Do you live in an area that has ticks?
By paidreader
@paidreader (5143)
United States
May 30, 2008 9:06pm CST
If you live in an area that has ticks, you will want to know a very simple way to remove them. This tip came from a good
friend of mine that has lots of dogs. Since they live out in the country and the dogs get to roam, they would come home with ticks quite often. According to her vet, "This is the easiest way I've found to remove ticks and it works every time, with no trauma to my patients."
Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball for 15-20 seconds, and the tick will come out on its own. It will be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away.
This technique has worked every time I've used it, and being married to a hunter, that has been frequently. I have to say it's much less traumatic than some other solutions I'd been given. Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. :)
Ticks aren't limited to dogs though, so this works for children, moms and dads, hunters, just about anyone that goes outside in an area with ticks. Feel free to pass this tip along to anyone you know with a tick problem. I'm sure they'll thank you for it.
Have you been given other solutions? What were they? Did they work?
7 people like this
18 responses
@taface412 (3175)
• United States
31 May 08
I live in the country and those things are everywhere....I will have to try your tip next time.
What I with the ticks I find on my dog is burn them with my lighter....until they pop, a little odd I know but at least I know it's one less I have to worry about in my yard.
4 people like this
@taface412 (3175)
• United States
31 May 08
Just to add i do not burn the ticks while they are on my dogs...LOL
2 people like this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
31 May 08
When I was younger I would light a match then blow it out. Before it cooled I would stick the hot match head onto the tick killing it then pull it from my skin. Until I missed the tick and burnt myself that is. Not a bad burn but once was enough for me.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~
3 people like this
@webeishere (36313)
• United States
31 May 08
Any type of action that causes the tick to have a problem breathing works. Here in Minnesota we have deer ticks as well as wood ticks. I just put mineral oil or baby oil on them and they usually pull themselves free making it easier to grab them with tweezers and shuck them out.
HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB !!~
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (157462)
• United States
31 May 08
I will pass this on, I was visiting my daughter and she has a nature preserve right on the edge of her apartment complex. I cautioned her about ticks. She has always been very careful, though. This is just so family and pet friendly, I really like it.
Thanks.
Thanks.@paidreader (5143)
• United States
31 May 08
Very interesting GardenGerty. If this actually works and [color="FF0000"]These words are red[/color], I would like to get a list of those smiley codes if you don't mind sharing. :)
1 person likes this
@emma412 (1156)
• United States
31 May 08
What a good tip. I had never heard of this. I take my dogs every day to a field behind my house and let them run around. Even though they are on a tick treatment they still manage to bring a few home. Since they are on the treatment, they can't bite my dogs so I just have to pull them out of their fur. But they are impossible to kill once you get them off! I have to use a match to kill them off or flush them down the toilet.
2 people like this
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
31 May 08
You haven't heard of it, because it doesn't work, and it's dangerous!
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/tick.asp
1 person likes this
@above31rubies (1863)
• United States
31 May 08
Hey thanks! I will have to remember this for next time.
I was petting my dog the other day and felt something in her fur...it wasn't stuck to her so I just thought it was a little piece of a stick or a large crumb or something. She has long fur and I was busy watching a tv show so it took a little while for me to work it out of her fur. I finally did just as the commercial came on so I went into the next room in the light to see what it ws. It was a (you guessed long ago, I am sure...lol) A TICK!! Now crawling around on my HAND!! EEWW! *shudders*
1 person likes this
@NekoKirara (3)
• United States
31 May 08
Thanks for the tip. We have the mutant ticks here.
(extremely tiny) It's hard to noticed them unless theve been feeding and are fat.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
31 May 08
I don't know who told you this works, but, it's an old wives tale, and can be dangerous. It actually makes the tick release more saliva, and can be more dangerous. Here's the proper way to remove a tick -
1. Use fine-tipped tweezers or notched tick extractor, and protect your fingers with a tissue, paper towel, or latex gloves. Persons should avoid removing ticks with bare hands.
2. Grasp the tick as close to the skin surface as possible and pull upward with steady, even pressure. Do not twist or jerk the tick; this may cause the mouthparts to break off and remain in the skin. (If this happens, remove mouthparts with tweezers. Consult your health care provider if illness occurs.)
1 person likes this
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
31 May 08
Thanks for the tip!
I don't think I've ever had any ticks since I moved up here, which seems kind of odd, since I do have a big brushy field right behind my house, with lots of deer. Every time I go home, we get at least one or two ticks, though. My dad is a logger, so it's really hard to keep ticks out of his car. We also sometimes go to my brother's property, and his dogs are usually covered in ticks, even though he gives them tick baths frequently and they wear flea collars all the time. My son always wants to pet them, though, so we have to check him really well for ticks when we get home.
1 person likes this
@abbey19 (3106)
• Gold Coast, Australia
31 May 08
Living in South East Queensland, Australia, we do have ticks here, and my dogs (I have two), have had ticks from time to time - but only when we have visited our friends who have a large property in the bush, and we have allowed our dogs to run around with their dogs.
When I have found a tick on my dog, I usually pull it out with a twisting motion, but your tip would seem to be less traumatic. I will certainly put it to the test next time one of my dogs gets one of those nasty little ticks.
Thanks Lynn.
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
31 May 08
Hi paidreader! Wow, that is a safe and easy way to get the ticks off. Thanks for sharing this information. My husband usually buy solutions from the pet shop but I do not really know the brand name. All I remember that it smells awful and it is mixed with water and then the mixed solution will be used to bathe the dogs.
Take Care and God Bless! Keep smiling! 
@blackmantra_x (2732)
• Philippines
31 May 08
good day that's a good tip. My dog a pitbull sometimes been infested with ticks. I used asuntal soap and it worked but I'll try your tip thanks
1 person likes this
@thetruth4you (394)
• United States
31 May 08
They are so gross! My dog usually gets about 1 a month and she is an indoor dog. I think she is getting them when I let her out to do her business. A couple of times I have reached down to pick up what I think is a speck of dirt on the floor and ugghhh it is a big blood filled tick. I guess sometimes they fill up and fall off her. I will try your method the next time she has one and let my husband know as well since he has gotten a few himself. Thanks so much for the tip.
@RebeccaLynn (2256)
• United States
31 May 08
We live in the middle of the forest in Tennessee. Ticks literally fall on you out of the trees. I HATE them!
I use Frontline Plus on my boys. (3 male dogs and 1 male cat) It seems to work very well.
I will try this on my children though. Can't exactly Frontline them! :)
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (169547)
• United States
31 May 08
Thanks for the advice. I live in a rural area with lots of woods around. i havent found any ticks on either myself or
my dog yet but there could be some anytime.
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
31 May 08
I have no idea if we have ticks in my area but thanks for the great tip!
1 person likes this
