How Pets Bring Ticks Into Spotsylvania Homes

Pets are the most common way for ticks to enter your home in Spotsylvania. Your beloved pets that spend a lot of time outdoors pick them up from all kinds of places. They wait patiently in your yard, on the trail, and wooded areas. Latching onto your pet’s fur, they hitch a ride to another host. 

And while Virginia has beautiful, lush scenery that you love, it’s also within the top-10 states for Lyme disease. And Spotsylvania County in particular sees significant tick-borne illnesses each year. With both the black-legged (deer) ticks and lone star ticks crawling through the area, the risk persists, and follows your pet right through the door. That’s why you need the best tick control you can get in Spotsylvania. 

How Ticks Hitch a Ride on Your Pet

You let your dog out each morning to burn off energy. And maybe your cat loves to spend most of the day exploring outside during the warmer months. While they run around unbothered, ticks wait for them in your yard on grass blades and leaf tips (a behavior called questing). They stretch out their front legs and wait for any warm-blooded host to brush past. And once ticks find a vehicle to begin their “quest” (i.e. your pet), the true work can begin. 

Dogs are especially vulnerable because they move through vegetation at the perfect height for ticks to grab on. Cats that roam outdoors often face the same risk. And once a tick finds your pet, it can attach quickly and go undetected under thick fur for many hours (or even days). 

Once your pet comes back inside, ticks don’t always stay put. They can detach from your pets and climb on furniture, bedding, or carpet and survive indoors for days as they wait for their next blood meal. Ticks are sneaky and often go completely unnoticed, making them an invisible danger to your family. 

Reducing Ticks in Your Yard

Even though ticks often hitch a ride inside, tick prevention starts outside. And there will typically be clear signs of elevated tick activity in your yard if you know what to look for. 

A few specific changes to your outdoor spaces can make a difference in reducing tick populations:

• Keep grass mowed - ticks love to wait for your pet to pass by in tall grass. 
• Remove leaf litter - ticks often hide and rest in leaf litter and other yard debris, especially in shaded areas. Clearing it out consistently takes away their resting zones. 
• Create a gravel or mulch barrier between wooded areas and your lawn - ticks depend on wooded, humid environments to survive. A physical barrier between their natural habitat and your yard limits them as they attempt to access your yard, home, and pets. 

These steps won’t remove every tick, but they will reduce the number your pets bring in. For even more detailed information, check out our practical framework for making your yard less hospitable for ticks: 6 C’s of Tick Control. 

Combine Professional Yard Treatment and Pet Protection to Fight Ticks 

For the best defense against ticks, Mosquito Squad of Fredericksburg offers Yard Defender, which targets all the resting and questing areas ticks love. As they wait on blades of grass and leaf tips throughout your yard, Yard Defender helps reduce the tick populations and by extension, the amount of ticks your pet brings in.

Also make sure to consult your veterinarian about tick prevention products designed specifically for your furry friend. Topical treatments, collars, and oral preventatives can help add another layer of protection. Professional tick control and pet protection work best together to allow your yard (and indoor spaces) to have far less tick sightings or bites.

Concerned about your pets carrying ticks into your Spotsylvania home? Call Mosquito Squad of Fredericksburg at (540) 510-8445 or contact us online for a free quote.