i have always learned to slide a sharp thin blade ( scalpel, small SAK blade, etc. ) under the ticks butt and move the blade to the head side and stop before you reach the mouth and than raising it ( i never had to do that, though... ). But almost ever place i see/read people cover ticks with someting so they will release there heads, but since covering a tick will starf the tick from oxigion, the tick will inject nasty stuff in to you wenn they are making a run for it. atleast that what i have learned. SO why is everyone still covering ticks with stuff ? or did i just learned it the wrong way ?

There are several dedicated tick removal tools on the outdoor market. When a tick attaches itself to a host, a very elaborate anchoring proboscis is buried in tissue.The tick then engorges on blood before dropping off to lay eggs and die. Ticks carry several diseases, most well known in the U.S. being lymne disease. Animals can become so infested they develop 'tick fever' or anemia so severe death may follow. Permanent mutilation of ears can be oserved in many free range horses. The best way to remove ticks is slow removal including the proboscis. This will result in a small wound with the removal of anchored flesh. This actually helps in letting blood flow and a followup of clean water or antiseptic to irrigate and cleanse the wound. Oils and other suffocates are a waste of time.

I've removed ticks with heat and tweezers, but not by suffocation.

Strike a match and then blow it out. While the match head is still hot, hold it near the tick. Be carefull not to burn yourself. the tick should release it's grip or die. it generally releases its grip, before I remove it easily with tweezers.

I then proceed to squash it.

Using a dedicated tool would be preferable to the blade method. When you use the blade, you could break the tick and leave some parts in the tissue (according to my sources that´s still better than leaving it attached).
Many people use oil to suffocate the tick. That softens the skin and makes it easier to remove the tick. The disadvantage is that you increase the risk of an infection as you stated. Therefore this method is obsolete.
New first aid information doesn´t spread too fast so it´s no surprise that a lot of obsolete information is still in use.

Hi PC2K,

here in Germany the newest method to remove a tick is to use tick removal tools as Chris mentioned or tweezers. You should take hold of their head with those tools, turn them a little bit around (direction doesn't matter) to release their bite and pull them out slowly. If you use oil, glue or heat the tick will eject it's intestine contents directly into your blood. Then you maybe get meningitis or lyme disease. Some weeks ago here in German tv there was a reportage about a new way to handle the problem in the U.S.: They trap the animals infested by ticks and vaccinate them, so the ticks can't lay their eggs nor brood them. It is very successful!

Many greetings,

Sir Vivor

Another strong recommendation for using a device designed and marketed for the purpose of removing ticks. There is a huge body of inaccurate "information" on the subject of tick removal. It is virtually all nonesense. The only way to go is to get a modern tick removal tool and use it.

There is one so small I carry it in my wallet at all times. It also fits on a key ring and adds virtaully no bulk or weight. It is called "Pro Tick Remedy" and is available at www.rei.com.

I learned the hard way that using tweesers squeezes the tick and injects the infectious fluids into your body. This can result in a bad infection requiring medical treatment. All the other remedies involving smothering or irritating the tick have been ineffective in my experience. Use the modern methods only and don't ever use tweesers.

And by the way, the time to get a tick tool is before you get a tick. The longer a tick is on you the greater the likelihood of infection.

I have never had much success with trying to smother the tick. I have also tried applying heat, but that doesn't work well for me, either. I have found that rubbing alcohol can be effective, however.

We always take a bleach bath if we are covered with ticks, especially seed ticks (smaller than black pepper) and very hard to see.