making them difficult to manage using DIY methods.

FAQ

When should you worry about a tick bite?

If you think you’ve been bitten by a tick, contact your doctor for preventative treatment advice. If the tick’s head breaks off while you’re removing it, or if you develop rashes, a bullseye mark, swelling, flu-like symptoms, nausea or muscle aches within the next month, seek medical help immediately. “Some tick bites will be harmless,” says Rocky Beninato, certified exterminator and founder of Quality Affordable Pest Control. But “it’s especially important to monitor for Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can be deadly.”

Do ticks fly or jump?

No. Ticks only travel by crawling, often up pieces of vegetation, where they then use their front legs to reach out and grab passersby. However, “They may appear to jump, as the electrostatic charge can pull them from the vegetation to the potential host,” says Dobrinska.

“A common misconception is that ticks drop from trees onto a suitable host,” says Williams. “This myth persists because people speculate on how ticks get into trees and mistakenly assume they must be flying.”

Where do ticks live?

Ticks live throughout the U.S., typically in outdoor woody or grassy areas, like forests and fields, and especially along well-traveled trails where they’re likely to find host animals. They also live in animal dens and nests. “Brown dog ticks are unique to other species as they can thrive indoors, making them dangerous to bring into your home,” says Beninato.

What animals eat ticks?

Various birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, insects and arachnids all eat ticks, including chickens, chipmunks, mice, squirrels, opossums, armadillos, frogs and ants.

About the Experts

• Ian Williams is a board-certified entomologist and certified wildlife control professional. He currently works as a technical services manager at Orkin, where he trains and educates Orkin pros and the public about pests.
• Rocky Beninato is a certified exterminator and founder of Quality Affordable Pest Control, an eco-friendly and pet-safe pest control company based in Toronto.
• Emma Grace Crumbley is an entomologist at Mosquito Squad and a self-described bug nerd who uses her expertise to educate people about the fascinating world of bugs.
• Thomas Dobrinska is a board certified entomologist and Technical Service Manager for Terminix. During his 30-plus years in the pest control industry, he has worked in roles including pest technician, operations management and training and development.