I live in New York State and we have ticks that have a 4 stage life cycle. At each stage they look like little tiny spiders when they are not attached to an animal. They get a little bigger as they advance through the stages. They are very hard and it is difficult to squash one like you could a flea. They also have sticky feet so they are hard to shake off if one gets on you. Most ticks have 3 to 4 stages of life. There are hard ticks but some areas also have soft ticks.
It is unlikely that a tick could advance to it's next stage in the cycle inside a home. You might want to go to the CDC website or do a search on the life cycle of the ticks in your area. It is the deer tick that carries Lyme disease. It must be there are not many deer in your area and that is why the vet is not concerned about Lyme.
Some areas do get infested with ticks and spring and fall are usually the worst time of year for them. I keep Gracie out of the areas I know have ticks near our home. We have them mostly in areas where there is tall grass and weeds. It is probably different in other regions. It is my cats that tend to pick up ticks because we live in a wooded area and we have some fields in some parts. I tried using Frontline Plus on the cats but it does not stop the ticks from latching on to them. I still pull fully engorged ticks off them during the worst part of the tick season. I started flea combing them at the door when they come in so I can get any loose ticks off them before they get inside.
I also flea comb Gracie after a walk just to make sure. This time of year we have leaves on the ground and anything can be on them. Maybe try using flea comb or doing a really close check when ever you bring your little guy inside. The flea comb works best. |