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May 3, 2022

How To Safely and Properly Remove a Tick

The right way & wrong way to remove a tick

What Not To Do

There are many “wives” tales or folklore surrounding the correct way to remove a tick that has embedded itself into your (or another animal’s) skin. Living in the south, these at home techniques range from silly too dangerous.  Here are just a few I have heard over the years:

  • Apply a hot match or cigarette/cigar/cigarette lighter to the tick; he/she will back out on their own.
  • Suffocate them with petroleum jelly/nail polish and wait for them to die.
  • Apply alcohol/nail polish remover/booze and wait from them to die.
  • Twist it out.
  • Smash/squish/squeeze/mash them to kill them.

Why Not To Do It

Interestingly, in my many years as an entomologist, I’ve never heard the correct method from a non-entomologist or medical professional.

Before we discuss the correct removal technique, let’s take a minute to discuss why the above listed methods are incorrect and in some cases dangerous.

READ MORE on the dangers of tick borne disease

Ticks feed by inserting their mouthparts into your skin. These mouthparts have barbed edges, helping the tick to stay in place when they feed. Some ticks, specifically most hard ticks, produce a sticky glue-like material that helps to hold them in place. As they feed, they inject saliva into your blood stream; this saliva helps to keep the blood flowing and kill pain the animal may feel due to the feeding. During this feeding and injecting of saliva is typically when transmission of pathogens that cause disease are transferred.

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Do This Instead

The correct method for removing a tick is remarkably simple. You only need a pair of tweezers or forceps and a disinfecting liquid (such as rubbing alcohol).

  1. Grasp the tick firmly, as close to skin with the tip of the tweezers as you can.
  2. Pull slowly and steadily out in an upwards direction away from the skin.
    a. Be careful not to twist the tick; this can cause the mouthparts to break off under the skin (due to the cement holding the mouthparts in place).
  3. Once the tick is removed, swab the affected area with the disinfectant.
    a. If desired, an anti-biotic ointment and adhesive bandage may be used.
  4. Save the tick in alcohol if possible.

Why Incorrect Methods Are Dangerous

So now, let’s address the “incorrect” methods and why they are dangerous.

Disease Development

Any disruptive action taken by the remover, such as burning, smothering, smashing, etc. increases the chances of the tick “vomiting” into the host. This means the chance of potential pathogens being introduced to the host increases. This increases the chance of disease development.

Infection

Twisting the tick, as mentioned above, can cause the mouthparts to break off, sometimes embedded into the skin. This can lead to infection and irritation.

Weeks to Die

Covering the tick with petroleum jelly, nail polish, or other substance is also not effective. Ticks can survive a long time without access to oxygen and “waiting for the tick to die” can take days or even weeks.  It is safer and much more effective to use the method listed above.

Overall, it is important to remove a tick as quickly as possible after it is discovered. 

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Tag(s): CSI-Pest , Ticks

CSI Pest Team

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