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The Ultimate Tick Removal Method

Super_Nate

By Super_Nate
in General geocaching topics

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Super_Nate

+Super_Nate

Posted
Posted

Everyone has their experience with ticks, for some they are an everyday sighting....for others they are one in a million....but chances are most if not all the cachers that read this have run into a tick at some point in their Geo-career

 

This holds true especially in the summer months, but regardless what season in the year you find these caching curses, here is a creative way to kill it in a way that you are satisfied of it's fate.....that no decapitation will spring back to life and find another victim to bite onto.

 

I discovered this over the summer, and thought I would share with the rest of you all.

 

If you find a big juicy tick crawling on your stomach, take it off and run for all your worth to your front porch...grabbing a lighter along the way.

 

Release the tick onto the porch and watch it walk around freely for a few seconds

 

Once you feel that the tick has spoke its last words, then light the lighter onto the tick and watch its results.

 

If you do it just right....the tick will quickly cease in his walking around, it will rapidly increase in size, and a full 5-10 seconds into the firing squad....the tick will POP, and EXPLODE and lie helpless on the cement. You can squash it at that time and be surprised on how the tick feels like paper that has just undergone a burning. With that treatment, chances are it is dead and the life history of the tick that once ate Geocachers is officially over.

 

I started doing this over the summer when my dad tryed it for the heck of it. Everyone watching jumped when the explosion took place and I have been doing it ever since.

 

The only time that I don't advocate treating the tick in such a warm way is when you are driving down the road and you feel the beast crawling on your stomach. It is in this situation that you use one hand to grab the tick, hold it firmly in your fingers, and throw it out the window. The wind currents behind your car will slam the tick onto the pavement in which the tick is stunned for a moment....then its fate is sealed when the 18-wheeler carrying tons of swine runs over it, smashing its tick guts all over the road.

 

The bottom line that I leave to all of you when killing ticks is....THINK CREATIVELY!

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team moxiepup

+team moxiepup

Posted
Posted

I don't believe in cruelty to any animal, even nasty, disgusting disease ridden ticks. :lol:

As an intended meal of such creatures, I do hold it well within my rights to kill them, but I try to do it as quickly and humanely as possible, using nailclippers, or a nice fast squish with a rock.

 

As far as throwing the ticks out the window of a moving vehicle...

It is very unlikely that this will do more than stun the tick. Heck... it may even yell "wheeeeee!" during the flight! There is also the possibility that you may be spreading ticks from an area in which they are prevalent, to an area that, until you did a tick toss, had none. You might actually be helping to spread the little buggers around! :lol:

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Kryten

+Kryten

Posted
Posted

Incorrect removal of a tick can cause it to vomit the contents of it's stomach into your blood stream as it dies, possibly infecting you with Lymes disease, and you really really don't want Lymes disease. This can happen if you pull the tick off with your fingers, use tweezers, apply vaseline, or try to burn it off. You need to use a tool that is designed for the job, one which looks like a tiny claw hammer, and you can buy them from vetinarians and pet stores.

 

Ticks vomit when they are being attacked, or very occasionally at the end of a feed, so if you find you have a tick, buy a removal tool or see a doctor. It may even be safer to let the tick feed (24 - 48 hours) after which it will drop off. A tick for a day is a lot better then Lymes disease.

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Super_Nate

+Super_Nate

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Incorrect removal of a tick can cause it to vomit the contents of it's stomach into your blood stream as it dies, possibly infecting you with Lymes disease, and you really really don't want Lymes disease. This can happen if you pull the tick off with your fingers, use tweezers, apply vaseline, or try to burn it off. You need to use a tool that is designed for the job, one which looks like a tiny claw hammer, and you can buy them from vetinarians and pet stores.

 

Ticks vomit when they are being attacked, or very occasionally at the end of a feed, so if you find you have a tick, buy a removal tool or see a doctor. It may even be safer to let the tick feed (24 - 48 hours) after which it will drop off. A tick for a day is a lot better then Lymes disease.

 

Good point.....I wrote this granted the tick was not clamped onto your skin. I rarely get them to bite into me because I can detect them walking on me before the feast begins. If the tick is intact, you should remove them via the method suggested by the quoted passage before the fun begins.

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Super_Nate

+Super_Nate

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Posted (edited)

I don't believe in cruelty to any animal, even nasty, disgusting disease ridden ticks. :lol:

As an intended meal of such creatures, I do hold it well within my rights to kill them, but I try to do it as quickly and humanely as possible, using nailclippers, or a nice fast squish with a rock.

