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.

What Should You Do After Finding Ticks in Your Car?

If you find a tick in your car or discover multiple ticks in your car then your should take immediate action to get rid of them.

There are a couple of things you should do immediately after discovering ticks in your car before you start the actual process of killing them.

Thoroughly Check Your Body and Clothes

If left alone, a tick can stay on your body for several days. They range in color from brown to black and are about the size of a sesame seed (although they can be slightly bigger or smaller).

If you’re driving home or unpacking the car after a busy day and notice a tick on you, your clothes, or in your car, the first thing you’ll want to do is examine your body and clothes for more ticks. 

Get a friend or partner to help you inspect hard to reach areas and also make sure to check your children or pets (if you have any).

Vacuum your Car if Possible

If possible, you’ll want to vacuum your car right away after noticing ticks.

If you catch them while they’re still on surface level, it’s going to be much easier to vacuum away any ticks that have found their way into your car.

If left alone for some time, they’ll eventually find their way into tight nooks or crevices making them harder to get rid of in the future.

Remove and Kill Any Ticks on Your Body

Before you start killing ticks in your car, you’ll want to remove and kill the ticks on your body (duh).

The easiest way to do this is by using fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool. Grab the tick as close to your skin as your can, and pull upwards. You should be sure to clean the bite as soon as it’s removed.

You can drop ticks in rubbing alcohol or bleach to kill them instantly. I didn’t include these methods in this list since neither do a great job of killing ticks in a wide space like a car, but rather one by one.

These guys can carry multiple diseases, the most common being Lyme disaese, so it’s important that you remove them from your own body before getting to your car.

Now that you’ve taken care of these things, you’re ready to start killing ticks in your car.

1. Use Permethrin Fabric Spray to Kill Ticks

Permethrin, although mainly advertised as a repellent, does a great job killing ticks (see video below).

If you've got a tick infestation in your car then this would be my #1 go to in order to kill the ticks.

This Permethrin fabric spray from Amazon lasts up to 6 weeks and works great to kill ticks in a short time, and it’s one of the best ways to deal with a tick infestation in your car. The only downside is that it may take a lot of spray/time to treat your entire car depending on the size.

You’ll need to spray a thin layer on any fabric surfaces where ticks could make themselves at home, and be sure to reach any nooks or cracks in your seats.

Be advised that Permethrin can be super toxic before it dries (be very careful with your pets and you don't want it on your skin in high doses. But it becomes safe once dry.

But be especially careful with cats as permethrin can be particularly toxic to them and even fatal.

This means that you’ll want to plan ahead for not using your car for up to a day and be sure to leave the windows open for a similar amount of time. 

Spraying permethrin on your clothes is also an effective method of killing ticks and repelling them next time you go out or on a hike, but you’ll need to wait at least 2 hours before wearing them.

2. Use Nuvan Strips in Your Car

Nuvan strips fill your car with a vapor that kills bugs, including ticks. These work great because they can reach all the tight spaces where ticks might hide, including your dash and other compartments.

All you have to do is hang the strip somewhere on the inside of your car (rearview mirror) and keep all windows and doors closed.

The big downside is that you’ll have to leave the strips in your car for 48-72 hours to get the best results, and you can’t use the car while a Nuvan strip is inside.

After the time goes by, you’ll want to air out your car for 1-2 hours before driving.

These work great because unlike powders or sprays, they leave no residue or pesticides behind. This means you don’t have to worry about you or your kids inhaling anything dangerous while in the car.

3. Vacuum Clean Your Car

Vacuuming is a great way to get rid of ticks since it doesn’t introduce any harmful chemicals.

You can use an at home car vacuum like this handheld Car Vacuum Cleaner from Amazon that runs off 12V power, or if you’re pragmatic like me, you can take your indoor vacuum out into the garage and use the hose to vacuum your car.

But honestly, if I'm dealing with ticks in my car I don't want to take any chances and so I'm going to head down to my local self-cleaning car wash and use their commercial vacuum cleaner which is much stronger than anything I have at home.

It'll cost me a few dollars to give my car a good clean but for peace of mind I find it's well worth the cost.

I’d recommend wearing long sleeves to prevent ticks from getting onto your skin while vacuuming, and to be extra precautious you can also wear repellent like permethrin. I would also wear gloves too just in case.

You should make sure to dispose of any ticks that you vacuum up before they get away. This can be done by sealing them in a bag or container or by using an insecticide.

Keeping a lint roller in your car is another great way to round up any ticks that you spot while driving.

4. Leave Your Car in the Sun/Heat

Ticks do not deal well with heat, and parking your car in direct sunlight on a hot day can help to take care of a tick problem.

Ticks cannot survive in temperatures over 120°F/49ºC.

Unless you live somewhere where it’s extremely hot, it might be hard to reach this temperature in your car, but leaving your car in the sun can help contribute to driving out a tick infestation.

You could also potentially use a blowdryer to drive out any hiding ticks with hot air, but I don’t believe you’d have a lot of success killing ticks that way.

Using a combination of the methods listing here will go a long way in eliminating the ticks in your car, and you can read here to learn more on how to repel ticks from your clothes while enjoying the outdoors.