Few things are better than being outdoors with your family and pets. But you need to be careful, especially in woodsy places, because ticks are out there and they can be harmful to your pets and to you. The last thing you want is to bring ticks back to your home.
How Do Ticks Get Into the Home?
Ticks like to hide in shady spots of grassy, brushy, wooded areas, then climb on you, a family member, or your pet. Whether you’re working in your yard, walking your dog, camping, or fishing, ticks may be ready to pounce.
The most common ways they get indoors include:
On your pets. Ticks are freeloaders. They’ll catch a ride inside, grabbing onto your dog or cat when they’re outside.
On you. Ticks will also attach themselves to people outside. They may latch on to your shoes or clothing, then take a free ride indoors.
On your stuff. By crawling onto gear, such as backpacks, bags, and blankets that are outside, ticks get inside when you bring things into the house or garage.
On their own. In rare cases, ticks can make it into a home by climbing the outside walls and looking for a way inside through a window, for example.
Where Am I Most Likely to Be Bitten by a Tick?
You may not realize a tick has bitten you until it feasts on your blood and gets bigger. But after you or your pet have been in places where ticks hang out, check these places for tick bites:
- Your scalp
- Neck
- In or around your ears
- Legs, especially behind the knees
- Between your legs
- Under your arms
- Around your waist
- In your belly button
Most tick bites are not painful. If symptoms do happen, they may include:
- A lump or swelling on the skin
- Rash
- Itchy, irritated skin
- Bruising
If ticks are infected with diseases, they can pass them to you or your pet:
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever – the most serious illness ticks can cause. It’s hard to diagnose in its earliest stages, so if you notice a tick bite, keep close watch for symptoms.
- Lyme disease – normally easily treated if it’s caught early, but if left untreated can spread to your heart, brain, and nervous system.
- Anaplasmosis
- Babesiosis
- Ehrlichiosis
- Tularemia
These conditions cause you to have flu-like symptoms such as:
- Fever – in Rocky Mountain spotted fever, it can come on quickly
- Chills
- Muscle pain
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Sore throat
- Dry cough
- Dark pee and nausea (in a case of babesiosis)
How to Keep Ticks From Getting Into the House
The best way to avoid a tick infestation in your house is to keep them out in the first place. Some ways to do that:
- Wear tick-repellent clothes when you venture outside. You can turn your favorite T-shirt, shorts, or hiking socks into tick-repellent clothing. They can be professionally treated with an EPA-approved, invisible, odorless repellent known as permethrin. Best part is you only have to treat your clothes once a season. The repellent stays effective through 70 washes. You can also add repellent to your gear if you’re going camping, hiking, or fishing.
- Use preventive products on your pets, such as a topical, chew, or collar.
- Wear long sleeves and long pants when you know you might come in contact with ticks. Wearing light-colored clothing is a good idea, too. That will make it easier to spot ticks if they’re crawling on you.
- Check yourself, family members, and pets for ticks when you are back inside.
- If you do spot a tick, carefully remove it with tweezers and disinfect the bite area.
- Remove leaves, brush, and debris in your yard.
- Mow your lawn frequently (ticks love to hide in tall grass).
- Build a fence around your yard to keep deer or stray animals – that may have ticks – out.
- Remove food, including spilled bird seed, or plants that attract deer or other wildlife.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: E+/Getty Images
SOURCES:
Fairfax County, Virginia Government: “Your Guide to Tick Prevention.”
University of Rhode Island: “Ways Ticks Get Into Your House.”
Cleveland Clinic: “Tick Bites.”
NHS inform (U.K.): “Tick bites.”
American College of Emergency Physicians: “Tick Bites.”
CDC: “Babesiosis.”
