Top Tips for Managing Home and Kennel Infestations With Brown Dog Ticks

Brown dog ticks are unusual among common tick species in their strong host preference for dogs and propensity to establish indoor infestations that can be difficult to eliminate. In some cases, control efforts are complicated by tick resistance to certain acaricides. Prevention is the best approach, but premise infestations may still occur if routine tick control is not in place. Brown dog tick populations may be found wherever dogs gather, such as day cares, grooming facilities, boarding kennels, and shelters.

Brown Dog Tick Life Cycle

Brown dog ticks commonly feed on and transmit diseases to dogs throughout the world, including in North America. While often referred to collectively as Rhipicephalus sanguineus, brown dog ticks are now known to comprise multiple species.^1-3 Like other 3-host ticks, each stage seeks out and feeds on a host before detaching and molting in the environment (larva and nymph) or mating (adults).⁴ Adult brown dog ticks feed before mating on the dog. Once fertilized and fully engorged, females detach to deposit a single clutch of eggs in the environment (FIGURE 1).⁵ Males are left behind, feeding and mating intermittently, sometimes changing hosts.⁶ All stages preferentially feed on domestic dogs, although occasional human and feline infestations have been reported.^7,8

Figure 1. Each female brown dog tick deposits up to 7000 eggs in the environment. After completing egg laying, the female dies. Larvae hatch from eggs a few weeks later.

Brown Dog Tick Preference for Living Indoors

Unlike other ticks, brown dog ticks are uniquely adapted to persist indoors, resulting in intense environmental populations in places where dogs congregate, including grooming facilities, boarding kennels, and shelters; premise infestations may also develop in veterinary clinics, day cares, and homes, with ticks found crawling on the walls, ceilings, and floors (FIGURE 2 AND VIDEO 1). Exchange among infested dogs and the environments they visit contributes to the widespread distribution of these ticks. Brown dog ticks spend the great majority (90% to 95%) of their life span in environments where dogs live, which, combined with their preference for dogs, contributes to persistent premise infestations.⁵

Figure 2. Brown dog ticks exhibit distinct endophilic behavior, allowing populations to persist indoors once introduced. These ticks are very tolerant of low humidity associated with indoor environments and can survive for more than a year unfed, waiting for a canine host.

Brown Dog Tick Control Challenges

Once premise infestations are established, control is challenging and requires consistent, long-term use of acaricides. Unfortunately, acaricide resistance has been documented among some populations of brown dog ticks in the Americas, complicating treatment. For example, permethrin- or cypermethrin-resistant brown dog tick populations have been described in Panama, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States, including Florida, Texas, and California.^9-12 Apparent tolerance or resistance to fipronil and amitraz has also been reported in some regions.^10,12-14

While eliminating brown dog tick premise infestations remains difficult, the following tips are helpful.

1. Confirm brown dog ticks are present. When thriving populations of ticks are found indoors, brown dog ticks are always the culprit. Other ticks may be introduced occasionally but will not persist indoors long term. Brown dog ticks can be recognized by their solid brown color; the scutum lacks ornamentation and the hexagonal basis capituli bears short mouthparts (FIGURE 3). Due to a strong host preference for dogs, humans or cats sharing the home are often spared (FIGURE 4). Dogs should be thoroughly examined; ticks can be found attached anywhere (e.g., head, abdomen, tail, legs, between the toes).¹⁵ Clients occasionally confuse other arthropods infesting the home (e.g., bedbugs, spider beetles, booklice) for brown dog ticks. When collected from the environment, specimens should be submitted to the veterinary clinic or a veterinary parasitology diagnostic laboratory for confirmation before proceeding with treatment.
   Figure 3. Female (left) and male (right) brown dog ticks on carpet fibers. Like all ixodid (hard) ticks, females have an incomplete scutum to allow engorgement, while the scutum on the male completely covers the dorsal surface of the tick. The relatively short mouthparts and hexagonal basis capituli are present on both stages and allow confirmation of this tick as canine Rhipicephalus species complex.

