When you need to remove ticks, it can be anything from a minor annoyance or a major problem. Most ticks that get into our homes come from pets, dogs and cats in particular. It is important to check your pet for parasites and remove ticks as soon as possible. If you find a tick biting your skin, remove it immediately.
How To Remove Ticks | A Quick Fix For Ticks
1. Use Pointed Tweezers
You will need pointed tweezers to make sure you have a good grip on the tick without crushing the head or leaving parts of it on your skin.
2. Grasp the Tick as Close to the Skin as Possible
Try to get as close to the tick's head as possible, and then press firmly. This will ensure that you get the whole tick out.
3. Pull the Tick Up Slowly and Steadily
Slow and steady does it when you are trying to remove ticks. Pulling it out too fast might result in breaking the tick in half, leaving the head secured to your skin.
3. Do Not Jerk or Twist
Twisting and turning the tick around when pulling it out is a huge no-no. Doing so might break apart the tick before you pull it out completely.
4. Clean the Bite Area
Finally, once the bugger has been successfully pulled out, it's time to clean and disinfect the wound. Use soap and warm water, then rub some alcohol on it to disinfect.
Effects of Ticks and Fleas
Ticks are annoying, and that is reason enough for tick removal. However, there are certain infections and tick-borne illnesses that you might suffer from a bite. Therefore, removing a tick should be a high priority once you experience the following symptoms:
- pain or swelling on bite site
- rashes
- burning sensation on bite site
- blisters
- difficulty breathing
These are just some basic allergic reactions to tick bites. However, the following symptoms might indicate something more that came with the bite:
- full body rash
- stiff neck
- headaches
- nausea
- lethargy and weakness
- muscle or joint pain
- fever
- chills
- swelling of lymph nodes
When you experience these symptoms, head to a certified medical professional as soon as you remove the ticks from your body.
How To Prevent Ticks
Ticks can be found worldwide. You might even bring some home from vacation. In the U.S., for example, the South, Midwest, and even California is home to many ticks. You will also find that your bug-out locations will host ticks as well. Tick-borne diseases are prevalent here, so be sure to take the following precautions before your trip:
- Stock DEET, permethrin, or picaridin
- Use light-colored protective clothing outdoors
- Tuck your pants into your socks
- Avoid known tick hotspots
- Check yourself (and your companions) for ticks daily, and remove asap.
The Tick Encounter Resource Center has a step-by-step video on how to remove a tick:
Tick removal is a responsibility a survivalist should never ignore. These little critters can spread infection and tick-borne illnesses without a second thought – it's just their nature. And it's not just your pet that's in danger. Therefore, make sure you keep alert for these little buggers. It may just save your life.
How do you take care of tick bites? Let us know in the comments section.
Up Next: 5 Natural Tick Repellents to Get Rid of Ticks NOW
Editor's note: This post has been updated for quality and relevancy.
I have found that liquid soap placed on or over the tick and it will back out on its own.
yes that suffocates them. They cannot breathe and they flee the situation. Any viscious fluid will do. We have also used vasaline, grease, and sun tan lotion.
A quick counter-clockwise twist between thumb and forefinger is hands down the most effective way to remove a tick.Tweezers are at best a crap-shoot
You will then squeeze the abdomen and cause contents to enter the bite twisting may break off the head or jaw parts in the skin.I have removed many of these surgically after that very poor advice was followed. The presenter is correct. Use forceps Do not use any irritants to try to force the tick to back out that may also cause a regurgitation of ingested blood into the skin.
Thank you, I am temporarily on rest from the PCT, I’ll get ticks, that’s only a small matter of inevitably, and that’s the method I’ve used on my dog, and myself, thank you again, and as we say on the trail, happy trails!!!
Bull Crappy———— 🙁
Squeezing the tick with your fingers may cause a reberse flow of blood anf fluids which could cause microbes to be injected into the skin. It is better to not squeeze the tick.
That is what happened to me … I went to Wisconsin and a deer tick got me … I pulled it off and when I got back to Louisiana I had lyme disease …
Just put lighter fluid on it and it will back out, very simple.
Use the tip of your finger, lightly rub the body of the tick in a circular motion. It may take a minute or two, the tick will back out. Works good on my dog!
Yup and it will dump it’s stomach contents into its meal before it detaches.
I have had good luck with a few drops of peppermint oil. They do not care for peppermint.
Remington Gun Oil Works Great A Guy Had 15 Ticks On Him Put Rem. Oil on them they all backed Out!
My doctor removed a tick from my arm close to my wrist using the tweezers method last week! I also got an Rx for an oral antibiotic to stop any possibility of infection.
I’ve used the tweezer method many times on my children. I always try to get as close to the skin and the ticks head/ mouth as I can so I don’t squeeze it’s body. I always know I have the head part because the tick will have skin in its “mouth”. Yuck. I hate ticks. I’ve heard of the other “put something on the ticks backside” methods, but have never used them. I hadn’t thought of the tick regurgitating if you did that! Gag.
When my husband came home from deer hunting he was loaded with big fat ticks! They were so fat that he had me use a match fairly close to them. They were out of there in a second!
I’ve used the tweezer method of removing ticks from my dogs, but my wife read somewhere that if you coat them with something greasy like mentholatume or vicks they will back out on their own because the greasy substance cuts off their air supply.
Get a match light it’ put it out, out and touch the ticks head at the skin. It kills the tick and takes it out at the same time.
I recommend that you only make a recommendation after you have done it your self.
when I smoked I would bring the lit end of a cigarette really close to the tick, not touching it. After a few seconds it would back out on it’s own. Never had any reaction. Also worked good on itchy bug bites. I think the heat affected whatever was making it itch (‘skeeter bites and the like)
‘course the smoking probably did more harm than the bugs…….