Pest control professionals are often asked how to remove ticks from the skin of people and pets. The removal of attached ticks is addressed in this article. If you have health related concerns you should contact your doctor or other professional that is trained in the medical field.
If you have a home or lawn that is infested with ticks, go to the tick control article. For details on tick biology, identification, life cycle and habits read the article on tick information. There are also descriptions of hard ticks and soft ticks. Pets can be protected from tick bites with products such as Preventic Tick Collar for dogs, Frontline Topspot and Frontline Spray for dogs and cats.

Removing Ticks

There are many opinions, facts and fables to sort through when faced with the problem of tick bites or attached ticks. Your best bet is to keep it simple and steer clear of solutions not suggested or approved by doctors or veterinarians.
An attached tick can easily transmit diseases to from one animal to another as it feeds on its victim. The disease that concerns most people is Lyme Disease.
Most people want to remove attached ticks to reduce the risks of diseases that can be transmitted by the pest as well as chances of an infection from the foreign object imbedded in the skin.

Most health professionals agree that smothering ticks with petroleum jelly, finger nail polish or other such substances do little to reduce chances of infection or contracting disease. A tick that is coated or smothered still has enough oxygen to live long enough to continue its feeding. It is during this feeding that transmission of organisms takes place. More drastic measures such as burning the tick or killing it with a sharp object can actually increase chances of more fluids being released into the tick's host.

Attached ticks can be removed using small tipped tweezers. Grasping the tick as close to the skin as possible will give you a better chance of removing the tick whole. Ticks can excrete substances that help the pest adhere to its host and they also have mouthparts that help them to hang on their host as they feed.
Holding the tick with your tweezers, slowly but firmly pull the tick away from the skin. If you have health concerns of any kind you can release the tick into a container of alcohol. The container should be labeled with any information that could be helpful to medical professionals. This information can include date, location or other related facts including the victim's name, age, etc.
Once you have removed the tick from skin and the tick has been disposed of or placed in a container, wash your hands as well as the tweezers or any other object the tick (or fluids from the tick) may have contacted. Objects used to remove or dispose of ticks as well as the sight of the tick bite should be disinfected.
The purpose of this article is to help remove a tick that has attached itself to the skin of a person or pet. Medical questions should be directed to a medical professional. If a person or pet develops any suspicious symptoms or behavior, contact a medical professional. Pest management professionals are trained in the prevention or control of pests - not matters of health of people or pets.
We often receive queries concerning dogs, cats, children and adults that have been bitten by ticks, fleas, spiders, snakes, chiggers and other creatures. If you have any such question you should contact your doctor, veterinarian or other professional that is trained to handle such health related matters.
If you are interested in products of any kind that are advertised as tools for tick removal, check with your family doctor or veterinarian. Health professionals will know which products have been proven to be safe or effective.

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