Cómo eliminar las garrapatas

What makes ticks such a nuisance is the fact that they carry multiple diseases, including Lyme disease that can affect humans, or even others that can kill your pets. Be aware of the fact that ticks can vary in color, depending on their species. Being related to spiders and scorpions, as they are all part of the Arachnida class, ticks are widely distributed throughout the world, although they prefer warm, humid climates, as low temperatures inhibit the development of egg to larvae. Unlike other insects, the sign of a tick infestation is the tick itself. If someone in your home were to be infected, be it human or pet, the secondary signs would be the medical symptoms of tick-borne diseases. Once infected with Lyme disease, a person may experience flu-like symptoms and develop a red, bull’s-eye-shaped rash. Because the symptoms of Lyme disease are so similar to the flu, this illness often goes undiagnosed and can lead to more serious health problems if left untreated.

Removing ticks inside the house

Since they prefer warm and humid conditions, a cluttered house is a perfect environment for ticks to find shelter. They mostly prefer to live outside, but it is not uncommon for a pet to bring them inside the house. After feeding, they can hide anywhere, in the narrowest cracks and crevices, as adult ticks can be smaller than a sunflower seed (more than 1 cm long if full of blood), while tick larvae can be less than 1 mm. Therefore, it is best to keep the house tidy, not leave any items or clothing on the floor, and clean everything thoroughly.
When treating a tick infestation, it is best to wash your clothes in hot water, as ticks tend to attach themselves to dirty clothes or bedding. If you suspect that your clothing items are infected, avoid leaving them on the floor or placing them in the hamper. Simply wash them immediately, to prevent contamination from spreading to other clothes.

Make sure you clean your home thoroughly, too. Don’t leave anything unturned. Wipe down shelves, dust corners of the house, and make sure you clean all floors, either with a broom, brush, or vacuum. Vacuuming is especially important, as it will help you reach those hard-to-reach places and collect ticks from around the house. Don’t just vacuum the floors and under furniture; you can vacuum pet bedding, cracks in floors and walls, baseboards, and even ornamental moldings. Make sure you throw away the vacuum bag immediately after you’re done cleaning, as this will prevent ticks from returning.

If you have pets at home, they also need to be treated for ticks. Dogs in particular are a source of infestation, so you’ll need to check them thoroughly when they come inside, as this is the most common way ticks travel inside your home. Since they pick up ticks by playing with other infested dogs, or simply by rolling or sniffing around in the grass, dogs are the most exposed to this threat.
You’ll need to physically remove any ticks that are attached to your dog and then treat them with an anti-tick treatment, which you can get from your vet. When it comes to effectively removing a tick, you’ll need to use forceps or tweezers, and make sure you remove the entire tick, in one go, to reduce the chance of infection. You’ll need to grab the tick as close to the skin as possible to make sure you remove the head as well. If you simply grab the tick’s body and pull, it will react by injecting saliva or blood into the skin, thus increasing the chances of infecting the host and transmitting a disease. Make sure not to crush the insect’s body, as its blood can expose you and your pets to harmful bacteria. Once removed, isolate it in a bottle with a lid, wash your hands and disinfect the affected area. You can also choose to use a tick repellent collar, which will prevent these insects from attaching to your dog or cat. There are collars that last up to three months, after which they begin to lose their effect and need to be replaced.

Be aware that other animals can also bring ticks into your home. If you have birds or bats living in any kind of voids in your home’s structure, on the roof or rooftop, they can also become carriers of ticks and bring them into their nests, burrows, shelters or other living spaces.
Ticks from the Argasidae family are also known to invade structures, in search of a host, so sealing cracks and gaps in walls and making sure other entry points such as door and window frames are also sealed can help you avoid such a problem.
Treating the inside of your home is very important, as a female tick can lay thousands of eggs at a time. Preventative treatments are also important, not just those carried out after an infestation has already occurred. After 14 days, you should reapply insecticidal products to the affected areas, to kill any newly hatched ticks as well.

Removing ticks outdoors

When ticks are outdoors, they can be found in tall grass, bushes, and near trees, sheltered by their shade, as they like moisture. To avoid having ticks in your yard or garden, you must make sure that you are not providing them with the proper shelter they need. The best way to ensure that ticks avoid your property is to cut back vegetation and properly landscape your yard.
Remove all dead leaves, branches, or other vegetation, as well as vines that tend to generate moisture as they always seek to block the sun. Do not allow piles of leaves and vegetation to accumulate anywhere in your garden or yard, as they will become a haven for ticks. Because ticks hate the sun, make sure that you try to open your yard as much as possible to sunlight. This will create an unfavorable environment for ticks, who will prefer to seek shelter elsewhere.
Mow your lawn regularly as this not only deprives ticks of the tall grass, but also allows the sun to shine in and evaporate the morning dew, making the area less humid. Make sure, if you have a pet, that the area where they usually play is clear of vegetation debris. If your dog loves to roll around in fallen leaves, there is a high chance that they are affected by a tick. You should also be aware of the surroundings of your home, where there may be wild or stray animals that carry ticks. Thorough cleaning under bird feeders also helps, as ticks can nest under them in the shade.

