How to Get Rid of Ticks in Your House

Ticks are small parasitic insects that feed on the blood of humans and animals. They can transmit dangerous diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and others. Having ticks inside your home is concerning because they can bite and infect you, your family, and your pets. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to get rid of ticks in your house and yard and reduce the chances of future infestations.

How Ticks Get in Your House

Before you can get rid of ticks, it helps to understand how they gain access in the first place. Here are some of the most common ways ticks find their way indoors:

On pets – Ticks can catch a ride into your home by latching onto dogs, cats, and other pets that spend time outdoors. When your pets come inside, ticks can then drop off and make their way into carpets, furniture, and bedding.
On people – If you brush up against vegetation or walk through tick-infested areas, ticks can cling to your clothes or skin and then fall off inside.
On items brought indoors – Ticks can hitchhike inside on everything from firewood to fresh cut flowers from the yard.Any items left outdoors that you later bring in could transport ticks.
Through cracks – Ticks can squeeze through surprisingly small spaces to get inside. Cracks around windows, doors, the foundation, and openings for utilities are possible entry points.
Ventilation systems – In rare cases, ticks can ride air currents through ventilation systems and get deposited indoors.

Knowing how ticks invade can help you seal up access points and be diligent about checking pets and people for ticks before they come inside.

Signs of Ticks in Your Home

To control ticks, you first need to confirm if they have already gained entry into your house. Watch for these signs of possible tick infestation:

Seeing live ticks – The most obvious clue is spotting live, crawling ticks on floors, walls, furniture, or bedding. Ticks vary in size before and after feeding but are typically pinhead-sized or larger.
Tick bites – Discovering tick bites on pets, family members, or yourself could mean ticks are inside. Bites often go unnoticed until they become swollen, itchy welts.
Blood stains – After feeding, ticks will leave behind small blood stains on fabric or surfaces they were resting on. Blood smears are another sign of tick activity.
Tick excrement – In heavy infestations, you may find dried clumps of tick waste that look like specks of pepper. Tick feces are dark in color.

Any combination of seeing live ticks, bites, blood, or excrement means you likely have an infestation to address. The sooner you take action, the better.

Dangers of Ticks in the Home

Having ticks living in your home is worrisome because of the health hazards they can introduce. Here are some of the biggest risks:

Tick-borne diseases – Ticks can transmit diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, tick-borne relapsing fever, and tularemia.
Allergic reactions – Some people may develop a red, itchy rash and swelling around a tick bite even without an infection. This minor reaction is common.
Paralysis – In rare cases, tick saliva can cause paralysis, nausea, headache, and fatigue. Symptoms typically disappear within 24 hours of removing the tick.
Anemia – Pets like dogs and cats can develop anemia from excessive blood loss when infested with ticks.

The sooner you eliminate ticks, the lower the health risks to your family and pets. Talk to your doctor about symptoms if you suspect tick bites or tick-borne illness.

How to Get Rid of Ticks Naturally

Many traditional tick repellents and insecticides contain harsh chemicals. If you want to avoid those, there are some natural ways to kick ticks out of your house without turning to synthetic pesticides.

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a powder made from crushed fossils of diatoms, an ancient type of algae. The powder feels like a gritty flour. When ticks come into contact with diatomaceous earth, the sharp edges cut into their exoskeletons and cause them to dry out and die.

To use DE for ticks:

Apply a fine layer of powder along baseboards, window sills, around pet bedding, and anywhere ticks could hide.
Rub the powder thoroughly into carpets and upholstery. Let it sit for several hours before vacuuming up.
Add some diatomaceous earth to your vacuum bag or canister to kill any ticks you suck up.
Wear a dust mask and goggles since prolonged inhalation can irritate lungs.

Reapply diatomaceous earth after vacuuming or if rain or humidity washes it away. For severe infestations, hire a professional exterminator since thorough application is key. Diatomaceous earth is safe for pets but avoid breathing in large amounts.

Essential Oils

Many plant-based essential oils naturally repel ticks. Try spraying these oils diluted in water around baseboards, furniture, window sills, and other tick hot spots:

Eucalyptus oil
Lavender oil
Lemongrass oil
Peppermint oil
Rose geranium oil

You can also mix a few drops of these oils with water in a spray bottle. A 1:10 ratio (1 part essential oil to 10 parts water) is recommended. Spray clothing, exposed skin, and pet bedding with repellent oils. Just avoid contact with eyes, nostrils, or mouth.

For severe tick problems, you may need to hire a pest control company to fog your home with plant-based, tick-killing essential oils.

Tick-Killing Plants

Certain plants naturally deter ticks with compounds in their leaves, stems, or flowers. Interplanting these varieties around your home’s perimeter can discourage tick migration indoors:

Lavender
Marigolds
Garlic
Sage
Rosemary
Lemongrass

Planting native tick-repelling species tailored to your climate can create an inviting barrier to repel tick invasion. Talk to your local nursery about top anti-tick plants for your area.

