Pull a tick straight out with tweezers as soon as you find it

You find a tick on your skin, or on your child, and it is already attached. The CDC’s advice is plain, and it does not involve a match, nail polish or petroleum jelly.

If a tick is attached to your skin, pull it straight out now with fine-tipped tweezers (or regular tweezers or your fingers if that is all you have) held as close to the skin as you can, with steady pressure and no twisting, and do not use heat, nail polish or petroleum jelly.

This page is for a tick you have just found. If you already have a fever or a rash after a tick bite, go to the section on the next few weeks and call a doctor today.

How to take it out

These are the CDC’s steps, in the CDC’s order.

1. Take clean fine-tipped tweezers and grip the tick right at the surface of the skin. The CDC says that if you have no fine-tipped tweezers, regular tweezers or your fingers will do, and that gripping low, close to the skin, avoids squeezing the tick’s body.
2. Pull the tick away from the skin with steady, even pressure. The CDC says not to twist or jerk it, because that can break the mouthparts off in the skin.
3. If the mouthparts stay behind, the CDC says your body will push them out as the skin heals. You can try to take them out with tweezers, and if they do not come out easily, leave them alone.
4. For a live tick, the CDC lists four ways to deal with it: put it in a sealed container, wrap it tightly in tape, flush it down the toilet, or put it in alcohol. It says not to crush the tick with your fingers.
5. Clean the bite area and your hands with soap and water, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer.
6. The CDC says there may be other ticks on you, so check the rest of your body and take any off.

The UK Health Security Agency gives the same method: fine-tipped tweezers or a tick-removal tool, grip the tick close to the skin, and pull upwards slowly and firmly. The NHS adds that you should take care not to squeeze or crush the tick, and to clean the bite with antiseptic or soap and water. The CDC also says plain tweezers work very well, so you do not need a special tool. It says to take the tick off as soon as possible and not to wait to see a healthcare provider, because delay could raise your risk.

If you cannot see or reach the tick, ask someone to help, so it comes off as soon as possible, not after an appointment.

What to leave out, and why

The CDC says not to use petroleum jelly, heat, nail polish or other substances to try to make the tick let go; its aim is to get the tick off as quickly as possible. Some people say the same: no heat, no matches and no twisting, because twisting and burning can leave parts behind or make the tick spit germs into the skin. Some people also say not to rub a tick off, and to use a tool that takes out the whole body and the head.

After it is out

Writing down the date and where you think you picked the tick up, on your phone or a calendar, gives you what the CDC says your doctor will want if you become ill: the bite, when it happened and where you most likely got the tick.

The UK Health Security Agency says to do a thorough tick check after any outdoor activity, looking and feeling across your skin, with extra attention to skin folds and the places ticks are often found: armpits, groin, behind the knees, around the waistband, wrists, the back of the neck and the hairline. It says adults are most often bitten on the legs and children more often on the head and neck, and that more than one tick can be attached at a time. Some people say to use a mirror or another person for the places you cannot see. For going outdoors, the same agency lists walking on clear paths, wearing long trousers and long sleeves, wearing light colours so that ticks show, using an insect repellent containing DEET as its directions say, and checking your clothes and skin as you go.

Keep it, test it, or throw it away

The CDC’s page for the public says testing a tick is in general not recommended, and that you should not wait for a tick test before starting treatment if you become ill. Some people argue the opposite and want the tick tested later. Some people say to keep it in a bag so a doctor can see it, and one person says writing down the date is enough. The testing question has the CDC’s answer, and the FAQ below gives its reasons. The keeping question has a small, practical answer: the CDC’s guide for clinicians says the type of tick and how swollen it is help decide about a preventive antibiotic, so a sealed container or a clear photo does no harm. A tick you keep should stay sealed and out of reach of children and pets.

The next few weeks

The CDC says that if you develop a rash or a fever within several weeks of removing a tick, you should see your doctor and tell them about the bite, when it happened and where you most likely got the tick.

