How to Remove Ticks From Cotton With Soap

Ticks, parasites common to grassy areas of North America, attach themselves directly to skin or clothing and can carry Lyme disease; they should be removed immediately. Thoroughly check your body and clothing for ticks after hiking, biking, gardening or camping. If ticks are found attached to clothing, they can be removed in various ways. The quickest and most effective way to remove a tick is with tweezers. Ticks can also be removed from cotton clothing with liquid soap, although it is not recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton ball
• Liquid Soap

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Instructions

Tick Removal

• 1

  Cover a cotton ball with liquid soap, preferably a soap with some bleach content such as a laundry detergent.

• 2

  Place the soap-soaked cotton ball over the tick, and hold the cotton ball on the tick for 20 to 30 seconds. The chemicals in the soap will eventually draw the tick out of the cotton.

• 3

  Remove the tick with tweezers or a tissue once the tick has released itself from the clothing.

• 4

  Dispose of the tick in the garbage or flush it down the toilet to ensure it will not latch itself onto your body or clothing again.