[Bellflower]

The mild winter in your part of the country has made a great environment for ticks and fleas...Whatever you do, you don't want them in your house. They bread thousands of eggs at a time.

What a nightmare! Has that happened to you or anyone you know? Thank God it hasn't happened to me!!!

Thanks for the other info.

[CitizenUSA]

Bellflower: “What a nightmare! Has that happened to you or anyone you know?”

After they feed, the drop off (it’s actually something like, feed, drop, grow, feed, drop, multiply). If you don’t get ‘em before then, you will have thousands of very tiny ticks all over the place.

I speak from experience, knowing someone who didn’t aggressively treat an inside/outside dog until after the ticks were well fed and had fallen off inside. You would not believe how many can hatch, and they instinctively scatter and hide everywhere, in wall outlets, behind baseboard, etc.

I wage total war on them. No quarter for ticks! Unfortunately, my neighbors don’t appear to care, so my property is always under seige from their untreated pets.

[hope]

Yep, we purchase our first home in the late 80’s and the main reason I wanted this house is because how meticulous it was and the location...Well, after move in my daughter was playing on the floor next to the dishwasher and it was running...The heat must have brought them out. Found one crawling on her ankle...That was the beginning of a couple month nightmare. We had an exterminator every two weeks for about two months treat for the larvae...

Those buggers lay about a thousand eggs at a time and the larvae isn't destroyed by insecticides. The gestation is two weeks. So to be sure we got rid of the problem we sprayed every two weeks for two months. I'm kinda the OCD type so it's something that just about drove me nuts with steam cleaning just about everything that could be.

[21twelve]

Our kids were bringing lice home from camp. The first year we tried the over-the-counter stuff and it was worthless. Then someone told us about Licenex shampoo. Also washed the clothes and sheets and EVERYTHING in it. Also put in a spray bottle with water to spray the pillows, carpet, etc.

The lice have built up immunities to the OTC stuff. But the Licenex works by attacking the critter’s body (exsoskeleton?) - eats away the calcium(?) in the body. Also eats away the eggs and larvae so they die.

I’m not sure how a tick is built, but it might work on them. After the fact. The Licenex is expensive, but it sure does the trick. (3 years now! But last year they came home lice free - they were VERY careful not to share hats, helmets, etc.).

[Ditter]

We had ticks in our house last year, but we never got bit. The dogs bring them in from the yard. Exterminator inside and outside, treat the dogs with Frontline and something else from the vet. It was not difficult to get under control. I am keeping a closer eye on the dogs this year so I can catch it before it gets started.