Pet hair, muddy paws and Missouri ticks in a big St. Louis West house: what changes month to month, which rooms need the most attention and how a recurring plan keeps up.
Most homes in the St. Louis West suburbs come with a yard. Detached houses with yards make up about 63 percent of Chesterfield's housing and about 92 percent of Wildwood's, and Wildwood's own city history names native woodland and open space among the features it was formed to keep. That is good news for a dog and harder news for the floors.
This guide looks at the local conditions that make pet homes here harder to keep clean, from the April to July tick season to the wettest months of the year, and lays out a routine for hair, dander and tracked-in dirt.
The Missouri Department of Conservation lists the lone star tick, the American dog tick and the deer tick among the state's common species, and most are most active from April through July. The department also notes that pets that go outdoors can carry ticks inside and should be checked.
A tick that drops off a dog usually lands where the dog rests: a pet bed, a couch cushion, a rug by the back door. That is why tick season is the one stretch of the year when vacuuming pet resting spots every week, and washing pet bedding often, matters for more than appearance. Check dogs at the door before they come in, especially after a walk through tall grass or along a wooded trail.
Wildwood set out, when it incorporated in 1995, to preserve open space, native woodland, unique topography and rural roadways, and its housing reflects that: about 92 percent single family detached homes. Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial State Park sits inside the city with hiking, biking and equestrian trails, and Castlewood State Park lies along the Meramec River with a Ballwin address.
Places like these are where dogs pick up burrs, mud and, in season, ticks. Cottonwoods in the moist lowlands along streams and rivers shed cottony seed in May and June, and it clings to fur as easily as it clings to screens. After a hike, a towel and a quick brush on the porch keep most of it outside.
April, May and June are the wettest months at Lambert Airport, each averaging about 4.5 to 4.8 inches of precipitation. Those months overlap almost exactly with peak tick season, which makes spring the hardest stretch of the year for a pet home here.
Put a washable runner and a towel at the door the dog uses most, and keep the dog off light carpet until paws are dry. In winter, the problem turns to salt: St. Louis averages about 16.6 inches of snow a year, and salted sidewalks leave residue on paws that ends up on floors. A damp cloth by the door handles both seasons.
In a four bedroom house, and about 47 percent of Chesterfield homes have four or more, hair does not stay in one room. It drifts along hallways, gathers under beds and works into stair carpet. A routine that focuses on where the pet actually spends time beats an even pass across every room.
A Recurring House Clean dusts reachable baseboards and blind slats each visit and vacuums and mops every floor, which is where pet hair and dander end up. For one dog, bi-weekly visits are usually enough most of the year. For two or more dogs, or a dog that spends its days in a wooded yard, weekly visits from April through July will keep tick season and mud season from getting ahead of the house.
Start with an Initial Deep Clean if the house has gone a while without one. It vacuums couch crevices, wipes vents and fans and hand washes baseboards, which clears out the hair and dander that regular visits cannot reach. The recurring cleaning guide has more on choosing a frequency.
The questions Chesterfield homeowners ask most often about this topic, answered plainly.
TotalCare Cleaning will service Chesterfield and surrounding areas with background-checked cleaners and is insured up to $1 million. Re-clean guarantee: if we missed something, tell us by the end of the next day and we come back to fix it. Beyond Clean. TotalCare.
