If you garden, hike, or simply dare to exist outside during spring and summer—congrats, you're officially on the menu. Ticks don’t just bite. They latch. They burrow. And they can carry everything from Lyme disease to a lifelong allergy to red meat.
So here's how to remove a tick properly (video included), how to identify the dangerous ones, and what you need to know to avoid turning your next walk in the woods into a medical mystery.
Table of Contents
Why Fast Tick Removal Matters
Ticks are more than just parasitic freeloaders.
- Lyme Disease is the most common and dangerous illness associated with ticks.
- Alpha-Gal Syndrome, caused by the Lone Star tick, can make you allergic to red meat. BURGERS!
- Other risks include Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia. So, ya.
Time is critical. The sooner you remove a tick (within 24 hours), the lower your risk of contracting disease.
Tick Removal Video + Tips
📹 How to Remove a Tick
✔️ Don’t use Vaseline, a match, or rubbing alcohol to “force” the tick out.
✔️ Use fine-tipped tweezers or a tick removal tool made for humans.
✔️ Pull straight out—slow and steady, no twisting.
The tick removal kit I use is similar to this one on Amazon.
How to Remove a Tick
How to safely and properly remove a tick.
Tools
- Tick Removal Tool
- or
- Tick Removal Key
Instructions
- Using a tick removal tool like this one or a set of sharp, pointy tweezers, grasp the tick right near the skin it's attached to. Slowly pull straight up.Try to remove it intact and without squeezing it. Squeezing a tick will release pathogens and bacteria into you through its mouth.
- Didn’t get the head/mouth out? Using tweezers again, try to get the mouth parts out.
- Wash the area with soap and water and apply Polysporin or something similar.
- Place the tick onto a white piece of paper to identify it. Tape it to the paper with clear tape to save the tick. .
- If you think there's a need to have the tick identified, place it into a specimen jar (or tape it to paper) and mail it to the appropriate place in your town or city.
- If you cannot get the tick out, go to a health care provider or urgent care facility to have it removed. *
Notes
*remember my sister's tick was embedded so deeply it had to be cut out by a doctor.
Recommended Products
I'm an Amazon affiliate some I get a few cents when you buy something I've linked to.
Identifying Ticks (With Chart)
Ticks that matter in Canada and the U.S.:
| Tick | Diseases | Size | Markings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer Tick (Blacklegged) | Lyme Disease | Poppyseed (nymph), sesame seed (adult) | Solid black shield |
| Dog Tick | Tularemia, RMSF | Larger than deer tick | Patterned shield |
| Lone Star Tick | Tularemia, Alpha-Gal | Medium, white dot on back (females) |
🔍 Notable Signs
- Engorged deer tick: reddish-brown
- Engorged dog tick: greenish-grey
- All ticks = 8 legs
- Lone Star ticks are now confirmed in Ontario
How to Prevent Tick Bites
- 👖 Wear long pants & tuck them into socks
- 🧴 Use repellent with 30% DEET (Off Deep Woods) or Repel (Picardin). For a natural repellant use Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus
- 🚫 Avoid tall grasses and brush
- 🕵️ Check your skin immediately after being outdoors
- 🚿 Check again in the shower
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
⚠️ Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus is NOT an essential oil. No essential oils tested have proven to be effective.
Tick Bite FAQ
Q: Do tick bites hurt?
Nope. That’s the problem.
Q: How long can ticks live without feeding?
Up to 2 years. So yes—they're motivated.
Q: Will you always get a rash?
No, but many Lyme cases do feature a “bullseye” rash.
Tick Removal Myths (Don’t Do These)
- ❌ Petroleum jelly
- ❌ Rubbing alcohol
- ❌ Hot match
All ineffective. All potentially dangerous. All still widely believed.
How I Deal With Tick Bites
- Remove the tick with my tick tool
- Drop it in a plastic container → freezer
- Clean the bite site with isopropyl alcohol
- Monitor the area daily for one month
- Watch for signs: rash, fever, fatigue
🧊 Freezing the tick allows you to get it tested later, if symptoms appear.
Personal Tick Encounters (The Bonus Content)
That Time My Sister Had a Tick Surgically Removed
She found it mid-shower. Couldn’t see clearly. Just a tangle of legs sticking out of her. Full-body horror. Emergency room. Scalpels. A real-life I Love Lucy episode.
My First Tick
Back of the neck. Mid-weeding. A fellow gardener saw it before I did. We had nothing to remove it with. No straw, (you can cut a V into the end of a plastic straw and use it to remove ticks) no tweezers. Just a lot of yelling and a caravan trip to my house. Tick tool acquired. Tick removed. Tick identified: Dog tick.
I’ve found ticks on myself every year since. I now treat the garden like a war zone—and I'm the medic.
Final Words (and an Invite)
I didn’t write this post because I love ticks. I wrote it because I hate them—and I want you to be prepared.