Natural Predators

In the wild, ticks face their own predators like opossums, guinea fowl, and chickens that feast on ticks. You can harness the tick-eating appetites of nature’s pest controllers:

Let opossums frequent your property since they devour 90% of ticks they encounter.
Allow guinea fowl and chickens to roam since they gobble up ticks carrying Lyme disease.
Build bird houses to attract insect-eating birds that also pluck ticks off vegetation.

Finding humane ways to welcome nature’s tick predators can reduce reliance on chemicals for control.

Natural Tick Repellents for Pets

Dogs and cats that go outdoors risk bringing ticks inside. Here are some natural tick prevention methods to try on pets:

Apply eucalyptus, lavender, citronella, or geranium essential oils diluted in a carrier oil (1:10 ratio) on your dog or cat’s collar or bandana.
Feed pets brewer’s yeast or garlic tablets which give their blood an undesirable taste to ticks. Consult your vet first.
Brush dried pennyroyal leaves into your pet’s coat to repel ticks. Pennyroyal oil can be toxic if ingested.
Ask your vet about oral or topical natural tick preventives made with plant oils like eucalyptus.
Comb through your pet’s coat and skin daily with a tick brush, tweezers, flea comb, or tick hook.
Keep dogs on preventives like chewables with d-limonene, an extract from citrus peel oil.

Check with your veterinarian before using any natural tick control method on pets. Monitor animals closely for any ticks that manage to break through.

How to Remove Ticks from Your Home

If you already have ticks living indoors, here are methods for actively removing an infestation from your home:

Manual Removal

Check for ticks frequently on floors, furniture, curtains and under cushions where they hide.
Remove any found ticks immediately with tweezers or a tick removal tool by grasping them as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight up with steady pressure.
Catch any loose ticks inside a jar of alcohol to kill them.
Seal removed ticks tightly inside a bag and dispose of it outside.

Thoroughly checking for and manually removing ticks eliminates them before they can bite. But it may not fully stop new ticks from invading your home.

Thorough Vacuuming

Use your strongest vacuum to suck up ticks and debris where they congregate. Here’s how:

Vacuum all floors, carpets, and rugs thoroughly to remove ticks and their eggs.
Carefully vacuum upholstered furniture, curtains, beds, and pet sleeping areas.
Safely change the bag or empty the canister outdoors immediately after to avoid spreading ticks.
Mop hard floors to eliminate any ticks the vacuum missed.

Frequent, vigorous vacuuming can suck up ticks living deeper in carpets before they breed and spread. But reaching every tick by vacuuming alone can prove challenging.

Heat Treatments

Ticks and their eggs die when exposed to extremely high temperatures. Try these heating methods:

Clothes dryer – Place any blankets, pillows, stuffed toys, curtains, or other washable items into a hot dryer for 30 minutes to kill ticks and eggs hiding inside them.

Portable heater – Aim a strong portable space heater at infested furniture, drapes, floors, and other areas to raise temperatures and kill ticks.

Steam clean – Use the highest steam setting on carpets and upholstery to penetrate deep where ticks lurk. The combination of heat and moisture flush them out.

Be cautious using any indoor heat methods and watch for fire hazards. Heat alone often fails to eliminate all hiding ticks.

Essential Oil Sprays

As mentioned before, certain essential oils like eucalyptus, lavender, and lemongrass naturally deter ticks.

To use oils to actively kill an infestation:

Spray a 2:100 ratio dilution of tick-killing oils like peppermint or clove oil mixed with water directly onto ticks to dispatch them.
Thoroughly spray baseboards, carpets, pet beds, curtains, furniture crevices, and everywhere ticks congregate.
Spray areas safely out of reach of pets to avoid contact with sensitive skin or eyes.
Vacuum up dead ticks after several hours.

The most effective oils may require professional grade formulations. Essential oils alone might not kill every hidden tick.

Tick Control Devices

There are various devices sold to help control ticks without pesticides:

CO2 traps – Traps emitting dry ice-generated carbon dioxide lure ticks in. Position them along tick migration routes.
Suction devices – Battery powered vacuums on legs actively seek out ticks and capture them on glue boards inside.
Permethrin-treated fabric – Wrapping a cloth strip around pet legs disrupts ticks’ ability to crawl, eventually killing them.
Ultrasonic devices – Devices producing high-frequency sound waves irritate and repel ticks. Evidence of effectiveness is mixed.
Desiccant dust applicators – Handheld plunger devices puff chemical-free diatomaceous earth into cracks and crevices.

Evaluate reviews carefully when considering specialty tick control devices. Professional pest control may be a better investment.

Professional Tick Extermination Services

For serious infestations, calling on professional pest management services could be the smartest move. Qualified exterminators have industrial-strength tools to rid your home of ticks at the source.

