How To Remove A Tick

Ticks are nothing to play with. They don’t just bug your pet as they can also suck your blood and cause infection. They are known to carry many tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease and harmful bacteria.

If you find a tick attached to your skin, there’s no need to panic. There are several flea and tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers will remove a tick quite effectively.

[Read: Homemade Natural Tick Repellant & Tick Spray]

Follow This Step-by-step Guide

  1. Use fine-tipped tweezers in removing ticks to grasp them as close to the skin’s surface as possible. Lock onto the tick head part for easier and a more successful operation. You can also use a tick twister to remove tick from your skin.
  2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin.  If this happens, safely remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
  3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands using a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.

remove-tick-cdc

tick-iconAvoid folklore remedies such as “painting” the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible to avoid tick-borne illness — not wait for it to detach.

Follow-up

If you develop a rash, fever or flu-like symptoms within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick. Then plan to prevent ticks from making further damage.

Clean your house and regularly bathe your cat or dog to prevent tick and flea infestation. Make use of different home remedies such as peppermint oil, insect repellent and pesticides to prevent fleas and ticks from coming back.

source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention