Study finds some ticks can survive weeks on home flooring

Ticks that hitchhike indoors on pets or people may remain a household risk longer than many clients assume. An Ohio State University study, published in the Journal of Vector Ecology and highlighted by Ohio State and dvm360, found that unfed adult Gulf Coast ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) and lone star ticks (Amblyomma americanum) survived from about one to three weeks on common home flooring, including tile, wood, vinyl, and carpet. Gulf Coast ticks generally outlasted lone star ticks on most surfaces, while lone star ticks survived longer on long-pile carpet. The experiment tested 180 ticks across five flooring types under ambient indoor conditions. (bpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, the study adds evidence to a familiar but often hard-to-quantify client question: can ticks survive after coming inside? The answer is yes, and long enough to matter for pets, pet parents, and household members. That makes year-round tick prevention, post-walk tick checks, and counseling on prompt removal more important, especially as lone star ticks are widely distributed across the Northeast, South, and Midwest, and Gulf Coast ticks are present across parts of the southern and eastern U.S. Both species are linked to pathogens of medical or veterinary importance, and Gulf Coast ticks can transmit Hepatozoon americanum, the cause of American canine hepatozoonosis. (cdc.gov)

What to watch: Expect this study to be used in client education around indoor exposure risk, seasonal messaging, and stronger adherence conversations on tick prevention. (vet.osu.edu)