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How
to Remove a Tick
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Never allow a tick to remain attached! -
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Summary:
The most important thing to remember about a tick
bite is to remove
the tick as quickly as possible! Prompt
removal will significantly reduce the possibility of
a tick-borne illness. See our suggestions for safe
removal of ticks.
Jack
DeAngelis, PhD
OSU
Ext. Entomologist (ret.)
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Ticks (see
What are Ticks?) bite to
obtain blood from people and pets. Tick bites can be
pretty disguisting (right) but the real danger is in
the possibilty of getting diseases from ticks. You
can prevent ticks from biting in the first place by
using repellents,
on people, and flea and
tick medications on pets but if ticks manage
to bite anyway you must act quickly to remove them.
Remove ticks immediately!
The prompt
removal of ticks whenever they are found, whether on
people or pets, is the single most important thing
you can do to protect against tick-borne diseases
like Lyme Disease. There is
evidence that disease transmission occurs only after
many hours of feeding so the quicker the tick is
removed the less chance there is for disease
organisms to be spread.
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Engorged (feeding) tick
on scalp. Thumb (upper right) shows scale.
Photo from Wikipedia.
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You might be
surprised how often people tolerate a tick they find
attached to themselves or their pet because of the
"it's yucky, I don't want to touch it" factor -- this
is foolish and even dangerous. Below are some
suggestions for safely removing ticks, but the bottom
line is: remove ticks as soon as they are found by
whatever means available!
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What not to do for tick bites
Knowing what
not to do when confronted with a biting tick may be
almost as important as knowing what to do. Don't put
anything on the tick in a effort to "smother" it in
the hope of forcing the tick to "let go". The fact is
that when ticks bite they seal their mouthparts
("head" end that bites) onto the wound and they are
unable to back away until feeding is complete. Also,
try not to squeeze the tick as this may disgorge fluid
and disease organisms into the wound.
What to do with a biting tick
The easiest,
and safest, way to remove a tick is to grab it by the
mouthparts and pull straight up. Obviously, the
difficult part is to securely grab the mouthparts!
Here are a few suggestions:
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Use one of the the new tick removal
tools that slip over the tick and pinch the mouthparts (google "tick removal
tool"). Or, use a loop of strong sewing thread or fishing line to "lasso" the
mouthparts by passing the loop over the back of the tick and pulling on the ends
of the line until the tick pops off. A stiff fishing line works better. Or, you
can also use curved tweezers to carefully snag the mouthparts but be careful not to
stab your "patient" with the pointed end.
If the tick
has embedded itself into soft tissue you may not be
able to see the mouthparts. In this case, grab the
tick's body as gently as possible and twist it out
trying not to squeeze it any harder than necessary.
Don't worry if the mouthparts break off in the wound;
at worst they will cause a minor secondary infection.
Finally,
clean the wound and apply an otc ("over-the-counter")
antibiotic. Keep an eye on the bite for a few days to
make sure any infection does not get worse. If the
area around the wound looks inflamed or is tender or
if a "bulls eye"
rash develops and grows seek medical attention.
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information for solving common insect and mite
problems around your home, business and landscape
using least-toxic methods.
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