Insecticide Application

Exterminators can apply registered non-volatile insecticides like:

Pyrethroids – Derived from chrysanthemum flowers, often with trade names ending in “-thrin.”
Amitraz – Formulated from plant extracts.
Carbamates – Made from esters of carbamic acid.

Liquid formulations are sprayed across baseboards, carpets, furniture, and in nooks where ticks lurk. Dusts are blown into voids and wall voids. Granules are sprinkled across lawns.

Fumigation

For severe infestations, fumigation tents your entire home and floods it with tick-killing gases like sulfuryl fluoride. All people and pets must vacate temporarily until it’s certified safe to re-enter.

Heat/Steam Treatments

As an alternative to fumigation, professional grade, truck-mounted heating equipment (up to 200°F) or steam generators can penetrate materials to kill ticks in walls, carpets, furniture, and other spots.

No single method works instantly. Most pros use a combination of professional-strength sprays, dusts, heating, and fumigation for maximum impact. Once your home is tick-free, take preventive steps to keep new ones out.

Canine Tick Inspections

Specially trained tick detection dogs can sniff out live ticks in the home better than any technology. Their acute sense of smell pinpoints ticks in hiding. If you can find a qualified handler, they offer a uniquely thorough tick inspection and removal service.

DIY Tick Sprays

If you want to try controlling minor tick infestations yourself using natural insecticidal sprays, here are effective homemade recipes to try:

Essential Oil Tick Spray

Ingredients:

2 cups distilled water
1⁄4 cup vodka
20-30 drops essential oil like eucalyptus, cedarwood, lavender, or mint

Instructions:

Pour distilled water and vodka into a spray bottle.
Add your chosen essential oils and shake vigorously to mix and disperse the oils.
Test for skin sensitivity on your arm before widespread spraying.
Thoroughly spray carpets, pet bedding, furniture, drapes, and anywhere ticks linger.
Vacuum up dead ticks after several hours.

The vodka helps disperse the oils while providing extra tick-killing power as the alcohol evaporates. Reapply weekly.

Borax Tick Killer Spray

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons liquid dish soap
2 teaspoons borax powder

Instructions:

Stir water, soap, and borax together until fully dissolved.
Pour into a spray bottle.
Shake well before each use.
Test on a small patch of floor or furniture first to check for discoloration.
Mist onto carpets, pet beds, baseboards, and anywhere ticks are spotted. The soap helps it stick.
Let stand for several hours before vacuuming up dead ticks.

The abrasive borax works by desiccating ticks while the soap attaches it to surfaces and penetrates crevices. Reapply every few days until ticks cease. Avoid inhaling borax powder while mixing.

Tips for Ongoing Tick Prevention

Once you evict ticks currently living in your home, take these measures to help keep new ones out long-term:

Seal cracks and crevices inside and out to eliminate tick entry points. Caulk and weatherstrip as needed.
Keep grass trimmed short and clear away brush, leaves, and debris where ticks live.
Discourage rodents like mice and squirrels that can carry ticks inside.
Vacuum home thoroughly and wash pet bedding weekly.
Inspect children and pets closely after being outdoors and remove ticks promptly.
Shower soon after coming inside to wash off any potential hitchhiking ticks.
Treat outdoor spaces and base of home with natural tick deterrents like diatomaceous earth.
Install tick-repelling plants around yards and gardens.
Consider treating clothing, tents, and gear with permethrin when camping or hiking in tick regions.
Wear light colored clothes to spot ticks more easily. Tuck pants into socks.

Staying vigilant against future tick invasion is just as crucial as removing current infestations after they move in. With some persistence and the right tools, you can protect your family from the nuisance and dangers of unwelcome ticks at home.

Frequently Asked Questions About Removing Ticks from Your Home

What’s the fastest way to get rid of ticks inside?

The quickest way to kill a major tick infestation is by professional fumigation or heat treatments. But if you want to handle it yourself, vacuum up ticks aggressively, spray natural essential oil repellents, and apply diatomaceous earth thoroughly everywhere ticks are found. It may take persistence over days or weeks to fully clear them out.

Will bug bombs or foggers kill ticks?

Bug bombs or foggers that release insecticide into the air are not very effective against ticks. These products are designed for flying insects and likely won’t kill ticks hiding in cracks, fabrics, and carpets. Stick to products designed specifically for ticks instead.

What scent will keep ticks away?

Ticks hate the strong scent of many essential oils. Oils extracted from eucalyptus, lavender, lemongrass, cedarwood, peppermint, and geranium plants work as natural tick repellents. Apply these diluted oils wherever ticks are problematic. Their strong fragrance drives ticks away or kills them.

What temperature kills ticks instantly?

Ticks and their eggs die almost instantly when exposed to temperatures exceeding 140°F. Home heat treatments by professional pest control heat carpets and furniture to well over that threshold to kill ticks on contact. Placing