I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.
Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it.
Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"
At my cabin in SW Missouri, the seed ticks are pretty thick in early Spring during turkey season, so I have found that this works well.
I've used vasoline in the same maner and works great,some one told me that they breath thru there back ends and if you do the vasoline or soap method they back out on their own cause they can't breath! what ever the reason it works great!
Good tip. Thanks.
i've use a red hot nail in the past to back them out. Guess they can't stand the heat. The soap sounds like a much safer/better method.
I read that in an NC state magazine once - then keep forgetting it when it's time to use it (and it often is here). Got to remember it from now on - maybe this will help.
barry...makes sense as the tick needs air while draining your blood.i'll try it out if i ever get one.
i have heard of using olive oil same principle as the soap they can't breath and have to come out.
Hmm I will have to try this. I have always just pulled them out with my fingers.
This is a myth.
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/tick.asp
tobasco sauce kills them
Ticks, chiggers, mosquitoes...things I don't miss about the South. But to be fair, we have Tiger Mosquitoes here in Arizona the size of a B-17 Flying Fortress. And they carry West Nile.
Thanks shooty1 now I'm not sure who or what to believe. I thought the original post was "original", and I had always heard to use tweezers near the head/mouth of the tick.
I was told that burning them out with a nail or pin is not good either- they may just spit out their juices which can spread disease. FYI
Dan
Yeah, the last thing I want to happen is for the little bloodsucker to barf under my skin before he comes out. I just don't even want to go there!
Guy
Nothing is easy. I heard the "burn at the butt" method is good, but CAREFULLY. Vaseline was next but a recent note up this way says NO vaseline - may cause them (deer ticks here) to barf into the wound. Recommended is the tweezers. Just don't break off their pincers in the wound....
That's a NO NO. The link Shooty1 posted explains why very nicely. For more info visit the CDC website (www.cdc.gov)
If I kept every tick in a mason jar with a time and date like the snopes like suggested my house would look like a cannery. I live on a farm. I hunt and fish. Some things are just a little unpractical for me that just might work well for the city dweller or people in regions where these critters are rare. :dunno:
Oh well, back to the old ways. I pull the little suckers out (after sneakin' up on them - LOL), douse the spot with peroxide, then alchohol, and then cover it with New Skin or clear fingernail polish. Both of those keep the itch down (some)and seal the "wound". So far, so good. At least it keeps me from unconsciously scratching.
I just cut off the affected limb and re-grow it.
What's the big deal? Pick them off. No magic necessary.
My father-in-law, who was from Arkansas, used to say everytime this subject came up in a group of folks: "You know, ticks don't seem to bother me a whole lot. After a few days on me they just seem to swell up real big and then drop off". If anyone listening seemed to buy it, he would look at me and just roll his eyes a little.
I'm from TX and do not recommend wearing ticks around for a few days even if they are from Arkansas! Good info here, and sounds like tweezers and a straight, steady pull is the best method to get rid of them. I hate ticks almost as much as I hate their little devil cousin, the chigger.
Well I guess it is back to the old tried and true.
i aint had ticks on me but CHIGGERS wow!!! i hate the little buggers.
JEFF B.. you aint lived till you've had a mess of seed ticks on ya. Just as bad as chiggers and can scar ya for a whole summer. Least they do me anyways.
I hate to say it, but I probably get 30-40 tick bites a year. If I get into a mess of seed ticks you can up that number considerably. I've been very lucky so far, my area is horrible with them.
Never had one back out by smothering it with any kind of liquid, and I used to average about 8-10 ATTACHED to me a year, not to mention what I pulled crawling. Came with the line of work I guess.
The vaseline method has been out there a long time. The soap would work the same. It is very important ticks be taken seriously. I get 1-3 on me every time (more after a rain) I go to my 3-D trail. However, I routinely check my legs and have always removed them before they attach. A good friend ended up in a coma for 44 days and many blood transfusions in the summer of 2008.
Also, if you have a tick attached you should make a note of the date and location. Make sure someone who might speak for you to a doctor knows this. Sometimes when we get sick (especially since incubation period on some tick-borne diseases is greater than 14 days) we forget details such as what bit us.
Pulling an attached tick off is ill-advised (pun intended). Some say you can squeeze pathogens from the tick that hadn't otherwise entered your system by doing this.
I didn't read the post about "wives tale" above before responding. The "snoops" logic makes sense. Thanks for posting. You have to keep those tweezers off the beasts torso though to prevent the movement of material from the tick to you. I've had many ticks on me but very rarely (not since I was a kid) has one attached -- I find them too quickly. It probably helpst that my two receding hairline coves have joined in the middle of my head. Personally, I find ticks best when I'm wearing shorts -- I can feel or see the tick on my legs before they complete their trip to less accessible areas.
QuoteOriginally posted by Bowwild:
I can feel or see the tick on my legs before they complete their trip to less accessible areas.
:scared: :scared: :scared:
Great tip Buckster Ill give that a try . Anythings better than what I do which is just rip them off my skin .
I was told that if they are in a hairy area you can set the hair on fire and kill the tics with an ice pick as they flee
I have two store bought products that (IMHO) appear a "smarter" option that tweezers. One is just a tab of metal with a vee cut in it, the other is called a "Tick Key" (www.tickkey.com). Both are designed to not squeeze the critters when extracting them.
I am not sure how they work on the really small (deer - red ticks), thankfully, but are excellent on the others.
I actually purchased the "Tick Key" at a pet store, the other one came from the first aid section of either a drug store or a mail order catalog like Campmore, can't remember where.
Good luck to all of you, these buggers just give me the willies, and we have them pretty good here. Had 12 crawlers and 3 attached in one morning of turkey hunting up here.
Back a few years ago, on a spring trip in the Boundary Waters, we were finding like 20 a day. Each night was deemed "Minnesota Foreplay" as you would check your spouse for ticks.....
QuoteOriginally posted by BobW:
Each night was deemed "Minnesota Foreplay" as you would check your spouse for ticks.....
And now I have the "Ticks" song going through my head! "I'd sure like to check you for ticks." LOL!
The Tick key works well, especially for the larger buggers. The other one I think you're talking about is the Pro-Tick Remedy, which I think works better. "Ticked Off" works OK too. My buddy has a pair of tweezers that work by the same principle... got to see where he got those, b/c I don't see them for sale.
I HAD ROCKEY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER....nearly killed me ,doctors did not treat me till 8 months too late,I had 2 negitive tests before a positive test,lost 2 years of my life,those little bugs can kill you..Still mad about treatment should have sued doctors... :mad: go walk my 6 miles get ready for elk hunt..if you have any questions about rockey mountain spotted fever send me a message..