Ticks are blood-sucking arachnids that feed on the blood of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, among other animals. Ticks like to hang out in forested or brush piles areas and attach themself to animals and people who brush against them. All over North America, there are different kinds of ticks.
Ticks and their young, called nymphs, can spread several serious diseases. They can also cause allergies and anemia in some people. If you find ticks in your home, you should remove them carefully and throw them away correctly. If they keep coming back, it might be a good idea to call a professional pest control service.
What does a tick look like?
Ticks are small creatures that look like spiders and live in woods and fields. They are most common in the spring and summer but are still around in the fall. They can’t fly and often live on animals, but they can also stick to people.
Ticks are brown or black and have tiny bumps all over their bodies. Their feet are long and skinny, and their mouths are made for puncturing skin so they can drink blood. The adults and nymphs have eight legs, but the very small larvae only have six.
Ticks are usually no bigger than that of the head of a pin, but after they feed on blood, they can get as big as a pea in diameter. If you know you’ve got a tick inside, be careful and ensure you’re not dealing directly with carpet beetles or bed bugs.
If you locate a tick on personally or your pet, talk to a doctor or nurse about getting rid of it and what treatments are available. Most people think of ticks as living outside, but some species can get inside. Some of them spread disease, while others don’t. These checks are:
The Deer Tick
This tick is incredibly small and difficult to notice and is the most notorious Lyme disease vector. But it’s important to note that the name “deer tick” is a bit outdated since deer are not the main animals that carry this tick. It is rats and mice.
American Dog Tick:
This tick can carry Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and it often gets inside on pets or clothes.
The brown dog’s tick:
This tick is a common household pest that wants to stay for a long time. It is not known to spread disease, but if allowed to thrive indoors, it can cause anemia in pets.
6 Natural Methods for Getting Rid of Ticks
Getting rid of ticks is less important than keeping them from coming back. It will always be around if you live where they live. The problem is keeping them out of your house and away from your family and pets.
There are a bunch of old wives’ tales about how to get rid of ticks or maintain them from bitterness, but not all of them are supported by science. Some of them might hurt more than help. Use simple methods that make sense to get rid of pests. If a treatment method is suggested and it seems risky or too hard to do, it’s probably too good to be true.
Know-How to Check for Ticks
The CDC says that ticks need to be on a person for 36–48 hours before they can do damage. When you or your pets arrive in from outside, especially in the spring and summer, check everyone carefully for ticks. Check places on your body like:
- In the hair and around the ears
- Between the legs
- Knees’ backs
- Underarms
- Interior the belly button and around the waist.
Don’t forget to visit your equipment as well. Ticks can get inside on coats, rucksacks, and tents, so you should also carefully look over these things.
Check your animals
Ticks are often brought inside by animals. Ticks like the brown dog tick are joyful to move into your home, where they can feed on your pets freely and have lots of babies. Your pet might get anemia if any of these things happen. Ticks can be very little and tough to perceive at first when they are on your pet.
They dig into an animal’s fur and connect themselves there so they can eat without being seen. By the time you see it, the tick is probably full of blood. Please don’t wait until you find a tick that has eaten its fill. Treat your pets with medicine for ticks and fleas, and give them a careful once-over when they come inside.
Use tick repellent
Tick sprays and repellents, such as DEET and other over-the-counter products, as well as some homemade options, are available. It has been shown that the following essential oils can help keep ticks away:
- Lemon oil
- Eucalyptus oil
Most homemade tick repellents are made by mixing one or more oils with water, vinegar, and witch hazel, but do your research first. Essential oils can still be dangerous if used incorrectly, so make sure you find a recipe that you can trust and follow closely.
Wear proper clothes
Make sure you wear the right clothes if you plan to spend time outside in wooded areas where ticks might be. Before going outside, you could also require to treat your clothes with a tick and insect repellent. Wear long sleeves and pants made of strong material, keep your skin covered, wear shoes with close-toed toes and tall socks, and try not to walk through areas with a thick brush as much as possible.
Use the dryer to kill ticks
When you come in from being outside, put everything in the dryer before washing it. It might seem like a good idea to wash the clothes first, but your washer might not get hot enough to kill ticks, and you don’t want to leave them there. Try out the dryer. Ticks get dry very quickly. It still on your clothes will die if you take off the clothes and dry them at high warm for at least 10 minutes.
Read Also: How To Keep House Clean With Cats
Address the right conditions
A condition that worsens a pest problem in pest control is called a conducive condition. Some of these conditions are the availability of food and places to stay. When trying to get rid of ticks inside, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Sources of food: Ticks eat blood. Handle your pets for ticks and stop your pets and family members for ticks after they’ve been outside.
- Ticks live outside, but if you want to keep them away from your house, you should cut back brush and another overgrowth around it, especially if it’s close to buildings.
Signs You Have Ticks in Your Home
Because they are so little, it can be hard to find ticks within them until they have eaten blood or become a problem that keeps coming back. Ticks like to hide in places like woods, brush, and tall grass, where they can stick together or hang out alone and wait for a dog to pick them up without realizing it.
No matter how much you require them to leave for good, they won’t. You may be used to using chemical sprays to get rid of ticks. But doing so too often can harm the environment and your health, and it won’t get rid of tick bites for good. If you live where ticks are common outside or have been a problem inside in the past, you need to know how to check for them and do it often.
