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How long can a tick survive in a house?

Ticks are small parasitic organisms that feed on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians. They can transmit a variety of diseases to humans and pets. Understanding how long ticks can survive indoors can help you take precautions to avoid tick bites and decrease the risks of contracting tick-borne illnesses.

Can ticks live in a house?

Yes, ticks are able to survive inside houses for a period of time. However, houses are not an ideal habitat for ticks and they cannot live permanently indoors. Ticks prefer moist, humid environments with areas of dense vegetation. They are more likely to be brought into a home accidentally on clothing, pets, or humans rather than choose to live indoors.

How ticks get inside

There are a few ways ticks find their way into homes:

  • On pets – Ticks can hitch a ride indoors on dogs, cats, or other pets that spend time outside.
  • On people – Ticks may latch on to humans when walking through tick-infested areas and be carried inside.
  • On clothing – Ticks can grab onto clothing or hats when brushing against vegetation and travel into the home.
  • Carried by other wildlife – Rodents, birds, or lizards with ticks may find a way into homes.

Where ticks hide

Once inside a home, ticks look for suitable areas to hide:

  • Carpets, rugs, or furniture – Ticks cling to fabric and wait for a human or pet host.
  • Curtains and drapes – Ticks can hide in folds and seams of fabric.
  • Cracks and crevices – Ticks squeeze into tight spaces for protection.
  • Pet bedding – Ticks find comfort where pets sleep or rest.

How long can ticks survive indoors without a host?

When ticks enter a home, their survival time depends on the type of tick, its life stage, humidity levels, and whether they can find a host. Here is how long different ticks can persist indoors without feeding:

Tick Species Life Stage Survival Time Indoors
Deer tick Adult Up to 3 months
Deer tick Nymph Up to 584 days (over 1 year)
American dog tick Adult Up to 5 months
Brown dog tick Adult Up to 9 months
Lone star tick Adult Over a year indoors

As you can see, some ticks like deer ticks and lone star ticks are built to endure long periods without feeding. Their survival adaptations allow them to persist in case they do not find a host right away. Other tick species like American dog ticks and brown dog ticks may die off sooner when confined indoors.

Humidity helps ticks survive longer

Ticks thrive in humid conditions. If an indoor environment has a humidity level above 85%, ticks may survive even longer without feeding. Basements, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and crawl spaces tend to be more humid and better suited for tick survival.

Will ticks eventually die indoors without feeding?

Yes, ticks cannot live permanently without taking a blood meal from an animal host. Eventually unfed ticks that remain trapped indoors will die of starvation:

  • Adult hard ticks can survive up to several months without feeding.
  • Nymphs of some species can live unfed for over a year.
  • Larval ticks die more quickly, usually within a few weeks or months indoors.

Ticks have slow metabolisms that enable them to persist for long periods without nutrients. But they do require blood meals to progress to their next life stage, reproduce, and survive in the long run.

Can ticks find hosts indoors?

Ticks that get into a home may be able to find hosts to feed on so they can survive longer. Indoor hosts include:

  • Pets like dogs and cats
  • Rodents that find their way inside like mice or squirrels
  • Birds that nest in attics or eaves
  • Bats that roost in attics or chimneys
  • Reptiles or amphibians kept as indoor pets
  • People

Well-fed ticks can persist for months to years living on an indoor host. Pet dogs or cats often end up transporting ticks between the outdoors and indoors regularly.

Ticks quest for hosts

Ticks use the following strategies to find hosts indoors:

  • Questing – Ticks climb up walls, drapes, furniture, etc and wait with front legs outstretched to grab onto a passing host.
  • Aggregation – Some tick species like the brown dog tick release pheromones to attract other ticks to aggregate in a location, increasing chances of finding a host.
  • Carbon dioxide detection – Ticks sense CO2 emitted from animal breaths, steering them toward potential hosts.

Will ticks bite people in the home?

Ticks that go extended periods without feeding will bite humans encountered indoors. Some tick species like the blacklegged tick and lone star tick are quite aggressive about biting people. After entering a home, they only need to latch onto humans for a blood meal.

Areas where people are mostly likely to pick up tick bites inside include:

  • Couches, beds, or other places people sit or lie down
  • Rugs or carpets where people walk barefoot
  • Places pets sleep like dog beds or pet couches

Ticks waiting in these spots can crawl onto passing humans and bite. Infestations of brown dog ticks often lead to clusters of bites on people and pets in homes.

