How To Use Household Items to Remove a Tick

Ticks are arachnids that attach to the skin of people or animals and bite and suck blood. They can carry and transmit Lyme disease and must be carefully removed when found on a human or animal. Ticks are commonly found in tall grass or any place where tick carriers such as rodents can be found. Wear long clothing when entering these areas, and remove ticks from clothes or skin immediately.

Things You'll Need

• Tweezers
• Tissue
• Plastic bag
• Soap
• Antibiotic ointment

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Instructions

• 1

  Grasp the tick with a pair of sharp, fine-tipped tweezers or your fingers covered in a piece of tissue. Place them as close to the skin as possible in order to remove the entire head of the tick now burrowed into your skin.

• 2

  Pull the tick out of your skin slowly and gently, without squeezing the body.

• 3

  Place the tick in a plastic bag and store it in your freezer until you are sure you have not contracted anything as a result of the bite.

• 4

  Wash your hands and the tick bite carefully with warm, soapy water and apply an antibiotic ointment to the bite.

• 5

  Contact your doctor if you experience drainage, pus, pain, redness, swelling or red streaks around the bite, or fever, chills or swollen lymph nodes as these may be signs of infection or illness.