   Figure 4. Brown dog ticks have a markedly strong host preference for dogs, often preferring to feed only on dogs and sparing humans, cats, and other pets in the home. However, when populations are very high, spillover to humans and cats with subsequent risk of disease transmission can occur.
2. Routinely treat all dogs with effective acaricides. Once brown dog ticks have been confirmed, all dogs on the premises should be treated with an effective acaricide and retreated according to the product label for several months (TABLE 1), as adult ticks will continue to emerge from the environment.¹⁶ Recent data document that regular administration of fluralaner can be effective at eliminating premise infestations.¹⁷ In most populations, topical pyrethroids will also be effective. Brown dog ticks are particularly long-lived, with unfed adults surviving 18 months or longer.¹⁸ When managing any shared animal housing facility, confirm all dogs are on effective tick control at intake to prevent introduction of new brown dog tick populations.
3. Thoroughly clean the premises to reduce the number of environmental ticks. As with management of indoor flea infestations, removing tick biomass by thoroughly cleaning the premises will support efforts to eliminate brown dog tick populations. Decluttering may be necessary to facilitate cleaning and allow acaricidal treatment of the structure. Thoroughly vacuum baseboards, between floorboards, and in closets where ticks may hide. All carpets, hard floors, low-hanging draperies, and upholstery should also be vacuumed to collect any immature or adult ticks and remove developing egg masses. Because brown dog ticks are hardy and survive vacuuming, all debris in vacuum canisters or bags should be immediately discarded in sealed plastic zipper bags. When cleaning, particular focus should be paid to areas where dogs sleep or spend most of their time. Pet bedding should be laundered at high-temperature settings to kill any tick stages present. If dogs are allowed to sleep with people in the home, that bedding should also be washed.
4. Work with an exterminator to treat ticks in the environment. When a client wishes to eliminate a home infestation as quickly as possible, or if environmental infestations are severe or recalcitrant, consulting a licensed pest control operator familiar with elimination of brown dog ticks can greatly speed up removal. Experienced exterminators know which products to use and where to target acaricide treatments in the home for greatest safety and efficacy. Because environmental acaricides are potentially toxic and repeated applications are likely needed, owners should be encouraged to work with a licensed exterminator rather than attempting to treat the home themselves. Frustration about the presence of ticks in the home may lead to overapplication of acaricides, creating safety concerns for both humans and pets.
5. Evaluate areas where ticks may hide. Brown dog ticks have a strong affinity for both dogs and structures where dogs live. Environmental development occurs in sheltered places, and ticks may persist in secluded areas like crawlspaces or vents where pesticides are difficult to apply. Apartments or condominiums present a particular control challenge, especially when some pet dogs in the complex are not treated with effective acaricides. During warmer weather, brown dog ticks develop outside in the yard or garden, immediately around the home, or under a deck or foundation; occasionally, ticks can be found crawling up the foundation to enter the home through cracks, windows, or doors. However, unlike other ticks that commonly spill over from wildlife to infest dogs (e.g., deer ticks, lone star ticks, American dog or wood ticks), brown dog ticks are not present in wooded, natural areas and only rarely feed on wildlife.
6. Consider possible disease risks. When home infestations are confirmed, the health of all dogs and humans on the premises should be carefully evaluated. Because infestations with brown dog ticks are often intense, with hundreds or thousands of ticks found infesting dogs, severe anemia may develop; without blood transfusions and supportive care, death can result.¹⁹ In addition, brown dog ticks are known to be competent vectors of several canine pathogens, some of which cause severe, fatal disease (TABLE 2).
   Dogs from infested premises should be screened for tick-borne infections and, when clinical disease is evident, treated with appropriate antibiotics (e.g., doxycycline) or antiprotozoals. In heavily infested premises, brown dog ticks also occasionally feed on people, transmitting serious zoonotic agents such as Rickettsia rickettsii.^20,21 Dog owners should be informed about common signs associated with spotted fever–group rickettsiosis in humans (e.g., fever, headache, rash, muscle pain) and advised to seek medical care immediately should symptoms develop. Although anyone can develop disease due to R rickettsii infection, children, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals are particularly at risk; a rash may not be present, especially early in the course of disease.²²
7. Prevent reintroduction. Once a premise infestation with brown dog ticks has been eradicated, measures should be employed to prevent reintroduction. All dogs should be regularly checked for ticks and any ticks present removed and identified. Unlike with ticks associated with wildlife (e.g., Amblyomma species, Dermacentor species, Ixodes species), dogs need not spend any time outdoors or in natural areas to acquire Rhipicephalus species. Accordingly, all dogs living on or visiting the premises, regardless of lifestyle or risk assessment, should be routinely treated with acaricides effective against canine Rhipicephalus species (TABLE 1). Preventing home and kennel infestations with brown dog ticks is a primary reason veterinary advisory groups recommend routine, year-round tick control for pet dogs.^23,24

Summary

Home infestations with brown dog ticks cause considerable distress, threatening the human–animal bond and creating risk of canine and human disease. Routine, year-round use of acaricides is the best strategy to protect dogs from brown dog ticks and avoid premise infestations; however, when ticks have already become established, the tips outlined above provide a way forward for eradication.