How to Remove a Tick With a Cotton Ball

Need to remove a tick? The Centers for Disease Control recommends grasping it with tweezers and pulling from the skin in a straight-back motion. Others have suggested that putting liquid soap on a cotton ball and applying it to the tick will cause it to release its grasp on the skin. However, the latter method may actually cause the tick to release more saliva into the skin, increasing the likelihood of infection, and does not always encourage the tick to release its hold. That's not to say the cotton ball has no place in removing a tick.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton ball
• Rubbing alcohol
• Tweezers
• Tissue
• Soap
• Water
• Small jar (optional)

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Instructions

• 1

  Soak a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol.

• 2

  Clean the skin around the location where the tick is attached.

• 3

  Grasp the tick with tweezers, pinching the parasite as close to the skin as possible. Pull the tick straight up and out. If you do not have tweezers, you can use your fingertips protected by a cotton ball or tissue.

• 4

  Flush the tick down the toilet. You can also kill the tick by placing it in a small jar of alcohol. This will preserve the parasite if you have concerns about infection and want to show it to your health-care provider.

• 5

  Clean the area of skin from which the tick was removed using a clean cotton ball and rubbing alcohol.

• 6

  Wash your hands with soap and water.

• 7

  Disinfect the tweezers with rubbing alcohol.