Pesticides for ticks

Fighting ticks, both indoors and outdoors, can be a big challenge. When dealing with these bugs, natural control methods are not very efficient, and the best method is the use of pesticides that directly attack the ticks. The only natural essential oil that works on ticks is neem oil. It is a broad-spectrum organic repellent, which disrupts the growth and development of numerous insect pests, also working as a repellent.
Another method is to, after physically removing any ticks you have found and thoroughly cleaning your home, apply a pesticide treatment, not only indoors, but also outdoors. This will prevent another infestation from occurring and ensure that any remaining eggs or larvae are eradicated as well.

To eliminate any eggs or larvae, you can use diatomaceous earth. Sprinkle it in all areas of your home where ticks may take refuge, especially on your pet’s bedding. Diatomaceous earth kills the insect by cutting into its exoskeleton and causing it to dehydrate.

Spraying concentrated insecticides for tick control:

Concentrated insecticides are the most commonly used products in the fight against insect infestations. They provide the assurance that any insect that comes into contact with treated surfaces will be killed shortly.

Sprayers used for tick control:

The equipment needed for a treatment depends on the type of pest being treated, and also whether the surface is indoors or outdoors. Sprayers help to apply products intended to reach difficult places, as well as ensuring an economical application of the solution.

To kill adult ticks, you should use a pyrethrin-based pesticide spray, as it is the only substance strong enough to kill them. It can usually be used all over the house, so be sure to apply it to carpets and curtains, the underside of tables, chairs and sofas, and be sure to check the label, as although not the case with most, some of these sprays can be used around pets.
For severe tick infestation indoors, fumigation might be the best solution. There are several types of insecticides that can be used in this way against ticks. They are based on active substances such as tetramethrin, deltamethrin or cyfluthrin. Be careful when choosing the type of insecticide you are using, as if they are very specific (narrow spectrum), they will kill only the target pest, but if they are broad spectrum, they will kill all insects indiscriminately, regardless of the species.
Another option is to use growth regulators, which are parasites that interrupt the development of larvae or eggs, preventing ticks from reaching the adult stage. They either interfere with the molting stages of the larvae, or prevent the eggs from hatching. By inhibiting the maturity of an insect, it cannot reproduce and, therefore, the development of a future generation is prevented.

As for outdoor pesticides, it’s best to do so in late spring-early summer to prevent ticks from continuing to populate your yard. You can make your own “tick tube” traps to deliver the insecticide to areas where ticks congregate. These traps are biodegradable, and consist of cardboard tubes usually filled with cotton balls impregnated with permethrin. When mice collect the cotton balls to build their nests, the ticks that feed on the mice are exposed to the permethrin and then die. Mice and other host animals are not harmed, and this is a sure way to keep ticks from parasitizing any hosts they find on your property.

We recommend the use of atomizers for best results, but the treatment can also be performed with a low-pressure backpack pump:

For minor infestation and prevention, you should use a 1% concentration solution:

50 ml of Solfac EW 50 in 5 litres of water for a surface area of ​​120 square metres;
1000 ml of Solfac EW 50 with 100 litres of water for a surface area of ​​2400 square metres.

For a larger infestation, you should use a 2% concentration (the recommended dosage for a low pressure pump):

100 ml of Solfac EW 50 with 5 litres of water for an area of ​​120 square metres;
1000 ml of Solfac EW 50 with 50 litres of water for an area of ​​1200 square metres.

It’s best to mix and match the different types of insecticides you use. The residues of these, which often come in aerosol form, stick to surfaces and last longer. However, using non-residual insecticides, which kill on contact, such as those containing pyrethrins, is a good complement. Dust insecticides can be easily applied to pet bedding after washing, and can also be used to fill cracks and crevices around the house. You can also use skin and clothing repellents, which use a water-based formula, allowing them to evaporate slowly, leaving the repellent on the surface longer while causing little absorption into the skin.

Regardless of the type of treatment you use and the affected area, be sure to also implement preventative measures to avoid future infestations. By keeping your home and yard free of clutter, caring for your pets, and using repellents, you can keep ticks at bay. For more details on how to prevent such an infestation, check out our article on ways you can “Prevent Tick Infestations.”