If you’ve been “ticked” this year (or any other), share your story in the comments. It’s comforting in a strange way to know we’re all out here together, plucking parasitic nightmares off our necks.
🪱 This concludes Tick Talk.
Kristin S.
I have never had a tick bite me as far as I know. I have seen them on me, like I literally saw one land on my hand when I was weeding, but I panic flick them off or smush them on a tree or a rock if I can. Thanks for reminding me to be vigilant.
🌵Vegas Pan🌵
I endorse this information- for what that’s worth.
I’ve never been made aware of a fully embedded tick - that’s Stephen King territory right there.
I don’t think* we have ticks here in Las Vegas as it’s extraordinarily dry but, as shocking as it may be, I’ve been wrong about a few things.
I do visit our local mountains with real forests and streams with moss on logs and rocks and tall grasses which is likely sporting these horrid creatures.
But as our healthcare system is a joke now it makes me wander off on a thinking spree- I have no evidence for intelligence in our government down here as science, medical research, education and the FAA being disappeared and brain worms are the new fad. Feel free to hate me if you agree that finding a cure for cancer and learning to read burns your ass and aviation safety is an unnecessary luxury. Just wait until the rest of the world refuses to fly in and out of our airports due to the lack of air traffic controllers and aircraft maintenance mechanics. The stress added by recent aviation “unstaffing” is now causing the ones left in lonely understaffed towers to resign. As I grew up in an aviation family, I keep track of these silly issues. Pilots are already raising the alarm (going unreported) and my recent international flight made me painfully aware that a plane usually crewed by 12 to 14 on a 777-3er with every seat filled and holds 396 passengers was crewed by 7 humans with an additional 3 in the cockpit. 7 people on a 16 hour flight to service all of us without any pistols, whips and a chair. It was an American Airlines flight- I always ask to meet the captain when boarding (yes, it’s not typical but also I stop on the way off these flights to talk to the cockpit crew.) I do this because these are the most important people in my life for many hours. As important as a surgeon doing a heart bypass. As important as anyone can get. I tell them how much I appreciate them and understand the importance of the job they’re entrusted with. I’ve never had a single negative reaction and these people turn out to be very appreciative and kind. They will also answer questions. If you have YouTube without the commercials (very much worth it) watch a guy who has two or more aviation channels - Mentour Now! And Mentour Pilot to get insider type aviation insight and see exactly how much is being accomplished by these people. It’s a brain spectrum weirdo wet dream if you are laser focused on specific tech things.
Why would I bring this up when Karen is warning us about Lyme disease and ticks? Chain of thought is just like this for me- no other explanation. My brain is autistic and I was shocked to be told recently by an idiot running our health system in the USA that I’ve been excluded from first, paying taxes. The nerve of being told I was tax payer exempt after a lifetime of paying taxes! This means I’m owed a shit-ton (industry term of autistic working people include “shit-ton, metric shit-ton, fuckton and other words) of taxes to be sent to my bank account- obviously I’m due those taxes. I will never have a bank account or write a poem or play baseball plus likely need assistance to use a toilet as well. All of this was news to me except for the baseball thing. I can’t golf either and it’s super sad.
The tick that gave me Lyme disease was in the woods in Maryland back in 1978. Nobody knew shit about Lyme then and mine was untreated. I removed the tick using tweezers and successfully unscrewed it with its ugly face attached and she was engorged with my special blood. It’s special to me as it keeps circulating oxygen and stuff throughout my old self but likely not all that special to anyone else. I worked in wooded areas all over North America as my job demanded at that time and yet I still remember this particular tick and although I can’t prove she was the one who left Lyme disease behind inside me, I’m blaming her. It was a typical tick attached to my lower leg just above my ankle and saw it after coming home to an ancient farmhouse and taking off my shoes. Yuck… Ticks do not cause any pain (as Karen rightfully pointed out) but once I saw it and removed it I naturally believed that I likely had more of these things elsewhere on me. I did. They are very sneaky.
What happens to undiagnosed people with Lyme? Hard to say but I’ve had many Lyme disease symptoms. I have been plagued with physical problems including reoccurring meningitis and fatigue syndrome that has been associated with many guesses over the years by doctors. Neurological problems besides the autism. Mainly horrible migraine headaches that last for two to three days and put me down for a week due to the side effects. I’ve been told I’m “imagining” pain throughout my body. It’s psychosomatic pain! Yay! Just shut up and walk it off. The medical community would not even listen to me once the one woman doctor wrote in a report that she believed I was imagining I was sick. That’s the big red flag from hell. The following specialists see that and it’s like having the scarlet letter tattooed on your forehead. Then they see the autism diagnosis I finally got in my 30’s while paying taxes as a tv writer. The poetry isn’t great, I admit it. I’m not a poet. If I’m forced to, I can write a haiku.