Beware of nymphal ticks

Nymphal ticks of certain species pose the greatest risk for transmitting tick-borne diseases to humans. Deer tick nymphs that transmit Lyme disease are as small as poppy seeds, making them easy to miss before they bite.

What diseases could be transmitted by ticks indoors?

The longer an infected tick survives inside a home, the greater chance it has to transmit illness to residents through its bites. Here are some diseases ticks can spread indoors:

  • Lyme disease – Caused by deer ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. Can lead to fever, rash, facial paralysis, arthritis if untreated.
  • Anaplasmosis – Deer ticks transmit this bacterial disease resulting in severe flu-like symptoms.
  • Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever – American dog ticks spread this bacterial condition causing high fever, rash, organ damage.
  • Tularemia – Also called rabbit fever, this bacterial infection transmitted by dog, wood, and lone star ticks leads to ulcerating skin lesions.
  • Ehrlichiosis – Lone star ticks spread this bacterial disease with mild to life-threatening symptoms.
  • Babesiosis – A protozoan infection transmitted by deer ticks causing malaria-like illness.
  • Tick-borne relapsing fever – Borrelia infections spread by soft ticks resulting in recurring fever, muscle pains, nausea.

The longer an infected tick goes without feeding, the higher the pathogen load it harbors. Quickly finding and removing any attached ticks helps reduce disease transmission risk.

Pets can bring infected ticks indoors

Pets that spend time outdoors are frequently exposed to ticks and may pick up tick-borne illnesses. Later when brought inside, these pets can spread infected ticks throughout the home potentially transmitting disease to humans through bites.

How to minimize ticks indoors

You can take these proactive steps to help keep ticks out of your home and reduce the chances of ticks feeding on you or your family indoors:

  • Avoid tick habitat – When hiking, walking, or playing in wooded or grassy areas, stay in the center of trails.
  • Use insect repellent – Apply an EPA-registered repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus on exposed skin and clothing.
  • Wear light colored long pants and sleeves – Tuck pant legs into socks so ticks cannot crawl under clothes.
  • Conduct tick checks – Carefully check your whole body for ticks after coming inside. Put clothes in a hot dryer to kill ticks.
  • Shower soon after coming indoors – Wash off any unattached ticks.
  • Keep vegetation trimmed – Cut back brush and grass around the perimeter of your yard to reduce tick habitat.
  • Create tick-safe zones – Keep playground equipment, patios, and play areas away from wooded edges and tall grass.
  • Treat pets – Use veterinarian recommended tick preventives on dogs and cats that go outdoors.
  • Call a professional – Have a pest control professional treat your yard with acaricides to kill ticks.

Perform frequent tick checks

Checking yourself, children, and pets thoroughly for ticks after potential exposure and removing them promptly is one of the best ways to prevent tick-borne disease. Finding and detaching ticks before they can transmit pathogens greatly reduces infection risks.

What to do if you find a tick

If you discover a tick, follow these steps:

  1. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to your skin surface as possible.
  2. Pull upward slowly and steadily without twisting until the tick releases its bite.
  3. Thoroughly clean the bite area with soap and water.
  4. Apply an antiseptic to the bite site.
  5. Save the tick in a sealed plastic bag marked with date and location of the bite.
  6. Watch for symptoms like rash or fever in the following 30 days and notify your healthcare provider about the tick bite.

Avoid using matches, nail polish, or petroleum jelly to try to force a tick off. This may cause the tick to regurgitate pathogens into the bite wound.

Have the tick tested

If you develop any concerning symptoms following a tick bite, having the tick tested by a healthcare professional can help determine if you may have been exposed to pathogens that caused an illness.

Conclusion

Ticks can survive inside homes for extended periods depending on factors like the tick species, life stage, humidity, and ability to find a host. While not ideal habitats for them, homes in tick-prone regions may harbor ticks brought in by people, pets, wildlife, or carried on clothing. Ticks quest aggressively for hosts indoors and readily bite people they encounter.

Preventing ticks from entering living spaces, performing frequent tick checks, and safely removing any attached ticks helps protect you and your family from contracting a tick-borne disease. Being vigilant and taking appropriate precautions allows you to feel at ease in your own home despite the resilient pests that may dwell right outside your walls.