Its the best my terrible little camera could get...those are actually the good pictures :(

to tell, but it looks like a female tick that recently laid eggs.
I hope I'm wrong.

Thats a comforting thought. Had I known what they were when I found one earlier (month ago maybe) I'd have called the exterminator immediately. They looked harmless enough...obviously from my username, I'm not a bug person.

I did call him today though...

Exterminators should not be called unless you know exactly what you are trying to control. Pest control technicians are generally NOT trained in entomology, so should not be relied upon to identify specimens. You have a good man in Albequerque named Richard Fagerlund, who works at the university (though not as an entomologist). He could help you without resorting to expensive, potentially harmful chemical controls. Ok, lastly, female ticks generally drop off the host after engorgement (from their blood meal), but should not lay eggs indoors (my opinion, using common sense, since more hosts for their offspring are usually not encountered indoors). Thorough examination of your pet after it roams in tall grasses and similar situations might help detect ticks before they attach.

Thanks. I did not mean to cause alarm, but that is what came to mind when I saw the other image, and I will not sugar coat my comments. If your dog has ticks, it could be a problem.
Do look into it first, and check your dog for lumps as well.

I have not set up for the exterminator to do anything, I just called basically to get advice...which appearantly he may not be equipped to give ;)

I also had my husband take a tick in a little container to the Cooperative Extension office - he's doing that as I type actually. When I called, I was told that if they are unsure they would be sending it to the University.

I hope it all doesn't take too long, my skin has been crawling for days and I just don't want to be here. I'm not a big fan of our little house guest.

Job well done taking it to Cooperative Extension. Wish everyone were smart enough to do that:-) Take care, good luck, keep us posted, in the forum section if this thread gets too long. Thanks also to Jeff for his comments.

I got a call back from the extension office, its just an engorged dog tick nymph. Now to treat the dog....

Thanks for the suggestions everyone :)

dog tick nymph? That extension office sounds about as sharp as the exterminators, provided you sent the tick in the images.
I hope you are still following up here.

Those wrinkles on the tick are "stretch marks". Gravid females get them as a result of egg laying. If my original guess is correct, she probably laid eggs close to where you found her. If indoors, a gravid female tick will not sit by a door, wait for someone to open it, then crawl outside to lay eggs. Although this site pertains to FL, I suggest you read here, under "brown dog tick", maybe do some more research online, then decide what you need to do.
Again, I do not want to alarm you, but as you probably know, ticks can be very bad news.

(edited to add - if this discussion needs to be taken to email or something, feel free to email me, its in my profile)

We are cleaning throughout - washing all blankets, etc. Will be vaccuuming out the furniture, checking for eggs in all crevices and corners, etc.

We are also going to have an exterminator come and spray the house and yard tomorrow - treating the dog too. I didn't think we had to worry too much about the cat though, right?

Will having the house sprayed once do the trick? Or is it the sort of thing where you have to do it several times to make sure all stages are killed, like new hatchlings?

I have been losing sleep over this - waking up several times a night feeling like they are crawling all over me. I really want this to be done with.

We've been living here over 2 years and never had a problem. We don't even have grass or anything in our backyard (dog only goes out there to take care of business). So these buggers came from 1 of 2 places - they hitched a ride with us over the summer when we visited OK or they were shipped in. Back in August I ordered some herbs (calundula petals and other leaves, etc) and it was swarming with tiny clearish ant like insects. I sprayed (w/stuff from the store) and thought I had it taken care of. Of course, the company denied their products were infested. I have been in NM 10 years and have never seen a tick like this...never seen a tick at all actually. This has only been a problem since about July or August.

Sorry to ramble, I guess I felt a little more at ease thinking they were young and had not laid eggs yet. The guy got the exact tick that is in the photo and said it was an American Dog Tick nymph, engorged. I know absolutely nothing about ticks and I never thought it looked engorged, I thought it looked a bit "deflated" rather than engorged....

That particular tick - found it under my daughters pillow on her bed (dog sleeps with her half the night). We've checked her over and haven't found anything on her or any of us (or the pets either). She of course, hasn't slept in that room in days though.

Anyone have any suggestions? Should we even be in this house? We could stay with the in-laws if need be. Thanks everyone for the input and advice...I really appreciate it.

be as serious as you think. Brown dog ticks do not appear to be as dangerous as other ticks. Simple commercial pesticides should do the trick, such as these. Do a google search for indoor tick control and figure what is best for your situation. You could probably pick something up at the local pet store to eliminate them. I would email a professional at one of the tick control websites for further opinion, or talk to someone at kennel, vet, etc.
I am no expert on ticks, but I thought you should be aware of what you found. As Lynette said, you need to decide the best course of action.
I would have emailed, but it is not in profile.

It looks far more like a soft tick to me.

you need to do what will make you comfortable in your home. I will say I found at least three engorged ticks in my house last summer, and didn't do a thing about it. I know what baby ticks look like and I haven't had any in the house. I would say treating your cat and dog with frontline (if the cat goes outside) and doing one cleaning should be quite thorough. I wouldn't bother with the exterminator, myself, because I think chemicals are worse than ticks. But, again, you need to do what makes you comfortable.