So my advice is to take Karen’s list of helpful stuff seriously. She doesn’t make anyone use feta, beets or rhubarb as tick repellent but I bet all three will work. Throw in extra garlic and it’s gotta work.
You do not want to get Lyme disease or even see a tick because they are disgusting. They love the scalp! Always shave your head after taking a walk in the woods. Check your pets too. Ewwww. But do it.
Next time I write a comment I’ll stray off into weird places as well. It’s what I do. Pay taxes and stray.
Photo I took on the north side of Tasmania looking over the Bass Strait towards Melbourne- that’s my autistic son with the Nikon. He pays taxes too. Sucks at baseball but brilliant writer and photographer. I highly recommend going to Tasmania if you can. It’s a magical place. I’m currently writing a fantasy novel using Tasmania as inspiration. If Australia didn’t hate old people (they don’t let us immigrate) I’d live there. My other son is living there and he definitely is in the right place on this planet.
Mary
Very good and timely reminder. My own tick story is that I was used to finding them attached throughout my life, so not really worried about it. Found one 9 years ago this month; removed and discarded it without second thought and kept an eye on the spot it'd been attached to for awhile to make sure I didn't get a rash. (note - it was definitely on me less than 8 hours). Six weeks later - strange things started happening with dizziness, forgetfulness, fatigue ... my doctor said Lyme wasn't in our area, so we did a "wait and see" approach. Worst idea ever. Chronic Neurological Lyme and nervous system problems ever since. Took four years of treatment to get it mostly under control and I had to drive 8 hours round trip to find an educated doctor. All of that to say - I never had a rash nor fever; my symptoms were somewhat spaced out and from now on I tell everyone who finds a tick attached to get it tested and get antibiotics regardless of a rash. At one point, I drove myself to 3 different urgent care centers to get 10 days of antibiotics from each doctor. In the US, it's ridiculously hard to get a doctor to believe you - you gotta take care of yourself.
DaveR
A friend and his dog came into my shop for a visit and after a while I looked down on the floor as saw what looked like a plump, soaked raisin. It was an engorged tick. It must have fallen off his dog. Luckily, she was on tick prevention and it must have felt the effects and just dropped off. Not gonna lie, I was pretty grossed out.
Karen
They are SO disgusting. BARF. Honestly. It's just ... barf. That is all. ~ karen!
Librarian Nancy
I have a new foster dog who just tested positive for Lyme disease which is carried by ticks. He lived in a more rural area before he came to the rescue program. Ticks are horrible. I am itching just thinking about them.
Karen
I feel like I need to mention every book I'm reading when you comment. 😆 I'll refrain. Even my sister's dog who has always had tick medication tested positive for Lyme disease so it seems like it can happen under almost any circumstance. :/ ~ karen!
Librarian Nancy
I would love to hear what you are reading and what you will be reading over the summer!
ann
Alas, the ticks I find on me, are so tiny, even with a magnifying glass, it is hard to tell anything about them. I am at least a bit lucky, as I can feel them bite and recognize that sensation and remove them quickly.
But I am very unlucky, that even a tick that has just barely attached itself, will leave a huge welt on me that itches for up to an entire month. And older tick bites will start itching again when the new one itches. So by summer's end I can have 10 spots itching on me at once, when only one single spot is a current bite.
Karen
That doesn't seem like a good situation. Weird that they reappear! ~ karen
Roz
We own 3 dogs all males and this year is the worst we've seen for ticks. It seems like each time they venture outdoors, we're removing ticks from all three. They receive their shots annually and in the past, if we did find a tick, it was dead before we had time to remove it. Not this year! I'd like to know what changed.
Now for the human experience. One night my teenage daughter called out for help from the bathroom. There was a tick embedded under her armpit, of all places. Not even the tweezer could remove that monster. A trip to the doctor and some treatment and she was fine. I on the otherhand was paranoid for the next 3 years. That was my first encounter with a tick on a human.
Last year, I went to a home to purchase some herbs. I came home and was about to enter the shower when I noticed a black insect on my chest area, legs sticking out. Yes, I freaked the hell out. Hubby rushed to the rescue and all was ok. I sanitized that area for about a month after. Ticks are just so gross!!
Karen
They really are. The worst part is the ones that are dangerous are also the ones that are the tiniest and hardest to see. ~ karen!
KimW
Down in the USA here; grew up in eastern/Rural Connecticut, and now my parents and brother all live in the Cape Cod area and I live in NYC.
My mother and brother both struggle with long-term effects of Lyme Disease, and you do NOT want to mess around with that. They've been dealing with this for years. It's kind of like Long Covid in the sense that they can get along okay, but they each have these weird symptoms (neuropathy, etc.) that don't seem like they SHOULD be Lyme, but....probably were maybe? All other causes have been ruled out so "hell, maybe it's the Lyme, but we don't know why" is the diagnosis.
