Tick Trick

[et84]

For ticks, I always use vaseline. Just put enough on 'em to completely cover them and cut off their air supply- they'll wiggle themselves free after about 10 minutes. Lamp oil works well too, I just think it's easier to apply vaseline.

[Bird Watcher]

I'll bet your vet was left-handed, and that's why he turns them counter-clockwise. I'm pretty sure ticks are symmetrical, so I can't see the advantage of one direction over the other. Once I was told to put a red-hot pin on a tick's butt, and he'll come out. I had two one time...the first one sure enough backed out right away, but the second one just stayed there and cooked so I had to pull well-done tick meat out of my thigh. Yuck. I don't think the first one was buried very deep. Once they get in there, I think they're pretty much locked in.

The tick has rotational barbs around it's mouth. They kind of appear like a drill bit. If you turn counter clockwise, they lay down and slip right out. If you turn clockwise, they stand up and lock into your skin. Think kind of like a slip anchor. I remember seeing this years ago and when I saw it, they had pictures taken under a microscope of the ticks barbs and mouth.

[eric1978]

The tick has rotational barbs around it's mouth. They kind of appear like a drill bit. If you turn counter clockwise, they lay down and slip right out. If you turn clockwise, they stand up and lock into your skin. Think kind of like a slip anchor. I remember seeing this years ago and when I saw it, they had pictures taken under a microscope of the ticks barbs and mouth.

That's wild, never heard that. Nice factoid. Guess I'll be goin' counter-clockwise from now on.

[Bman]

May I suggest, after contracting Lime disease about 15 years ago, that instead of using your fingers to grasp and twist the tick you use or carry a handy set of good tweezers to grab the darn things with ?

The Doc explained to me that when you grab an imbedded and engorged tick with your fingers you run the risk of squeezing the tick's abdomen thereby forcing everything in the tick's abdomen or digestive system, unwanted bacteria and viruses included, back out through the tick's mouth and into the host's bloodstream. The trick is to grab only the head and avoid the abdomen of the insect if possible.

The twisting motion while removing is a time-honored trick that always seems to work if done gently.

Dittos. After having a tick disease, several doctors told me to never use your fingers. For sure don’t crush them with your fingers!

[VIP]

This is not the exact tool I have, but it works great. Mine is metal. Very easy. There are many many manufactures of these types. Below is just one I found.

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product...p;zmap=10410601

[skeeter]

Got lyme disease a few years ago and have ever since then avoided going into the woods in the spring until the leaves start to fall down.

While hunting for doves on my parents farm in shorts, I happen to forget the bug spray, chiggers had their way with me (ankles). The itching for the first few days were the worst but it has gone down recently. Anybody have any remedies for these microscopic bugs besides the usually hot showers, anti-itch cream, rubbing alcohol.

Walgreen's used to carry a product by the Band-aids and antiseptic supplies called Chigarid. It worked great but I haven't been able to find any there lately.

I did come up with a cheaper alternative called "New Skin" that you can find in the same area of their stores. It's a clear liquid plastic that folks use in place of Band-Aids on small wounds. You dab it on the chigger bite and it cuts off the air supply to the bug. Unfortunately, it doens't have the camphor in it the Chigarid product did to immediately relieve the itching. It does kill the itch but takes a little time.

Some folks get bit up with chiggers so bad they have been known to get a shot of Cortisone which really helps if warranted.

[fishinwrench]

Walgreen's used to carry a product by the Band-aids and antiseptic supplies called Chigarid. It worked great but I haven't been able to find any there lately.

Carburetor cleaner (spray) will kill the little bastages...but it burns like hell for about 40 seconds if you aren't used to it. I practically bathe in the stuff on a weekly basis so it doesn't burn very bad anymore. I can't even smell it (scary I know). After the burning stops there's no more itch, and the bites heal in about 3-4 days. I'm betting that this technique isn't very healthy ....but it does work.

Fly head cement or clear nail polish does the same thing Chiggerid does...or so I've heard.

[eric1978]

Fly head cement or clear nail polish does the same thing Chiggerid does...or so I've heard.

I've also heard that but I used that chiggerid stuff when I was a teenager and it didn't really work for me.

[taxidermist]

For you guys with lots of body hair, shave the left side, set the right side on fire and stab them with an ice pick when they runout.

I have had thousands of ticks over the years and nothing is sure about protecting yourself or removing them. The tick spoon, tick key or just pull them, dont forget the seed ticks either.

It does not seem to matter if you drown them or use vaseline or even WD-40 when they cannot breath the dont alwaqys turn loose and sometimes they still spit their body fluids back into your bite site.

[denjac]

From an old coon hunter I found for chiggers when you get home take a bath with a couple of cap fulls of bleach in the water. Works believe it or not!