Ticks are small parasitic organisms that feed on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. When ticks bite and attach to a host for feeding, they can transmit dangerous diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and babesiosis. Unfortunately, ticks do not just live in woods and nature, they can find their way into our homes as well, hiding in cracks, crevices, and secluded spots waiting for a host to bite. Knowing common tick hiding spots can help homeowners find and eliminate ticks before they have a chance to bite and transmit disease.
Where do ticks live outside before entering a home?
Ticks have complex life cycles that start in the outdoors. Adult ticks wait in grass, brush, and shrubs for a host to brush up against them so they can climb on for a blood meal. After feeding, female adult ticks drop off their host into leaf litter or the soil to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch into tiny larval ticks which then attach to small rodents, birds, or reptiles for their first blood meal. After feeding, engorged larval ticks drop off their hosts and molt into nymphs. Nymphs once again wait in vegetation for another host to bite before dropping off, molting into adults, and restarting the cycle.
So in summary, ticks reside in wooded, brushy areas outside before making their way into homes by hitching a ride on mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, or humans that brush up against vegetation. Their small size makes it easy for ticks to catch a ride undetected.
How do ticks get inside a home?
There are a few primary ways ticks find their way into our homes:
On pets
Dogs and cats that spend time outdoors hunting, playing, or exploring can easily pick up ticks in their fur. Ticks will crawl looking for a place to attach and feed. When pets come indoors, ticks can drop off in the house at any point. Areas around pet beds and resting places are common tick hotspots.
On people
When we walk through tick-infested areas, nymphs and adult ticks can hitch a ride on our clothes or attach to our skin. Nymphs are tiny, often the size of poppy seeds, so they can go unseen and be carried right inside. Once indoors, ticks will crawl off in search of a safe spot.
Carried in by rodents
Mice and other small rodents that frequent areas right outside the home can pick up larval ticks which later molt into nymphs inside. Rodents can then enter houses through small cracks and crevices, bringing ticks along into wall voids, attics, and closed spaces.
Blown in by wind
On rare occasions, adult ticks questing in vegetation right outside the home can be blown in through open doors, windows, or vents. This occurrence is rare though since ticks typically wait close to the ground for potential hosts.
Where are ticks commonly found in a home?
Once inside, ticks seek out concealed areas that are dark, humid, and sheltered. Here are some of the most common tick hiding and living spots inside a home:
On floors and carpets
Ticks can drop off pets and humans onto floors and carpeting. Thick carpets provide protection and increased humidity for ticks. They will seek out dark corners, areas under furniture and beds, and spots between hardwood floor cracks and joints.
In and around pet bedding
Areas where dogs and cats sleep or rest are tick hotspots since they can drop off their furry hosts while they are stationary. Ticks will hide in bedding material, nearby carpets, and underneath pet beds.
In furniture, bedding, and fabrics
Ticks crawl into couches, chairs, beds, and other upholstered furniture to find protected sites. They can tuck into folds, seams, and crevices in furniture to conceal themselves. Since ticks thrive in humid environments, they may hunker down in piled blankets, sheets, and towels.
Behind and under appliances
The dark, sheltered spaces behind and underneath large appliances like refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, and washing machines provide ideal tick habitat. Appliances offer protection while emitting humidity that ticks need to prevent desiccation.
In basements and crawlspaces
Unpaved, humid basements and crawlspaces mimic the tick-friendly microclimate they would inhabit outside. Ticks commonly get swept into basement window wells or hide in crawlspace gaps and cracks.
In bathroom cracks and crevices
The warm, moist environment of bathrooms allows ticks to thrive. They can find refuge in gaps between tiles and floorboards, around cabinets and plumbing, and where walls meet floors and ceilings. Ticks in bathrooms frequently get swept in when people exit showers.
Under debris and litter
While ticks prefer living hosts, they can survive for months without feeding by hiding under litter like fallen leaves, twigs, trash, and debris that make their way inside. Piles of discarded clothes, shoes, boxes, and other clutter also provide cover.
In wall voids and attics
Nymphal and adult ticks brought inside by mice and other rodents will hide in dark, sheltered wall and ceiling voids where their hosts nest. Ticks also frequent attics if rodents find access. Their small size allows them to fit into incredibly tight spaces.
Do ticks nest in homes and reproduce indoors?
In general, ticks do not actually nest or reproduce inside our homes. The term “nest” implies they form an actual dwelling, which ticks do not do. And most species cannot complete their entire reproductive cycle strictly indoors due to these limitations:
Lack of hosts
Immature ticks rely on small rodents, birds, reptiles, and amphibians to provide their first blood meals. Nymphal ticks then must feed from larger animals. Without this variety of accessible hosts, most tick species cannot survive and propagate.
Temperature and humidity requirements
Each tick life stage requires specific conditions to survive, feed, molt, and lay eggs successfully. The temperature and humidity ranges inside most modern homes fall outside requirements for many species.
Egg-laying environment
Most tick species lay eggs in leaf litter or soil outside. Without an appropriate surface, females cannot oviposit properly indoors. The exception would be some soft ticks that can lay eggs in protected cracks.
Lengthy life cycle
Ticks require approximately one to three years to fully advance from eggs through two nymphal stages, adulthood, feeding, mating, and egg laying. Continuous access to hosts and optimal conditions would be unlikely strictly indoors.
So in summary, while ticks may accidentally end up inside our homes, they do not typically establish large self-perpetuating populations or complete full life cycles strictly indoors. At most, they hide and survive for brief periods while waiting for another host.
Can ticks spread disease in the home?
