4 Simple Ways to Kill Ticks in a Car

On days when I’m especially tired coming back from a hike, checking all my gear for ticks before getting into my car sometimes slips my mind.

I might check my body and my kids but sometimes ticks can fall off gear or get into your car from your pets.

Ticks are small parasitic arachnids that feed on blood. They tend to live in wooded or grassy areas where they find hosts to climb onto and attach themselves.

If you spend a lot of time outdoors or in the woods like me, there’s a good chance you’ll run into a tick or two eventually, and if you’re not taking proper precautions, they might end up in your car.

So how do you kill ticks in a car? And what should you do when you find ticks in your car?

There are several effective ways to kill ticks in a car:

• Vacuum clean your car to dispose of any ticks on the surface.
• Use an insecticide or repellent like Permethrin or Nuvan Strips to kill the ticks.
• Park your car in direct sunlight to drive away ticks with heat.

Ticks are persistent little guys and killing every tick in your car might end up being a challenge depending on how badly they’ve spread into the cracks and crevices.

They can also transmit diseases such as Lyme disease (like the sucking blood part wasn’t gross enough), so it’s important that you take action as soon as you spot one.

Find more tips and tricks from Ryan Mclean on killing ticks in a car here.