How to Get Rid of Ticks

You often hear the phrase “fleas and ticks” from pest control providers – as if the two are nearly interchangeable.

Yet these two tiny pests are classified in completely different ways and may carry quite different illnesses. To know if your home is now also home to ticks, you must also understand how they differ from fleas.

Within the tick family, there are two main types: soft-shell and hard-shell. It’s helpful to know about both for the purpose of protecting your home.

The soft-shell variety does not show aggressive tendencies. These ticks prefer to stay attached to a single host and feed in brief sessions at night (usually less than an hour). In fact, soft-shell ticks act more like bed bugs in terms of feeding habits and don’t venture far from their nest of comfort.

Hard-shell ticks will move from host to host in search of a longer, more satisfying meal lasting a few days or up to a week. They do this through a method called “questing,” which is common to their web-building spider relatives. Hard-shell ticks will wait for prey to arrive, then extend their front legs in the air and latch onto a host passing by. In this way, ticks neither jump nor fly; they simply wait for a new host to appear.

Ticks are perceptive pests. They can detect breath, body odor, heat, moisture, and vibrations. Hard-shell ticks use these skills in their “questing” to identify the best place to wait for an approaching host.

The main threat to your home comes from hard-shell ticks, which are sometimes known as “three host ticks” because they require a bloodmeal for each of their three life stages. A tick’s life cycle may be broad, ranging from 90 days to three years. Each of the pests we’ll discuss is diurnal, meaning that seeks out a host during daytime.

If you do find a tick attached to your skin, use a pair of tweezers to grasp it as close to the skin as possible and pull it out completely. Afterwards, watch for symptoms of rash or fever in the coming days. Consult your doctor if necessary.

• Spring and summer: Lyme disease represents one of the biggest threats posed by ticks to humans during. The spread of that disease is directly tied to peak activity for ticks, which occurs in late spring and early summer. Summertime outerwear like shorts and thinner tops can make the human body a convenient target.
• Winter: Ticks are resilient and crafty pests that can weather the colder months. Some species go dormant during this time. Others attach to a host and ride out the winter season. Blacklegged ticks are particularly hardy, remaining active as long as the temperature stays above freezing. Still others will seek litter, a pile of leaves, or other debris to insulate them against frost.

Even with a description of the tick seen near or in your home, it may be a challenge to identify the species. If you can capture the tick, call your local cooperative extension office. They can help you determine the species and an effective treatment.

Ticks are unpleasant pests that can be dangerous to both humans and animals. Lyme disease, transmitted by deer ticks, is especially harmful for humans because it can be hard to diagnose at first and leaves extreme symptoms like joint pain, memory problems and chronic fatigue.

Other tick-borne diseases include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick paralysis, and ehrlichiosis (a flulike illness). An integrated approach to pest management can save both the two- and four-legged members of your family from discomfort and illness.

If you’ve seen ticks around your home and know your pet has already been affected by them, you should pair a variety of treatment methods with a regimented task of scanning your pet and manually removing the small insects. Luckily, they’re easy to detect and just need some patient attention from you each day in order to remove them.

• Rub your hands through their fur and over their skin and feel for a bump or a swollen area.
• You can also use a comb to separate thick fur and make sure you’re able to see directly down to their skin.
• The insects themselves may be brown, black, or tan with eight small legs. While some ticks are about the size of a Tic Tac, others may be no bigger than the head of a pin.
• If you encounter a tick already on an animal, safely remove it. Some people recommend painting the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, but these tend to be ineffective measures. Instead, grasp the tick with tweezers as close to your pet’s skin as you can. Pull it out with a straight, slow and steady motion. Twisting or jerking can result in the tick’s head breaking off under your pet’s skin. This can lead to infection if it is not properly removed.
• After removing a tick, drop it into a small jar of rubbing alcohol. Note on the bottle the date that you removed the tick. If your pet starts showing any signs of a tick-borne illness, your veterinarian will want to test the tick to see if it transmitted a disease to your pet.
• Clean the area around the tick bite, then wash your hands and the tools you used to remove the tick. This can prevent infection of the wound and transmission of any pathogens.

If you’re dealing with a lot of ticks, you can also have your vet continually check for ticks at each appointment you have. They’ll do a similar routine as the one outlined above, but can have different tools to make the process faster and more efficient.

