How possible is it for ticks to get into your car/house by falling off humans?
A few days ago we went to a nature park with some friends in North Florida. We have a 2 1/2 year old daughter who was running around quite a bit. Later on in the afternoon, someone discovered a tick on their leg… so they told me to make sure I check my daughter when we get home. Of course I did a mini-check at that time & saw nothing. We get home, daughter runs to the couch before I can get her into the bath. I get her undressed & notice two nymph deer ticks on the inside of her thigh, husband gets the tweezers & we get them out – completely. After her bath, I shower & notice an adult deer tick on my hip – husband gets it out. No ticks on husband, no ticks on 2 1/2 month old son. I wash all our clothes in hot water with bleach. Put them in the dryer, start folding them later that night & see another nymph deer tick crawling on my shorts – survived the washer & dryer! Now I’m feeling like there could be ticks all over our car & our house. I’m just wondering if it’s common for ticks to just walk on someones clothes & make it into the car/house. It’s been almost 48 hours & no ticks have attached to any of us. We don’t have any pets. If it weren’t for the baby & the toddler, I would have bought some bug bombs by now – basically, I don’t want to do anything that’s NOT necessary. But will do, if necessary. I’m kinda freaking out, so any help would be great, that doesn’t lead me into a panic attack! 
Filed under: Baby Clothes
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No need for panic. Yes, they can drop off, but usually not until they’ve gotten a really nice meal for a few days. Without food (i.e., pets), they may stay dormant for a while and eventually find a tasty human. Besides the minor risk of infection and a slight chance of Lyme Disease, they are just a nuisance. Lyme disease isn’t very prevalent in Florida. The tick probably didn’t survive the washer and dryer. And yes, my family has lots of experience with ticks. For months after one hike, we nicknamed my daughter "the six-tick kid".
In my view, not doing bug bombs was an excellent choice. Far more harm than good.