–by Cassandra Olds — Livestock and Veterinary Entomology
Encountering ticks is common during outdoor adventures here in Kansas! Many old wives’ tales exist around the best way to remove a tick including burning them, smothering them in petroleum jelly or painting them with nail polish. Here we give you the safest and best way to remove ticks!
Ticks that have not attached to your skin pose no risk, just remove the tick and dispose of it by wrapping it in paper towel and flushing down the toilet or placing it in a sealed plastic bag in the trash. Once you notice a tick that is attached to your skin, remove it as soon as possible. The sooner you remove the tick, the lower your risk of contracting a tick-borne illness. There are many tools available for purchase online, but your fingers or a pair of tweezers work just as well. Using your tweezers (or your thumb and index finger) grab the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull away from the skin with constant pressure avoiding repeated jerks, twists and pulls. Once the tick is removed, wash the area with soap and water or apply topical disinfectant. Put the removed tick in some rubbing alcohol or in a Ziploc bag placed in the freezer to kill it. We recommend keeping the tick specimen for a few weeks until you are sure that you have not contracted a tick-borne pathogen. If you begin to feel unwell (flu-like symptoms) you can take the tick with you to the doctor for proper identification and if need be, testing. Make a note of when and where the tick was found. Fun fact, sometimes when you remove a tick there is a clear/white hard substance on the tick mouthpart. People sometimes think this is their skin, in fact this is the tick cement cone! This cone is made up of proteins secreted from the tick salivary gland and is there to anchor the tick into the bite site.
Keep the tick in the freezer or some rubbing alcohol for 2 weeks.