Ticks are most well known for spreading illnesses like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans and pets when they bite to take a blood meal. Since ticks cannot complete their full life cycle strictly indoors, the risk of disease transmission inside the home is relatively low in most typical situations.
However, ticks that find their way inside still pose some disease threats, primarily:
Carrying pathogens indoors
Ticks that previously fed outdoors on infected hosts can carry pathogens like Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease) when they hitch a ride into our homes. These already-infected ticks can spread disease to human and animal inhabitants when they bite.
Living for months between feedings
Ticks can survive for months without feeding while waiting for a host indoor or outdoor. During this time they may remain infective and transmit pathogens the next time they bite.
Biting humans indoors
Accidentally bringing a Lyme disease-infected tick into the home puts inhabitants at risk. Bites often go unnoticed, allowing infected ticks to feed long enough to transmit the bacteria.
So while home infestations may be unlikely, it only takes one infected tick succeeding at a bite to make us sick. Being aware of tick hiding spots allows us to eliminate them before they transmit disease indoors.
How can you find ticks in a home?
Finding concealed ticks in household hiding spots takes vigilance and focus. Here are some tips for tick inspection and discovery:
Conduct frequent thorough inspections
Check tick hotspots regularly when ticks are active in your area, usually spring through fall. Focus on sites like pet bedding, bathroom and kitchen crevices, beneath appliances, in carpets, and where walls meet floors.
Use a bright flashlight
A bright, focused LED flashlight allows you to peer into cracked, dark spaces where ticks conceal themselves. The light will cause them to move, catching your eye.
Look low and high
Ticks can be found from floor level all the way up walls and into ceilings where rodents frequent. Be sure to scan systematically from top to bottom throughout the home.
Enlist help of others
Extra pairs of eyes are useful – have family members, housemates, or a professional pest control technician help inspect.
Consider using a tick repellent
Applying a repellent like permethrin to shoes, pant legs, and socks causes ticks to crawl up and out where they can be spotted.
Watch for signs of tick activity
Look for fecal stains, molted skins, bodies, and other traces that reveal tick activity in hidden spots even if the ticks are gone.
What is the best way to remove a tick from your home?
If you do discover a tick, proper removal technique is important to avoid leaving the tick’s mouthparts embedded in your skin. Here is the best protocol:
Use fine-point tweezers
Grasp the tick close to skin surface with a pair of pointed precision tweezers. Avoid using your fingers.
Pull straight up with steady pressure
Pull straight up and out from the skin slowly and steadily without twisting. No jerking or yanking.
Do not try to smother ticks
Folk remedies like covering ticks in oil, nail polish, or petroleum jelly do not work and may agitate the tick causing it to release pathogens. Stick with tweezers.
Do not crush ticks
Crushing ticks between fingernails or other methods may release organisms and raise disease transmission risk. Proper tweezer removal minimizes this risk.
Save tick in alcohol for identification
Place the removed tick in a sealable plastic bag with rubbing alcohol in case later identification is needed.
Disinfect bite site
Clean the bite area with soap and water, rubbing alcohol, or disinfecting wipes after tick removal.
Watch for symptoms
Be alert for any rashes, fevers, muscle and joint pain, or other symptoms in the days and weeks following the bite, and tell your doctor about the exposure. Early symptom recognition and treatment is key for many tick-borne diseases.
How can you avoid and prevent ticks in the home?
Stopping ticks from ever entering your house is the best line of defense. Here are some key tick prevention measures:
Treat pets with acaricides
Ask your vet about prescription tick-killing products like chewables, collars, spot-ons, sprays, or shampoos to treat your pets. Treated animals bring fewer ticks inside. Reapply products on schedule.
Keep pets out of tick habitats
Avoid letting pets roam in wooded, brushy areas where they can pick up ticks. Stick to pavement when outside and check pets after going out.
Control ticks on property
Work with a pest control professional to treat your yard and landscaping with acaricide sprays, granules, or professional perimeter treatments. Reduce tick numbers outside to lower indoor risk.
Install a gravel border
A 3-foot gravel boarder between your lawn and wooded areas, stone walls, or ornamental plantings limits tick migration onto your property.
Keep lawns mowed
Maintain your lawn at 3 inches or less to reduce the shady, humid microclimate at ground level that ticks prefer. Rake up leaves and debris that provide cover.
Remove vegetation near home
Prune any bushes, branches, and ornamental plants that touch or overhang the house. Ticks access homes more easily from nearby vegetation. Maintain a woodchip, gravel, or mulch break between plantings and foundation.
Seal cracks and crevices
Caulk and seal any cracks around windows, doors, siding, utilities, and foundations that could allow tick entry. Rodent-proof the exterior to keep mice from bringing ticks inside.
Manage clutter
Keep interior clutter like piles of debris, clothes, blankets, toys, and shoes to a minimum. Pick these items up off floors to eliminate tick cover. Store infrequently used items in sealed containers.
Add a dehumidifier
Excessively humid rooms provide a more favorable environment for ticks. Use fans, air conditioning, and dehumidifiers as needed to keep indoor humidity around or below 50%.
Conclusion
Ticks may not be able to fully infest our homes, but they can survive for months tucked away in cracks, crevices, and concealed spaces while waiting to take advantage of a blood meal from a pet, human, or other host. Their stealth allows them to hitch rides inside undetected and hide in typical hotspots like furniture, carpets, pet areas, bathrooms, and more. Finding and removing ticks promptly along with prevention measures like treating pets and modifying landscaping can help minimize indoor exposure and the risks of tick-borne disease transmission while in the comfort of our own homes. Being educated on tick behavior, active inspection and removal, and proactive prevention are our best defenses against these prevalent pests.