What the Lyme disease rash can look like, from the CDC: it starts at the bite after 3 to 30 days (about 7 days on average), spreads over several days, may feel warm but is rarely itchy or painful, can grow to 12 inches (30 cm) or more across, sometimes clears in the middle to look like a bull’s-eye, and does not always look like a classic bull’s-eye. A small bump or redness right at the bite that looks like a mosquito bite is common, goes away in 1 to 2 days and is not a sign of Lyme disease. Not everyone gets the rash: the NHS says there is not always an obvious one, so see a doctor for flu-like illness after a bite too. The NHS says the rash usually appears within 1 to 4 weeks but can appear up to 3 months after a bite, and that it can be harder to see on brown and black skin, where it may look like a bruise. It lists flu-like symptoms as a high temperature, headache, muscle and joint pain and tiredness, a few days or weeks after the bite.

In the US, the CDC’s guide for clinicians says one dose of the antibiotic doxycycline can lower the risk of Lyme disease after a tick bite, but only when all of these hold:

• the bite was in a state where Lyme disease is common, or where more than a fifth of ticks are infected;
• the tick is an adult or young (nymph) blacklegged tick, also called a deer tick;
• it was attached for an estimated 36 hours or more;
• the dose starts within 72 hours of taking the tick off;
• the person has no reason to avoid doxycycline.

Some of those conditions, such as how long the tick was attached, are a clinician’s estimate from how swollen the tick is or when you were likely exposed. The CDC says to ask your healthcare provider whether antibiotics after a tick bite are appropriate for you, and if you were bitten where Lyme disease is common, that means asking within 72 hours of taking the tick off. The CDC says this dose has not been shown to prevent other tickborne diseases. This page could not check the UK’s practice on it, so a UK reader who is worried can ask a GP or NHS 111.

For fever, headache or a rash after a bite, the CDC says to see your healthcare provider. It says Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be deadly if not treated early, that its early signs are not specific, and that its rash often appears late in the illness. Its advice is to see your healthcare provider if you become ill after a tick bite, with no need for a rash first. Its guide for clinicians says to start treatment for a suspected tickborne illness as soon as possible and not to wait for laboratory results, which may miss early illness.

One person suggested buying an antibiotic made for fish. The FDA says animal drugs should not be used to treat people, that these products have not been evaluated for safety and effectiveness, and that some can cause serious harm. It says to take only drugs prescribed to you by your doctor from a legitimate source.

If it is your dog or cat

The FDA says pets can bring ticks into the home, exposing you and your family to a bite, and that ticks can make pets ill too. Some people check their pet after time outdoors: one person checks the ears and the toe pads, and one runs a lint roller over a dog to pick up ticks that have not yet attached. This page does not cover taking an attached tick off an adult pet; a vet can show you. The FDA mentions a tick remover for puppies and kittens that are too young for flea and tick products.

A dog’s tick product is not for a cat. The FDA says: if the product is for dogs, do not use it on cats. The ASPCA says cats are sensitive to permethrin, which is common in dog tick products, and that exposure can cause unsteadiness, muscle tremors and, in severe cases, seizures. The UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate says that if even a small part of a dog spot-on is put on a cat, the cat could quickly become very unwell and may die. It also says to keep cats away from a newly treated dog and stop them licking or grooming it. The FDA says to treat one pet at a time and keep the treated animal apart until the product dries. If a cat does get a dog product, the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate says to wash it off at once with water and a mild detergent, get the cat to a vet right away and take the packaging with you. In the US the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center answers on (888) 426-4435, and a fee may apply.

One person says raw garlic helped keep ticks off a dog when official treatments had failed. The ASPCA lists garlic as toxic to dogs and cats, and one person warns that some essential oils are toxic to pets too. The FDA’s advice for any product is to involve your vet in the choice, read the label and package insert, and match the product to your pet’s species, life stage and weight.

Who this page is not for

If you already have a fever, a rash or the other signs above, this is not the page to wait on: call a doctor today, and use 911 or 999 if the signs are severe. If you live somewhere other than the US or the UK, the ticks and the risks may differ, so check your own health department. If your pet has been ill since a tick or flea product was used, the FDA says to call your vet right away. And if the worry is about going outdoors at all, the UK Health Security Agency says the majority of tick bites do not result in illness, and that removing an infected tick promptly lowers the risk of passing on disease.