A Little Bit, About Ticks and Tick Removal

Deer Tick-Public Domain image

Camping and hiking are high-risk activities for encountering ticks, so remember to pack a straw and thread (or thin dental floss) next time you head into the woods(read why, toward end of this article.

Ticks-Latin Name (Common Name): Diseases they can transmit

Ixodes scapularis (deer tick or black legged tick): Lyme, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Powassan encephalitis, tick paralysis, tularemia, Bartonella

Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick): Human monocytic ehrlichiosis, STARI, tularemia, tick paralysis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)

Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick): RMSF, tularemia, human monocytic ehrlichiosis

Dermacentor andersoni (wood tick): RMSF, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, tick paralysis, Q fever

Ixodes pacificus (western black legged tick): Lyme, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, bartonella

Amblyomma maculatum (Gulf Coast tick): Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis

Do not EVER, ROTATE OR SQUEEZE the body of the tick.

Obviously, the following tick removal methods are NOT recommended:

1. Gripping the tick with thumb and forefinger and tugging at it. Doing so will cause the tick to regurgitate stomach contents—BAD NEWS.

2. Rotating the body of the tick, IN ANY WAY. Mouth parts have barbs which dig into flesh. Rotating the tick’s body, in any way will simply twist it off, leaving the mouth parts imbedded and YOU open to Lyme disease infection-BAD NEWS.

3. Burning the tick off with a match or cigarette lighter,

4. “Suffocating” the tick with petroleum jelly or hot oil

Avoid methods 3 &4 for the same reasons that you now avoid methods 1&2.

The safest rule as regards to how long it takes a tick to transmit a borreliosis to YOU is, ‘the sooner YOU remove the tick the greater the chance of preventing infection’. This is one reason why checking over your body carefully at the end of a long walk in the woods, then showering using a facecloth and back scrubber to scrub the body is usually sufficient to avoid infection even if the tick has already attached because ticks can be brushed off easily if not yet fully attached.

Even Better Than Tick Removal Is; AVOID Them.

Do Not Allow Ticks To Attach In The First Place.

Wearing long pants and sleeves, and walking with a friend who can keep an eye on your back means that you have time to see the tick and brush it off before it attaches. Keep switching positions of who is in back if walking single file. Look frequently for signs of ticks on you or your friend. If you find an attached tick, remove the tick as completely and as quickly as possible.

Ticks in the larval or nymphalid stage of development acquire the Lyme disease bacterium (Borrelia burgdorferi) by feeding on the blood of an infected host. Although we now know we not only have Borrelia burgdorferi in our ticks to cause borreliosis (Lyme disease) in humans, we also have other strains and species such as Borrelia miyamotoi, Borrelia hermsii, etch.

For example, with the recently discovered Borrelia miyamotoi, the mother tick can pass the infection to the egg which in turn can pass it to the larvae, on to the nymph and adult. Larvae hatch in the thousands so if you encounter these you may be at risk, and unfortunately they are not much bigger than the period at the end of this sentence making them very hard to detect.

One good thing is that, unlike mosquitoes (which can attach and begin feeding within seconds of landing on you) ticks take much more time to crawl to a suitable spot on your body, bite into your skin, secrete a ‘cement’ that secures them in place, and begin feeding/salivation.

Now though, we must revisit research done on Borrelia burgdorferi, to see if species/strains such as Borrelia miyamotoi follow the same rules now that we already know Borrelia miyamotoi broke the rule about mother tick not being able to pass the bacteria to their eggs. 

We have to revisit everything such as, does it take hours before the tick can transmit the disease to you, and if mosquitos can transmit it.  Mosquitos have been shown to carry Borrelia burgdorferi in their gut, but have not YET been shown to successfully transmit it but does that hold true for all Borrelia species/strains.

Safe tick removal methods

Method 1: If you already have a pair of fine pointed tweezers, and a steady hand, you can grasp The Mouthparts Of The Tick, NOT the body of the tick, and Slowly Pull The Tick Straight Out.

Remember that the skin may be swollen around the site of the tick attachment so if you’re not sure what you’re doing, you may prefer to use a specially designed tool. Method 2: Straw and Knot

The ‘straw and knot’ method is an elegant, easy, effective, low technology tick removal method.Place an ordinary drinking straw at a 45-degree angle over the tick. (The straw is simply being used as a guide to direct the knot).Take a length of thread (or dental floss) and tie a loose knot at the top or midsection of the straw.Slide your knot down the straw to where the tick is attached.Position the knot underneath the tick’s belly, so that the knot will encircle the Embedded Mouthparts Only.SLOWLY, tighten the knot to close snugly around the mouthparts of the tick.Remove the straw and pull the thread in a steady upward motion.

This WILLNOT ONLY cause the tick to detach, but Should Also Inhibit Regurgitation Of Bacteria That May Be In The Midgut.

Method 3: Intradermal Blister

If you’re close to a doctor’s office:

A doctor can inject Xylocaine into the skin below where the tick has attached.

A large Xylocaine-filled blister will form.

After tasting the Xylocaine, the tick should release its grip and back out on its own in order to search for a ‘better-tasting’ host.

Tick Treatment

After a tick has been removed, it’s important to wash the bite site using soap and water, followed with an antiseptic. Over-the-counter antiseptic medications are available at any pharmacy.

Don’t wait to develop symptoms. Go to your doctor and request antibiotics as a precaution.~~Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan.