Knowledgebase
Did a tick lay eggs in my house? #867392
Asked May 07, 2024, 10:46 AM EDT
I just found a fully engorged tick on my living room floor (I have 2 dogs)....still alive. What is the likelihood she laid eggs in my house?? How soon after detaching do they lay eggs? And how far from where they laid eggs do they travel? I'm trying to determine if I need to go through my ENTIRE house with a fine tooth comb looking for an egg nest.
Boulder County Colorado
Expert Response
Hi Lisa,
If the tick is still alive and engorged, the likelihood that it laid eggs in your house is 0. Ticks die right after laying eggs, and all that blood would need to be converted to eggs, leaving the corpse deflated. I am not sure how long after detaching that they lay eggs, but the eggs take 1-2 months after laying to hatch. The freshly hatched ticks don't disperse more than 30 meters. If it were to lay eggs, they are typically lain in close proximity to where the dogs sleep, or other cracks/crevices nearby.
Regardless, you have nothing to worry about since the tick is still alive and engorged. Let me know if you have further questions. You made a duplicate of this question, so I closed the other one and am replying just to this one.
Thank you!!! I was freaking out of the thought of having 8,000 ticks in my house!
