How to Safely Remove a Tick
Here’s how to remove a tick with tweezers, according to BADA UK (8):
1) Grasp the tick as close to the skin of the host (the animal or person it’s attached to) as possible and pull upwards with steady, even pressure.
Do not twist or jerk the tick as this may leave its mouth parts embedded, or cause it to regurgitate disease-causing fluids. If any mouth parts do break off, they may be removed with a sterilized needle or tweezer points.
2) Do not squeeze or crush the body of the tick, because its fluids (saliva and gut contents) may contain disease-causing organisms and leak into the host’s bloodstream or into the skin.
3) Do not handle the tick with bare hands, because certain disease-causing organisms may enter through breaks in the skin, or through mucous membranes (if you touch eyes, nostrils or mouth).
4) After removing the tick, disinfect the bite site with an antiseptic wipe or wound wash and wash your hands with soap and water.
5) You may want to save the tick for identification in case the person or animal the tick was attached to becomes ill within several weeks. Write the date of the bite in pencil on a piece of paper and put it with the tick in a sealed plastic bag and store it in a freezer. Your doctor/vet can then be certain that a tick bite has occurred and use this information to assist in making an accurate diagnosis.
After a tick bite has occurred, keep an eye on the bite site for any signs of inflammation, infection or an expanding rash. Seek medical advice if the bite area fails to heal, becomes inflamed or if the person or the animal the tick was attached to becomes unwell.
If you’re using a tick removal tool such as the O’Tom Tick Twister ®, follow the instructions on this page and watch the video below.
Preventing a Tick Bite
Anytime you go for a walk in the forest, go camping or have a picnic in the park, you could be at risk of a tick bite. In fact, there are more than 40 species of ticks in North America (9).
Not all ticks bite humans, even fewer transmit disease. For example, wood ticks do not transmit Lyme disease, but black-legged ticks do. Ticks vary in size and habitat, making some of them harder to identify.
You can find a useful guide on Canadian ticks here and harmful American ticks here.
The best way to keep ticks away is by covering your skin so that the tick has no skin to bite. Wear long clothing and tuck in socks, shirts, and gloves to keep them from crawling under your clothes.
Another great solution is to spray your clothes with a peppermint oil bug spray or by diluting peppermint oil in jojoba oil and applying it directly to your skin.
To make your own spray, you’ll need (10):
- 1/4 cup distilled or boiled water
- Two teaspoons of witch hazel
- Two teaspoons of vodka
- 10 drops eucalyptus essential oil
- 25 drops peppermint essential oil
- 10 drops of lemongrass essential oil
- 10 drops of clove essential oil
Here’s how to do it:
- Pour water into a spray bottle.
- Use a funnel to pour the witch hazel and vodka into the bottle.
- Add peppermint and shake to combine.
- Add other oils and shake again.
- Store in a dark, cool place and shake before each use. Spray onto clothes or skin every two hours as needed.
The mixture will also works against mosquitoes and blackflies.
It’s also a good idea to keep a sticky lint roller on hand and roll it on your clothing from time to time to see exactly what you’ve picked up.