Yeah, you don't want to mess around with this. I actually double-up with two repellants - the DEET on my skin, and a second repellant on my clothes. There's a fabric/clothing treatment with something called permethrin that you can pre-treat your clothes with and it lasts for 6 washes. (And yes, the fact that I'm in NYC doesn't mean I'm safe from ticks - parks are a thing.)
Karen
At home I'm fine, but the minute I go into a conservation area or my community garden, the amount of ticks that are in those places? Well it's obscene. ~ karen!
Randy P
Timely advice - thanks
Allison
What timing. I literally just pulled a dog tick off my head this morning. I hadn't had one attach in years. Guess it was time. Gag.
Karen
BARF. Uch. Sorry about your head. ~ karen!
Dave
Hi there.
Here, Dave
My parents where always sending me off to Camps in the summer time and One Way To Get A Tick To Let Go And Get Them Off You and or your pet, Smother the entire spot the Tick is on with some kind of cooking oil, olive oil. Apparently the Tick Cannot Breather properly when it and your skin is covered with oil so it will dislodge itself. DO NOT USE MOTOR OIL. I Guess You Could Try, but any little spot the Tick had dug into is a gateway into you body and motor oil is something you Dont want to experiment with on open wounds.
This Tick Tesolve is what I have been told a couple of times AT THE WILDERNESS SURVIVAL CAMPS growing up and been fortunate enough I have never had to test that. Perhaps you want to research it a bit BUT, if you think about it, It Does Make sense. God FORBID we use common sence and logic in this society these days but....... just puttin it out there.
That's my little bit on Tick critters.
Hopefully your never in a situation to have to test this resolve
Cheers
Dave 😀
Debbie Rivera-Collins
I remove ticks with hydrogen peroxide. I get a dropper and squeeze it at the point the tick is embedded so it fizzes in the face of danger. It works its way out pretty quickly! Just keep adding peroxide until it comes out. Fast and simple. I hated removing ticks so I wondered if the fizz of peroxide would force it out...wala!
billy sharpstick
Yes, we have ticks in Florida, too. Oddly enough, the TickEase is only $12 at the US Amazon site.
One way to prevent ticks are "tick tubes". You can buy them, or make your own, toilet paper tubes stuffed with cotton balls sprayed with pyrethrin. Mice take the cotton back to their nests and poison the tick larvae.
MSM is a tasteless form of powdered sulfur. I sprinkle it in my coffee every morning. Ticks don't like the taste of it. I pick them off of me all the time, but they seldom attach, and when they do, they aren't fastened as tightly.
Karen
Interesting! I'd like to take something in my coffee that makes them florescent so I can SEE them when they're on me. ~ karen!
Ane
Here's one for the books. In the early 90s I lived in a rural area just out of a small city. Backed up to about 12 acres of pasture and a horse farm across the street. One great spring morning I opened up the back door and noticed my stone steps were moving. Not only that, but they were moving when I moved to get a better look at them...strange...When I squatted down, *back when I could squat* I saw that it wasn't the steps but thousands of tiny ticks trying to get me...ack!! I got all the Deet sprays I could find, sprayed them ALL, went around from the front door and swept piles of dead ticks into a dust pan and put them in the burn barrel to roast. The popping was rather gross...lol Never had another attempted breach, but I made sure the north side fern beds were cleaned out and heavy duty killer chemicals were applied around my fence lines. I have lived most of my life in Oklahoma and never, ever saw or heard of ticks trying to get in a house en masse...
Karen
That is completely terrifying. ~ karen!
Jenny W
Deer Ticks are seriously hard to spot!!!
3 summers ago my dog Henry, who was protected from fleas ticks AND deer ticks, brought home a hitchhiker after a walk in our park with my Daughter. This pup liked to crawl under the covers of my bed every chance he got, and that night was no different and I told him to get out and he went to his bed.
Having a bath the night after our walk, (24 hours later) I felt a hard "little something" just outside of my bellybutton. I looked, thought it was a thorn (but there was zero pain), hard as a rock, black and I could not scrap it away. I got out of the tub I asked my husband to look at it with a magnifying glass to see if there were legs - There were! This little hard tick was the size of the tip of a pencil lead, if it had crawled into my belly button I never would have known it was there! THAT is why people don't know they've had a deer tick bite until the bullseye rash shows up! I went to the ER to have it removed and the nurse checking me out had no idea deer ticks were that tiny because pictures of them are always magnified so much. The ER doc removed it and gave me a prophylactic antibiotic to prevent lime disease since I caught it within 30 hours, and everything turned out ok.
Deer Ticks get into the most inconspicuous places - under a fingernail, beside a toenail, the shell of your ear they do not always attach to your legs (as you found out), and a treated pet can still bring them home to you.