Ticks in carpet?

DrRod · Nov 16, 2020

Whenever my kids visit my cabin they say the dogs get a lot of ticks. We have plenty of them on the property but they tend to go away as the weather cools. In any case, the dogs like to hang out on an old braided rug and my son raised the question -- could there be ticks in the rug that become active as we heat up the cabin. What do you think.

dmccarty · Nov 16, 2020

Even when it is cold, the ticks are still out there.

Can't remember if I got the tick, or someone else I was with got the tick, but one of us got the tick, when it was below freezing, and there was almost two feet of snow on the ground.

We have a finished concrete floor. Over time, in spite of my objections, small rugs have appeared.

Not many rugs but too many as far as I am concerned. Having said that, there are no ticks living in the tightly woven carpet. I have found a tick crawling on me while sitting in a chair in the house but that tick came in on the dog.

Now, FLEAS in the carpet can be a real PITA. I have lived in five places where fleas in the home have been a very big problem.

Borax in the carpet really helped. There was also a flea bomb that I used a time or two that helped. The bomb had a chemical that would kill the eggs. The problem was that the dog/cat could bring new fleas into the house... Borax seemed to take care of that new fleas and eggs.

Later,
Dan

dlctcg · Nov 16, 2020

I agree.. where we live Ticks are definitely more prevalent in the warmer months but we have had them show up in the winter months too.... (both on us & the dogs).... My wife was badly affected by Lyme Disease 10+ yrs ago & it permanently destroyed her neurological system... so we are really proactive. Do whatever you can to prevent them from being in the house... We have been using a all natural route for the dogs, which includes garlic oils & using a cedar oil (both safe for our 3 dogs & humans) with great results for the past 4+ yrs... (there are a lot of options out there).... we have just had great result with these after many different options.

My thoughts are they (ticks) don't really become "in-active" they are just more active with high temps.... If I knew then what I know now... I'd do everything to kill them all....

3Ts · Nov 16, 2020

As for fleas, we used diatomaceous earth to kill them. It's not a poison and seems to work by drying out the bug.

Ford850 · Nov 17, 2020

Could be. I'd use that old rug as a kill zone to keep it clear of ticks and offer protection for dogs that hang out there. Use something like Sawyer Permethrin for clothing, available at REI, Dick's Sporting Goods, or even Walmart. Clear and scent free, it will last on clothing and cloth materials for months.

Frankenkubota · Nov 17, 2020

3Ts said:
As for fleas, we used diatomaceous earth to kill them. It's not a poison and seems to work by drying out the bug.

i'm fighting the fleas here and now! do you spread that stuff on the carpet or put it outside?

3Ts · Nov 17, 2020

We brought home a cat and found out later it had fleas. Tried everything including some things that should not go inside a house. Ended up having a guy come out and they put it everywhere inside, in the carpet, on the cloth furniture, everywhere there was a soft surface. There are multiple grades of the diatomaceous earth, don't know which one he used.

It worked quickly and permanently. You'll probably never be able to vacuum it all out of carpet and upholstery, so it provides a long term residual effect.

forgeblast · Nov 17, 2020

spread some bifin it around outside. Its a granular. works great. or make tick traps with drier lint, spray it with promethium and stuff in a toilet paper tube. let the mice nest in it and it kills the ticks on the mice.

Frankenkubota · Nov 17, 2020

3Ts said:
We brought home a cat and found out later it had fleas. Tried everything including some things that should not go inside a house. Ended up having a guy come out and they put it everywhere inside, in the carpet, on the cloth furniture, everywhere there was a soft surface. There are multiple grades of the diatomaceous earth, don't know which one he used.

It worked quickly and permanently. You'll probably never be able to vacuum it all out of carpet and upholstery, so it provides a long term residual effect.

thanks for that

i'm gonna burn this f****** camper trailer thing as soon as i get my C.O. maybe donate it to the fire dept.

completely unrelated but, i wonder how many of those tiny house people are actually living there full time after 1 year.

there was a funny saying about european hotel rooms. if i got a h*** o*, i wouldn't be able to turn around.