How to Safely Remove a Tick in Worcester, Mass.

A friend was just detailing to me the other day how her parents used to take a hot lighter and burn the butt of an embedded tick. This procedure made the tick “let go” of her for easier removal. While there are a plethora of things our parents did that were less than safe, and we don’t hold it against them, we can certainly be sure to do better because we know better.

Daily tick checks and safe tick removal is a great way to lower your risks for tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever. But, it is imperative to remove the tick in a safe method that will decrease your chances for infection.
Supplies Needed for Safe Tick Removal:

• Cotton Swab
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Pointy Tip Tweezers

Video Source: Tick Encounter Resource Center

Four Simple Steps for Safe Tick Removal

• Step 1 for Safe Tick Removal: Use your pointy tip tweezers to grasp the tick carefully, as close to your skin as possible. This allows you to get as close their mouth parts as possible.
• Step 2 for Safe Tick Removal: Tip the tick up to a 90° angle.
• Step 3 for Safe Tick Removal: Pull straight up on the tick. Slow and steady wins the race. Be careful not to twist, yank or rip the tick.
• Step 4 for Safe Tick Removal: Clean thoroughly with rubbing alcohol.

If the mouthparts break off in your skin, follow the same procedure for carefully removing what is left in your skin. If parts of the tick are under the skin, leave them. If you break your skin going after those pieces, you could increase your risk for infection.

Never burn, smother or otherwise torture a tick that is embedded in a human or animal. Any trauma to the tick could cause it to regurgitate saliva and possible pathogens into the tick bite.

Tick Safety

At Mosquito Squad of Worcester, our goal is that you never have to endure the annoyance of tick bites, tick-borne disease or tick removal. While we can effectively lower the tick population on your property, we certainly cannot limit your outdoor activities to your own yard, nor would we want to. Be sure to conduct a proper tick check every day, especially if spending time outdoors in untreated areas. Make sure your clothes have been thrown in the dyer on high for 30 minutes to eliminate ticks that may be attached to clothing.

To limit your exposure to ticks at home call today. With our combination tick mist and tick tube treatments, we can lower the population of ticks on your property by up to 90%.