• Tick Collars

Tick collars work the same way as flea collars. There are two different types, which can either emit a gas that repels ticks or contain a medicine that is continually released onto the neck of your pet. These can be an alternative to topical medications, as they’re usually less expensive. However, if you’re dealing with a large infestation, a collar usually won’t be as successful in eliminating ticks as topical medication will be. A good strategy could be using both a tick collar and topical medication together to ensure your pet is efficiently repelling and killing off any ticks that find their way to its skin.

• Tick Spray

If your pet is afraid of baths, a tick spray can be a good alternative since it won’t get them as wet. The sprays you can use on your pet will contain different, more mild pesticides as compared to the sprays specifically formulated for your yard. The topical sprays will also be different from those formulated for indoor preventative use, which you can use along the cracks and crevices inside your house. Be sure to fully read product labels before applying any type of topical treatment to your pet.

To use a tick spray:

• First check the label to find out how much you can use on your pet and how often.
• Wearing gloves, spray an appropriate amount close to your pet and make sure to rub the medication into their skin so it isn’t just sitting on top of their fur.
• Re-treat your pet as needed

If you’re using the tick spray as a preventative measure and don’t necessarily need chemical pesticides that help kill ticks off, you can make your own natural tick spray. Chemical tick sprays also tend to have a strong odor, so a DIY spray could also be a great option for those who are sensitive to smell.

Find out what other options you have for the best tick repellents on the market if you don’t have the time or ability to use a DIY method.

• Medications

Flea and tick collars only repel insects from the head and neck, but topical medications like Frontline and Advantage can be applied to your pets once a month to repel ticks and fleas over their entire bodies and kill off those that are already attached. Make sure that you observe instructions for application. These medications require different doses by weight, and can also be reapplied at different time intervals. Don’t use them on puppies and kittens under six weeks old.

• Flea or Tick Shampoo

Flea or tick repellent shampoo is another topical option. These products can help remove fleas from animals and repel them in the future. The active ingredients in these shampoos only last for around two weeks, however, making this a labor-intensive option for flea and tick control, but it can be a good treatment to add to an arsenal of multiple methods.

Unfortunately, many pets become stressed when they’re bathed, so you’ll have to gauge how often you’ll be able to use the shampoo. If your pet has been trained to withstand regular bathing, give them a bath using medicated shampoo at least every week, or each time you’re finished combing and manually removing ticks.

• Indoor Pesticides

Keeping your house clean should be done whether you’re preventing a tick infestation or trying to get rid of one. However, this isn’t the only indoor treatment you should be using. While there are sprays for your yard and pets, there are also indoor pesticides that you can use among the hiding spaces in your home. These usually aren’t recommended to be used directly on carpets and furniture, but you can use a pesticide sprayer on the following areas:

• Around baseboards on your walls
• Along window and door cracks
• Along the corners of your rooms along the floors and ceilings
• Inside any cracks and crevices in walls

Tick insecticide dusts can be sprinkled along carpets and rugs to kill off any ticks. This lends itself to easy cleanup as well, since you can vacuum up the dust after it’s had enough time to be effective. By using a dust and not a spray, you won’t have to deal with any residues or strong odors.

For a natural alternative, you can use diatomaceous earth on your carpets. This product is available online and is made up of fossilized remains, which are slightly abrasive and can tear up small insects’ skeletons. Food-grade diatomaceous earth is perfectly safe for humans and pets and just feels like a lumpy powder. It is completely non-toxic and can also be vacuumed up after use, just as what you would do with insecticide dust.

If an infestation is affecting your everyday life and making your home an unsanitary or dangerous place to live inside, call a professional immediately.

Eradicating an ant nest in the house often involves more than just applying spray: a pest control company may have to drill small holes in the wall near the floor. Insecticidal dust may then be applied through the holes with a special applicator or plastic bottle with a nozzle, a procedure especially necessary for carpenter ant control.

Be aware that wood-cutting species like carpenter ants often cause property damage requiring a contractor to repair. These ants can bore long tunnels, or galleries, in wood, greatly weakening load-bearing structures in your house.

Professional pest controllers typically handle a range of insects, but may also specialize in a particular species. They are likely to be highly experienced with the particular ant species that live in your area, as well as pesticides and treatment methods that are safe for children and pets. These experts frequently provide free estimates, allowing you to determine the severity of the infestation before making a financial commitment.