Ticks are a potentially dangerous pest to you and your pet. It’s a good idea to do a routine “tick check” any time you take your pet into places where ticks might live. When you discover a tick has embedded it's self on your dog or cat, follow these easy steps to completely remove it. Wear gloves anytime you must remove a tick to prevent exposure to potentially dangerous disease contaminated body fluids. Take care not to crush the tick or get any of its body fluid on you or your pet’s skin.

5 Steps to Removing Ticks

1. Using tweezers, gently grasp the tick by the head or mouth parts. The mouth parts will be on the skin, at the attachment point. Don't try pinching or poking the engorged body mass.

2. With steady, firm pressure pull the tick away from the skin. Pull straight out and don't twist as you pull. Pulling smoothly will help ensure that the entire head comes out of the host’s skin.

3. After removing the tick, drop it in a jar of alcohol to kill it. Flushing a tick down the toilet will not kill it. You may also want to take the tick (in the jar) to your veterinarian for identification if you or your pet show any signs of tick borne diseases, such as Lyme disease.

4. Once the tick is removed, there may be a slight irritation or redness at the attachment point. Usually a topical application of hydrocortisone cream will alleviate any itching.

5. Wash you hands thoroughly after removing a tick with hot, soapy water.

How Not To Remove A Tick

There are several folk remedies for removing ticks that do not work. At best they will just not remove the tick. At worst, they will actually cause the tick to bite deeper as it tries to stay attached to its host. That causes the release of more potentially disease causing saliva.

These methods include applying alcohol or nail polish to the tick, smothering it in petroleum jelly or touching a lit match or cigarette to its head. Theoretically, these methods are suppose to make the tick back out, but ticks do not back out of their hosts. They feed until they are done and then they drop off.