How to Get Rid of Brown Dog Ticks

Getting Rid of Brown Dog Ticks

This takes patience, because for every tick on the dog, more are usually hiding in the house. When you check your dog, part the fur under the legs, along the base of the tail, around the collar and inside the ear flaps. Ask your veterinarian which tick product suits your dog, and never use a household or yard insecticide on a pet. Keep the dog sleeping in one or two set places, such as a single bed or crate, so ticks collect where they are easy to treat. Outside, clear clutter around the doghouse and kennel run. Once a home is infested, professional treatment is the surest way to finish the job.

Treat the Dog and the House Together

Brown dog ticks are unusual because they can complete their whole life cycle indoors. Fed females drop off the dog, crawl into cracks and lay their eggs there, so a home can stay infested long after the dog itself has been treated. Lasting control means treating the pet and the house together.

Steps you can take at home

• Keep your dog on a vet-recommended tick preventive year-round. Florida’s mild winters do not stop this tick.
• Wash dog bedding, blankets and washable covers in hot water and dry them on high heat.
• Vacuum baseboards, under furniture and room edges where the dog rests, then seal and toss the bag or empty the canister outdoors.
• Caulk gaps along baseboards, window trim and door frames where ticks hide.
• Check the dog daily, especially the ears and between the toes, and remove ticks with tweezers.

Mistakes that keep infestations going

• Treating only the yard. This tick lives mainly indoors and in kennels, so lawn spraying alone misses most of the population.
• Stopping too soon. Eggs take a few weeks to hatch, and unfed ticks can survive for months.

What professional treatment involves: An inspection of the places where the dog sleeps and rests, targeted treatment of cracks, crevices, baseboards and other hiding spots, coordination with your vet’s plan for the dog, and follow-up visits timed to catch ticks that hatch later. Florida Bug Control re-treats at no charge if ticks come back between scheduled visits. Warning signs are covered on the brown dog tick infestation page.