 

I have taken that into consideration, but due to the size of ticks....the moment the lighter hits their bodies they are dead.

 

Edit to include that their is no suffering.

Edited by Super_Nate
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Robespierre

+Robespierre

Posted
Posted

I don't believe in cruelty to any animal, even nasty, disgusting disease ridden ticks. :lol:

As an intended meal of such creatures, I do hold it well within my rights to kill them, but I try to do it as quickly and humanely as possible, using nailclippers, or a nice fast squish with a rock.

 

As far as throwing the ticks out the window of a moving vehicle...

It is very unlikely that this will do more than stun the tick. Heck... it may even yell "wheeeeee!" during the flight! There is also the possibility that you may be spreading ticks from an area in which they are prevalent, to an area that, until you did a tick toss, had none. You might actually be helping to spread the little buggers around! :lol:

In this case, I can think of one Steak 'N' Shake parking lot that is hazardous to travelers.

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Belfrypotters

+Belfrypotters

Posted
Posted

You might want to read my experience with ticks here...Not so bright.

 

El Diablo

 

When I read El Diablo's story I laughed so much the tears were flowing!

 

This summer after spending the day in the bush my husband and I went to a restaurant for supper. While waiting for our meal my husband felt that tell-tale tickle on his neck, so he reached back and picked off the tick that was wandering around there. He put it on the table and squashed it with his finger. Of course you can't squash a tick with your finger, but he's stubborn, so he kept trying. Every time he lifted his finger the tick scuttled ever closer to the edge of the table. Finally it dropped off, onto his lap. He's wearing shorts, so "Uh oh!". He swung sideways so his legs and hips were outside our booth, and started rooting around under the leg of his shorts for the tick. At this point the waitress arrived and just stood there staring wordlessly at this crazy man with his hand up his shorts. I said "Don't ask", and she didn't; she just turned and walked away. Eventually he found the tick, and this time he flicked it across the room rather than trying to dispatch it. I'm not sure Miss Manners has much to say about proper etiquette with ticks in restaurants, but I'm pretty sure we broke some rules that day.

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Super_Nate

+Super_Nate

Posted
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Posted

While waiting for our meal my husband felt that tell-tale tickle on his neck

 

That tickle is so familiar that just the hint of it I can guarantee that it is a tick before I even see it. See, I get a TON of ticks with every summer caching season and....ohhhh, here comes that tick tickle.

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Kryten

+Kryten

Posted
Posted

Simple tick removal....

 

Coat tick with a few drops of liquid dish detergent and cover with cotton ball. As tick backs out of skin because of detergent burn it become entangled in cotton ball and you have one live but captive tick....

 

Dale

And a case of Lymes disease if it puked, use a tool.

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sparqui66

+sparqui66

Posted
Posted (edited)

The stories are way too funny! Some of us just love to be cruel to those disgusting creatures. I know all life on the planet serves some purpose, but I fail to find a reason for the ticks existence.

 

Anyway, the debate about tick vomit and removal got me thinking...I looked up the following sites to re-acquaint myself with tick removal procedures:

CDC's info, for what it's worth

 

Snopes, read down

 

Today is the first time I had ever heard of tick vomit, but I now consider myself WARNED!

Edited by sparqui66
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Hula Bum

+Hula Bum

Posted
Posted

Just a note-a tick at least the kind we have in the US must be attached for at LEAST 24 hours in order to transmit Lyme Disease, so PLEASE PLEASE don't leave it on so it will fall off on its own! A tick removal tool is absolutely the best way to go, but if you are camping and forgot to pack one don't wait til you get home to get him off!

 

And thank you for the topic that is once again making my skin crawl.

 

El Diablo your story had me laughing so hard I was crying.

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Super_Nate

+Super_Nate

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Nate, you forgot the best part when they make that high whistle and then POP! They will pop so hard sometimes they blow away. I use one of those grill lighters that throw out a 3-4 inch flame. :D

 

YES!!!!!!! :D Now you are THINKIN'!!!!! WA-HOOOOO! I think we should compile a bunch of ticks and make a loud whistle firecracker for July 4th! :D I would say New Years but ticks aren't as populous then as they are in the summer.

 

All this tick prevention was not the original point of this topic.....the point was people's creative way of killing ticks. I don't know about these people who are humane to ticks....I HATE THEM!

