We’ve all heard the horror stories of ticks and their potential to spread Lyme disease and other illnesses.
So it’s no wonder that many of us want to find ways to rid our homes and yards of these pesky parasites.
But does laundry detergent really work in killing ticks?
The short answer is: no.
Laundry detergent does not kill ticks.
It is simply not strong enough to break through the tick’s hard exoskeleton and kill it.
However you can use it to help keep ticks away from your home.
Although laundry detergent may not directly kill ticks it can be used to help make your home and yard less hospitable to them.
The key is to understand the lifecycle of a tick.
By understanding this you can make your home and yard less inviting to ticks and keep them away.
The Lifecycle of a Tick
Ticks have four stages in their lifecycle: egg larva nymph and adult.
Each stage requires a different type of environment to survive.
In order to understand how to keep ticks away it’s important to know what kind of environment each stage needs.
The egg stage of a tick’s lifecycle requires a damp humid environment such as wet leaves or grass.
The larva and nymph stages require a warm moist environment such as under decks or in dark moist places around the yard.
The adult ticks require a warm dry environment such as tall grass or shrubs.
Using Laundry Detergent to Keep Ticks Away
Since laundry detergent does not directly kill ticks it can be used to make your home and yard less appealing to them.
By using laundry detergent you can make the environment less hospitable to ticks in their various stages.
For example you can use laundry detergent to create a dry environment in the adult tick stage of their lifecycle.
This can be done by spraying a mixture of laundry detergent and water on your grass shrubs and other areas of your yard.
This will make the environment too dry for adult ticks to survive.
For the other stages of the tick’s lifecycle you can use laundry detergent to create a less hospitable environment as well.
You can spray a mixture of laundry detergent and water on wet leaves and grass to make the environment too wet for the tick’s egg larva and nymph stages.
Conclusion
So does laundry detergent kill ticks? No it does not.
However laundry detergent can be used to make your home and yard less hospitable to ticks.
By understanding the lifecycle of a tick and using laundry detergent to create less inviting environments you can help keep ticks away from your home and yard.