California. Found 20+ ticks in my bedroom. When is it safe to sleep there again?
I recently moved into a new house with my two standard poodles. Tuesday morning, I woke up with an engorged tick on my pillow, literally inches away from my face ( 3rd photo) . I freaked out and checked my bedding, where I found about 8 tiny seed-sized ticks ( picture of the ones on the white napkin ) hiding in the stitched seam. I then noticed around 10 engorged ticks on the wall near where my dogs sleep/lay in the bedroom. Altogether, I found and killed over 20 ticks. Both my dogs had been wearing flea and tick collars like 2 days before moving into this new home.. They’re primarily indoor dogs, and most of the ticks we found on them were around their feet.
I immediately removed my dogs from the bedroom , sprayed the house with Black Flag Flea & Tick Treatment (mainly baseboards and corners), treated the exterior, bathed both dogs with skouts flea and tick shampoo, and gave each of them a NexGard Spectra chew. I also heat-treated all my clothes and bedding and sealed everything in clean bags.
My partner and I thoroughly checked our bodies and scalps and didn’t find any ticks on ourselves. However, I’m still extremely paranoid that we might have missed one, especially in my hair, since it’s really long & I literally woke up with one next to my face and some of the ticks were so tiny they looked like little black specks.
It’s been 24 hours since spraying, and I haven’t seen a single tick. Tomorrow will be 48 hours since treating the house. I’m also getting my poodles shaved down so I can inspect them more thoroughly.
I’ve been staying at my parents’ house because I’m honestly terrified of sleeping in my bedroom again.
Has anyone dealt with something similar? Is 48 hours without seeing ticks a good sign? How do I know when it’s safe to move my clothes back and sleep in my bedroom? Any advice would be appreciated because I’m beyond paranoid and just want to enjoy my new home 😭