Mama Robin by Sam

Five Little Pumpkin song with the witch bit and without the witchy bit.

PSA: Your washing machine may not reliably kill ticks—but your dryer can.

USDA entomologist John Carroll began looking into this after finding a live lone star tick crawling on his washing machine’s agitator. He later tested lone star and blacklegged tick nymphs through different wash cycles.

The results were surprising. Most survived cold and warm washes, and 95% of the lone star tick nymphs survived the hot-water cycle used in the study.

A later study of blacklegged ticks found something even more useful: dry clothing placed directly in a dryer on high heat killed ticks within minutes. But when clothes were washed first and went into the dryer damp, killing all the ticks took much longer.

Heat and moisture both matter. A sufficiently hot wash—about 130°F/54°C or higher—can kill ticks, but many household wash cycles may not actually reach that temperature.

That’s why the CDC recommends putting dry clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes after coming indoors. If the clothes are damp, they’ll need additional drying time. If you need to wash them first, use hot water.

And don’t assume ticks disappear with the first frost. Adult blacklegged ticks, often called deer ticks, are especially active in fall and may continue searching for hosts on winter days when temperatures rise above freezing.

After hiking, raking leaves, gardening, or spending time in tick habitat, remember the simple rule:

Dry first. Wash second.

And always check your body, gear, and pets for ticks when you come indoors.

Animals You May See in Fall and Their Group Names 🐰🌾✨