It's a beautiful summer day. You've just gotten back from frolicking through your favorite daisy field, the sun is warm on your face, and you run your fingers lazily through your hair and.....wait, what's that? It's a tick! Your first reaction might naturally be to rip the tick from your head. Don't. Doing so might cause the tick to separate, leaving the part of the tick that carries diseases stuck to your head.
Rid Yourself Of Ticks In Three Easy Steps!
Go-Forth Home Services has three tips to help you get rid of ticks as soon as they are discovered:
1. Grab A Friend
Chances are, you can't see your scalp no matter how crafty you get with a mirror. Safe removal requires a good vantage point and steady hands: things you cannot achieve whilst trying to balance a mirror, tweezers, comb, and your sanity. Unless you live in the Alaskan wilderness, fifty miles from the closest human being, grab a friend to help.
2. Gather Your Tools
You'll need the most sophisticated equipment to tackle this job and a steady hand that even a surgeon would be jealous of. Just kidding, all you'll need is a pair of tweezers.
3. Grab The Tick, But Not So Fast...
Make sure you're grabbing the tick as close to the surface of YOUR skin as possible. Don't twist the tick or apply unnecessary pressure. Gently pull until the mouth breaks free and make sure that you've removed all remaining, accessible pieces. Clean the area thoroughly with rubbing alcohol.
4. Goodbye Tricky Tick
Flush it down the toilet or submerge fully in rubbing alcohol. The CDC highly advises against ever trying to crush the tick with your fingers, as stated before, they can carry nasty diseases. Run-ins with summer pests are inevitable. Take precautions to protect yourself: wear a hat or sleeves when outside (especially in wooded areas), have your lawn and areas surrounding your home treated to prevent ticks from becoming abundant, and always check yourself and your pets before returning indoors!