Quote:
Originally Posted by morphius
I may add that if you get a lone star tick, very popular in MO, that the best way I have found to remove them is to flip them on their back and pull out backwards. For whatever reason they are more likely to break or just never come out if you pull them straight out or straight back. But flipping them works like a charm.
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Interesting. I had always called what we have around here deer ticks but your comment about lone star ticks got me wondering if that’s what they are. According to this chart:
http://www.tickinfo.com/TICKIDPAGE.htm
What we have mostly are American dog ticks.
The best method I’ve found for removal is similar to what you and the video are talking about, pair of tweezers as close to where the ticks connected to the skin as possible, but instead of a slow steady pull backwards I pull until the skin starts to bulge out and hold it. Pretty soon the tick will let go on its own.
When you grab a tick the first thing it does is tighten its grip, that’s why if you yank on it it’ll leave parts behind.
It’s kind of like if your holding onto a bar, if you’re just lying there you can hold onto it forever but if someone comes along and starts pulling on your legs you’re only going to be able to hold on for so long. So if you get a good grip on the tick and pull until there’s pressure on it to hold on it’ll eventually fatigue and let go. At least that’s my theory and I’ve had lots of success with it.