DIY Tick Removal

[dusty montgomery]

Yesterday, while on some carp flats in north Texas, I picked up some unwanted quests. My first move was to try to pull him out of my leg, but he was in deep. Then a buddy produced a lighter, saying that it should back out from the heat and jump off. Well, he stayed burrowed into my leg while I burned his off. After I had melted the lower half of his body and rid myself of a considerable amount of leg hair, I was able to pull him out, with his pincers still in tact.

This was effective, this time, but is there a more proven method you guys use?

Thanks in advance!
Dusty

[Eric DeWitt]

I’ve gotten my fair share of ticks, usually doing preseason deerhunting work out in Iowa.

[Aaron Christensen]

Like Eric, I have always had success with tweezers, getting them close to the head/pincers and being careful to avoid squeezing their goo back into wherever they are attached.

[matt boutet]

FYI- using a lighter, vaseline, oil, etc. (basically anything that agitates the tick) greatly increases your risk for tick-borne diseases like lyme.

[regan c. kenyon jr.]

After you remove them, be sure to bite them back.

[bill heffner]

We had a safety meeting at work where they showed us the tick removal tool.  It was a thin tapered piece of metal with a notch cut in the end.  You were to gently slide it under the tick and get his head in the notch and gently pull him out.

Two week later I got a tick on me.  No tool, broke off the body, tried self surgery (not recommended) and still ended up at the doctor to remove the head.  I am glad that the lyme test was negative.

I will have one of those tick tools when I can find out where to buy one.

[dusty montgomery]

Thanks for the input guys, good advice here. I did have my hemos in my pack, and thought of using those to pull him out of my leg, but thought better of it as I was concerned any pressure I applied to his body, much like what Matt described, might make the critter, spew something into the wound. Great info., Matt, BTW. Makes good sense.

I asked around about lyme disease, and it is present where we live, but I am not too worried about it. But I will look into it more to learn about warning signs.

So, I guess the end result is a good pair of pliers (hemos?) or the tool Bill told of?

Thanks,
Dusty

[todd woodcroft]

does anyone know the signs or symptoms of lyme disease?

also, what about pulling ticks off dogs for those that bring the with us?

thanks

todd

[Mark Schafer]

From what I know of Dusty the tick may be glad he was removed from his host.

[dusty montgomery]

From what I know of Dusty the tick may be glad he was removed from his host.  

Sadly, I may have to concede to my Yankee brethren on this one as I am amazed the young, innocent tick did not at the least catch a buzz, if not die from alcohol poisoning, as he chose his host. And I am sure he would have been glad to part from my company were it not for the fact that my lighter robbed him of his hind set of legs.

Poor Bastard, died a lonely death under the heel of my boot in a small TX town that is not even on the map…

[nick davis]

Im trying to figure out how the tick got on your leg through all that fur.

[Rob Snowhite]

squeezing them does make them a hypodermic needle and what ever is in their gut will be injected into you

burning them will make them explode and spread what ever is in them all over you and your wound

use a sharp edge blade or business card/credit card and try to wedge them out

i know several people who’ve had to quit the AT due to Lyme disease.

they will eventually have to drop off once full, waiting it out is a catch 22- it will eventually have to drop yet prolonging its feeding could allow more bacteria to be transferred, think of this gal:

[Rich Kovars]

We got one of the tick removal tools from the vet for our dog.  It really works.  Gets the head every single time.  Will work on humans too.  Up here we are in tick heaven.  We Frontline our dog out of necessity.  It is probably taking a year off of her life, but she is worry free in the summer because of it.  

Hemo’s probably won’t be sharp enough at the tip to guarantee you will get the head.

[keith b]

I once knew a guy that was a cop and he had to go into this back woods shack and ended up with a tick on hin that had lyme disease.

[John Pavoncello]

Just some Lymes facts for you all. I was infected years ago, luckily caught it early and just needed some antibiotics. My dog has full blow lymes disease and when he gets flair-ups it makes me cry watching him go lame for minutes at a time.
Anyway.

[dusty montgomery]

Thanks guys, especially John. That info. is certainly helpful. The tick I pulled off last weekend was large by those standards you described, plus it had reddish-orange spots on its abdomen.

I also asked my vet today for a tick remover, but I was told they do not sell them and they simply use rat-tooth tweezers on their patients.

I do wonder, though, if a deer tick, being so small, latches on to one of us, how will we ever know? The bullseye mark two weeks later?

Thank you all!
Dusty

[anonymous]

Two words: tick check.

It’s a daily routine here in the Ozarks during the summer. After a while you can feel them crawling on you :-). They are easy to remove if caught early.

One helpful hint. Anytime you hike in the south where there are a lot deer and unmowed grass, take a small role of duct tape. Check your pant legs and socks from time to time. If you find a cluster of seed ticks, reverse roll the gray tape a time or two and pick them up with it. Then just fold it up and stick it in your pocket to throw away later. They won’t go anywhere.

[John Bennett]

This is one of those topics thats makes my skin crawl. For the aount of time I spend in the bush I’m soooooo thankful ticks are fairly low risk here.

[Gary Sundin]

I remove dozens of ticks from myself each year.  Of those dozens, only a handful are actually attached.  Georgia, and the southeastern US generally, seem to have a lot more ticks than the northeast–that’s from my personal observation.  Growing up in PA, it was always quite a big deal to find one.  Around here, the most commont ticks I pick up are Lone Star ticks (“wood ticks”), easy to recognize with the big white spot.  They may carry some nastiness, but not Lymes.  In the south, Lymes is transmitted much less frequently–GA has had less than 20 confirmed cases/year for the last 10 years.

To add to what John has said:  while deer ticks are small, not all small ticks are deer ticks.  All ticks start tiny and molt through several nymphal stages.  The tiny ticks we get around here are usually just nymphal Lone Stars. If I’m outside, I usually just pick and flick.  Inside or deeply imbedded, I’ll use tweezers or alcohol.  I’ve had great luck applying an ETOH swab for a few seconds–they pop right off.  Keep a few on you.  

G

[todd woodcroft]

thanks for the post john: hope your son tests fine…

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