So, you’ve found a tick on your pet—how do you deal with it? While it’s important to get these little suckers off quickly, ASPCA veterinarians advise that you stay calm and don’t rush it. Moving too fast when removing a tick could potentially create more problems, both for your pet and for you.
While the following instructions employ tweezers, be aware that there are some very good products on the market designed specifically for safe tick removal. If you live in a tick-heavy area or are taking your pets to a place where they are likely to get ticks, it’s a good idea to buy one of these tools and have it on hand. They generally work better than tweezers at getting out the whole tick, and are relatively inexpensive.
Throwing a tick in the trash or flushing it down the toilet will not kill it, and it’s actually best to hold on to it for awhile for veterinary testing in case your pet falls ill from the bite. Be ready with somewhere to put the tick after you’ve removed it—the best option is a screw-top jar containing some rubbing alcohol.
Put on latex or rubber gloves so you’ll never have direct contact with the tick or your pet’s bite area. Ticks can carry infective agents that may enter your bloodstream through breaks in your skin or through mucous membranes (if you touch your eyes, nostrils or mouth).
You don’t want your pet squirming away before you’re finished, so if possible, have a helper on hand to distract, soothe or hold her still.
Treat the bite area with rubbing alcohol and, using a pair of tweezers, grasp
the tick as close to the animal’s skin as possible. Pull straight upwards with
steady, even pressure. Place the tick in your jar.
Do not twist or jerk the tick! This may leave the mouth-parts embedded in your
pet, or cause the tick to regurgitate infective fluids.Do not squeeze or crush
the body of the tick, because its fluids (saliva and gut contents) may contain
infective organisms.
Sometimes, in spite of doing everything right, a tick’s mouth-parts will get
left behind in your pet’s skin. If the area doesn't appear red or inflamed, the
best thing to do is to disinfect it and not to try to take the mouth-parts out.
A warm compress to the area might help the body expel them, but do not go at it
with tweezers.
Thoroughly disinfect the bite site and wash your hands with soap and water (even
though you were wearing gloves). Sterilize your tweezers with alcohol or by
carefully running them over a flame.
Over the next few weeks, closely monitor the bite area for any signs of
localized infection. If the area is already red and inflamed, or becomes so
later, please bring your pet—and your jarred tick—to your veterinarian for
evaluation.