Ticks are in full force during the warmer months. Camping makes us especially prone to finding ticks on us, our family members, or our pets because we spend a lot of time in heavily wooded areas. Ticks are parasitic in nature and will attach themselves to any host that can supply blood and a warm, moist area to live. Ticks can also carry infectious diseases, such as Lyme Disease, that can debilitate or seriously harm people and animals. Getting a tick off of you as quickly and effectively as possible is necessary to prevent yourself from potentially contracting a disease. Here are 4 ways to get a tick off of you, a loved one, or a pet.
1. Use a pair of tweezers: If you are going to go with the standard method, make sure that you are grabbing as close to the skin as possible so that you get the head and mouth of the tick off of your skin.
2. Use floss or other thin string: Loop the floss or string around the tick’s head, getting as close to the skin as possible. pull firmly to secure the floss to the tick’s head and pull upward to remove the tick.
3. Use a credit card: Slide the card near the tick’s head while holding the back down with another finger. Slide the card under the tick’s head until it releases or is detached.
4. Use dishsoap and a cotton ball: Soak a cotton ball in some liquid soap. Swab the tick with the soapy cotton ball several times and then hold it lightly on top of the tick so that it is touching. Within 15 seconds or so, the tick will dislodge itself and come away from the skin stuck to the cotton ball.
Always make sure to disinfect the area where a tick as been and dispose of the tick properly. If the tick has a white spot on it’s back, it is a deer tick and needs to be bagged and taken to the doctors with you so that they can check for serious symptoms. Regular ticks can be killed by submersing it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.
No evidence to support soap method
While different sites over the years have recommended the liquid soap tick removal method, experts and health officials say its ineffective.
“Some people firmly believe the Dawn dish detergent tick removal method works,” Thomas Mather with the University of Rhode Islands TickEncounter told USA TODAY. “When we tried it with many different types of attached ticks, we were unsuccessful in removing any ticks.”
He said the method may appear effective in some cases due simply to coincidence. People might be seeing ticks back out because they are applying it to male ticks, which are “intermittent blood feeders” that only attach for a short period of time.
“Female ticks stay attached for a week or longer. They dont want to lose their host through host grooming so they lock themselves into the skin with mouthparts having backward pointing barbs to catch the skin, and with a cement substance secreted with their saliva,” Mather said via email.
Dr. Brendan Byrne, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine of the University of Michigan Medical School, said reported methods of dousing the tick with soap, petroleum jelly, alcohol or stabbing them with needles are dangerous methods “in almost all cases.”
“They can all irritate the tick, causing it to regurgitate its stomach contents back into you.” Byrne said via email. ” I cant recommend any of these methods.”
A May 2017 study in the Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine reviewed methods to remove a tick and concluded chemical treatments such as gasoline, petroleum jelly, clear fingernail polish or methylated spirit “were all of very low quality.”
Eurosurveillance.org notes there is “very limited experimental evidence” to support most suggested tick removal methods. The site adds that chemical irritants are not only ineffective at getting ticks to detach but also risk triggering injection of salivary fluids and possible transmission of disease-causing microbes.
Instead of using soap or other liquids to remove a tick, health officials suggest using fine-tipped tweezers.
The ticks mouthparts should be grasped using pointed tweezers and pulled out steadily, according to the Johns Hopkins Lyme Disease Research Center. Twisting and pulling back sharply could tear the mouthparts from the tick and leave them embedded in the skin.
The tweezer method is also endorsed by organizations such as the CDC, the Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The claim: A tick can be safely removed by covering it in a soap-soaked cotton ball
A viral post offering advice on using soap and a cotton ball for tick removal has recently resurfaced on social media.
The March 2014 post, which has been shared over 7,000 times, attributes the information to an alleged nurse who it says “discovered a safe, easy way to remove ticks where they automatically withdraw themselves.”
The post explains this way: “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.”
Similar versions of the claim have recently been shared by Facebook pages.USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook pages and user for comment.
3. Use a credit card: Slide the card near the tick’s head while holding the back down with another finger. Slide the card under the tick’s head until it releases or is detached.
2. Use floss or other thin string: Loop the floss or string around the tick’s head, getting as close to the skin as possible. pull firmly to secure the floss to the tick’s head and pull upward to remove the tick.
4. Use dishsoap and a cotton ball: Soak a cotton ball in some liquid soap. Swab the tick with the soapy cotton ball several times and then hold it lightly on top of the tick so that it is touching. Within 15 seconds or so, the tick will dislodge itself and come away from the skin stuck to the cotton ball.
1. Use a pair of tweezers: If you are going to go with the standard method, make sure that you are grabbing as close to the skin as possible so that you get the head and mouth of the tick off of your skin.
Ticks are in full force during the warmer months. Camping makes us especially prone to finding ticks on us, our family members, or our pets because we spend a lot of time in heavily wooded areas. Ticks are parasitic in nature and will attach themselves to any host that can supply blood and a warm, moist area to live. Ticks can also carry infectious diseases, such as Lyme Disease, that can debilitate or seriously harm people and animals. Getting a tick off of you as quickly and effectively as possible is necessary to prevent yourself from potentially contracting a disease. Here are 4 ways to get a tick off of you, a loved one, or a pet.