Can Wildlife Bring Ticks into Your Home?

Campers, hunters, and outdoor-lovers alike know how much of a pain ticks can be. However, even if you aren’t an avid outdoorsman, ticks are still a large threat to you and your household. You don’t have to experience a wildlife infestation for critters to indirectly bring ticks into your home. Wildlife can transport these arachnids to your yard where they latch on to your kids or pets, and they can make their way indoors. And thus begins the nightmare.

4 Dangers of Ticks

While ticks can’t live without a host for very long, if they make their way into your home they will have many options to choose from. Animals or humans bit by a tick risk developing diseases like:

1. Lyme disease

   It develops in three stages and causes symptoms such as fever, fatigue, sore throat, muscle aches, and in serious cases, numbness, arthritis, and brain disorders. For early detection, look out for a ‘bulls-eye’ rash that is warm to the touch.

2. Babesiosis

   This disease attacks your red blood cells and causes flu-like symptoms and yellowing of the skin and eyes. If not treated, babesiosis can lead to liver problems, low blood pressure, kidney failure, and even death.

3. Tularemia

   Critters like squirrels and rodents carry this disease, but it can be transmitted through a tick that bit an infected animal. Symptoms of tularemia include a skin ulcer where the bacteria entered, swollen lymph nodes, chills, fever, and severe headaches. While this disease is rare, it can be fatal.

4. Ehrlichiosis

   This infection can be cured with prompt treatment, but if left untreated, it can turn fatal. Symptoms of this disease will occur 7-14 days after a tick bite and include flu-like symptoms as well as rashes.

Tick Treatment

So, what’s the best way to make sure your home and family are safe from the diseases ticks carry? Maintain the wildlife population surrounding your property. If critters aren’t scurrying around your yard, not only does it lessen your chance of an infestation, it also keeps everyone on your property safe from the diseases they could carry.

At Critter Control Orlando® we’ve developed a proven 4-step process to remove critters, restore the damage they left, and prevent any future infestations. If you have a wildlife issue you’re dealing with, schedule a free consultation with us by calling 407.295.7194.