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wimseyguy

+wimseyguy

Posted
Posted

You might want to read my experience with ticks here...Not so bright.

 

El Diablo

Silly forkboy-the smoke is supposed to come out of the front of your head, not the rear! :D

 

I carry one of the removal tools that maingray mentioned too. But thanks to regular and thorough applications of 99%DEET I have only had to use it once or twice since I got it. Good thing there are no lasting side effects to using that much DEET. :D

I carry one of the removal tools that maingray mentioned too. But thanks to regular and thorough applications of 99%DEET I have only had to use it once or twice since I got it. Good thing there are no lasting side effects to using that much DEET. :D

I carry one of the removal tools that maingray mentioned too. But thanks to regular and thorough applications of 99%DEET I have only had to use it once or twice since I got it. Good thing there are no lasting side effects to using that much DEET. B)

I carry one of the removal tools that maingray mentioned too. But thanks to regular and thorough applications of 99%DEET I have only had to use it once or twice since I got it. Good thing there are no lasting side effects to using that much DEET. :D

 

well there is that slight stuttering problem..... :D

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Pinster56

Pinster56

Posted
Posted

Still the best thing I have found, and use all the time.

 

http://www.tickedoff.com/

 

I doubt this gadget would work on the nymph deer ticks. One day I thought I had an itchy mosquito bite with a TINY black dot in the center. It was a deer tick. It is as small as the period at the end of this sentence. Could only tell it was a tick with a magnifying lens. Went for a swim in the ocean and it fell off.

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Jhwk

+Jhwk

Posted
Posted

Still the best thing I have found, and use all the time.

 

http://www.tickedoff.com/

 

I doubt this gadget would work on the nymph deer ticks. One day I thought I had an itchy mosquito bite with a TINY black dot in the center. It was a deer tick. It is as small as the period at the end of this sentence. Could only tell it was a tick with a magnifying lens. Went for a swim in the ocean and it fell off.

round here we call'em seed ticks - I hate them worse than a normal tick. Harder to see and feel until they latch on and chew for a while.

 

BTW - Chloroxylenol is commonly used in antibacterial soaps such as Dettol; in agar patch studies, it has been found to kill a wide variety of microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and the superbug MRSA, within 15 seconds. Its antibacterial action is due to disruption of cell membrane potentials, blocking production of adenosine triphosphate (effectively starving the cells). [nice :D ] Chloroxylenol is not significantly toxic to humans and other mammals but is toxic to fish. It is a mild skin irritant and may trigger allergic reactions in some individuals.

 

I prefer impaling them on a pin and then slowly roasting with a hot match. struggle, then pop. And infinitely more satisfying than flushing down the toilet. :D

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Maingray

+Maingray

Posted
Posted (edited)

Still the best thing I have found, and use all the time.

 

http://www.tickedoff.com/

 

I doubt this gadget would work on the nymph deer ticks. One day I thought I had an itchy mosquito bite with a TINY black dot in the center. It was a deer tick. It is as small as the period at the end of this sentence. Could only tell it was a tick with a magnifying lens. Went for a swim in the ocean and it fell off.

 

Actually, it gets most of them. We've used a tool like this to remove tens of tick nymphs from my son on a couple of occasions. The notch on this tool is very small at the end. Some nymphs *are* too small, or inside to small a space to get the cup around.... so then you just use forceps (tweezers).

 

Only prob with that tool is that it is expensive for single orders... other places eg vet supplies sell the same things for a lot cheaper. I think even usageocoins sells them. I remember our local geocaching org got together and did a bulk order a while ago.

Edited by Maingray
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Team Snoopy

+Team Snoopy

Posted
Posted

I just heard that if you have a tick on you sprinkle garlic on it and it'll take off...which you can then torch it!! This same person also said if you eat alot of garlic, the ticks won't stick to you.

 

I too love burning them! There is great satisifaction to really killing one after you have picked it off your body, or your childs!

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Super_Nate

+Super_Nate

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Question about ticks: If you had slippery skin from having put on a bunch of very oily suntan lotion or something like that, would that make you tick-proof?

 

No, it doesn't matter what you wear on your body. You can wear 15 layers of clothes to try to make the ticks life harder to get to your skin.....and they will always find a way. When you have suntan lotion on, very little clothing is on your body so they just climb on up. I have found that COATING yourself with OFF, and then hiking in the thickest of woods won't keep them down much either.

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