Ticks have a lifespan of approximately two years, so it is not uncommon to find dead ones if you have a pet and/or live in a wooded area where ticks are common. Pets are a prime candidate to carry ticks, so it is important to give them an anti-tick medication to prevent them from contracting Lyme disease from a tick. Ticks can range in size, but are often only a few millimeters in size. Their small stature can make them difficult to spot at times.
Keep in mind that even if the ticks are dead, they can still be dangerous to you or your pet's health. When a tick dies, it typically becomes detached from its host. However, they can stay attached even when dead, still exposing the host to the possibility of Lyme disease or other blood-borne illnesses.
Instructions
1. Look up what the different types of ticks are and which ones are common in your area. There are approximately 18 different types of ticks, and they all vary based on region. Learn which ones are the most prominent in your region and what they generally look like.
2. Check common areas in your home where you, your children or pets come in and out of the house for dead and living ticks. Scan the rugs, floors and any carpets with a magnifying glass so they can be spotted. These are the locations that ticks will most likely be spotted.
Ticks cannot fly or jump, so they must attach themselves to carriers--generally animals such as cats, dogs or humans. When they attach themselves to carriers, they "feed" off of them for about a week. When "feeding," they suck blood off the host, and oftentimes the host animal does not know they are there.
3. Visually check shoes, clothing and jackets that are worn outside regularly. Ticks can easily attach themselves to these items and be brought indoors. Dead ticks may be located in cuffs, gaps in shoes and/or in pockets. If they cannot find a food source and get stuck in these areas, they can and will die.
4. Visually check your animals for ticks, and check yourself and children as well. Shake your hair and the hair of pets to get dead and loose ticks off.
With pets and human hair, try using a magnifying glass to be sure the ticks can be spotted in case they get stuck. If your pet has a tick collar or receives anti-tick medication, ticks still can attach themselves. Once they attach however, they are killed by the medicine. In most cases, when they die they fall off; however, they can stay attached even after death.
5. Rub down the exterior of the skin of yourself and your children, as well as your pets to feel for ticks. Locate ticks, dead or alive, still attached to a host.
Using tweezers carefully remove the ones still attached by grabbing the head as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight out. Do not twist or turn the tweezers when pulling because the tick can break and become even more stuck in the process. After removing the tick(s), wipe the area down with a a cotton ball swabbed with rubbing alcohol to disinfect the area.
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