How to Remove Ticks

how to safely remove a tick from your dog

Summer is approaching and unfortunately, with it comes many nasty critters one of them being Ticks.  Ticks are small arachnids that live by feeding on the blood of mammals and birds.  They are known to carry many diseases which include Lyme’s Disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever just to name a few.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report Tuesday showing that diseases from biting insects, ticks, and mosquitos in the U.S. have tripled since 2004.  Here in New Jersey there has been an increase in cases of Lyme’s disease.  According to North New Jersey News, more people in Jersey were diagnosed with Lyme disease last year than in the last 17 years, with record numbers of cases in Bergen, Morris, Monmouth, Ocean and six other counties, new state data shows.

However, no matter where you live, it’s important to check your pets and below I have listed some of the items that you will need:

  • Tweezers (pointy ended ones work best) or Tick removal tool
  • Latex or rubber gloves
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • A container with a lid to place the tick in

Put the gloves on and thoroughly check your pet.  Check their entire body focusing on the areas around the eyes, inside and behind the ears, their paws, under their tail and genital area.

If you see a Tick, take your tweezers and/or trick removal tool and place it as close to your pets skins as possible.  Once you have done that, tighten the tweezers slowly across the tick with steady pressure.  You don’t want to wiggle.  Slowly start pulling the tick upwards using a steady and straight motion because you want to gently remove the barb while it’s still attached to the tick. Once you have managed to remove the tick in its entirety. Place it in a jar with alcohol and save it. Use an antiseptic spray on your pet on where the tick was.

Below is a YouTube video that I have found extremely helpful.  It’s the removal of a tick on human skin but you can still use the same removal process.

Again, you want to place the tick in a jar and keep it there while you monitor your pet.    If you start noticing that your pet has a fever, is fatigued or has a loss of appetite, take them to the vet for a checkup and take the jar with you.  Also, take your pet to the Vet if you were not able to remove the tick completely.

Keep in mind that there is a lot of information on the internet on how you remove a tick such as burning them off,  suffocating them with Petroleum jelly, using nail polish, etc….  These are not recommended and frankly do not work. Using these methods can also make things far worse for your pet so please do not try them.

The best way to control Ticks is through prevention.  I will be writing a blog post next week on what different types of products are available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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It is with a heavy heart that I announce the loss of our beloved darling, Ginger. She passed away July 16, 2020 at 14.5 years old. She battled CHF for as long as she could but her little body could take no more. Our hearts are shattered.
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