Will this work on ticks?

[dpmtherrien]

In our local paper there's a column once a week headlined "The Peoples Pharmacy", which deals with all kinds or alternative remedies that people have found to work or be effective. In the column today was a quote on a way to get a tick off of a person. It stated that rubbing alcohol, or mouthwash containing alcohol will kill a tick in one or two minute's. Since other methods of tick removal have proved not to be effective, putting a hot match head to the body, covering with petroleum jelly, etc. etc., does anyone have experience with this method? If so does it indeed work? Living here in the Northeast were there is a big problem with Lyme disease, this seems like a solution to a big problem.

 

[KWyKJJ]

Folk remedies for tick removal are foolish. If you have a tick the most important thing to do is get it out with tweezers being careful not to detach the head and pull straight out without twisting. Alcohol, vaseline, these are bad ideas. The disease comes from their saliva after they have become bloated from your blood. Kill the tick still attached, you run the risk of the saliva being released. Aggravate the tick, you run the same risk. Pluck him out and go see a doctor. If it is removed within 24 hours, the risk of lyme disease is reduced by 80%. If you receive a single dose of doxycline antibiotic treatment within 48 hours after that it usually kills any trace that could have gotten into your body. Furthermore, only certain ticks carry lyme disease and usually only at the nymph stage. I wouldn't risk any "possible" methods when it comes to tick removal. However, just to kill a tick that isn't latched onto anything is a different story. A quick splash of 91% rubbing alcohol puts them down in a few seconds. Happy tick hunting.

-JJ

 

[Walter Sobchak]

The alcohol method works, but along the lines of what JJ said, these 'trauma to the tick' methods can cause the tick to regurgitate into your system which, obviously is a bad thing.

Use tweezers, get 'em deep and get the Tick's head. If you can find a Doc who's cool with the Doxy dose, cool! I've not had a receptive response when seeking prophylactic antibiotics for tick bites here in CT, but there are definitely some docs who feel it's good medicine.

I had a grade school teacher who, when a tick was found, would put it in Elmer's Glue. When it was dry we all had fun looking at the tick in the clear glue.

 

[Deltaboy]

Best thing is to prevent getting them; find yourself some Sulfur Tablets and take 1 a day. It will come out in your sweat and Ticks won't bit you.

 

[ouch]

I don't know how to get a tick off a person, but if you ever need to tick off a person, I'm your man.

 

[elveeskee]

Just slap some Lilac Vegetal on and that tick'll run screamin out the room!

 

[HoratioCaine]

Best thing is to prevent getting them; find yourself some Sulfur Tablets and take 1 a day. It will come out in your sweat and Ticks won't bit you.

Does it have the same effect on women?

 

[kingfisher]

It's all BS.

Grab 'em with a pair of tweezers and pull with slow and steady pressure to remove the tick. There's no need to see a doctor thereafter. Unless the tick has been embedded longer than 24 hours there is no risk of Lyme disease, either.

 

[gaseousclay]

I have a Home Owner's Veterinary Guide For Dogs which I purchased at a yardsale last week, but it's from 1983. according to this book alcohol, ether or gin should get the tick off, but pulling it out with tweezers is most effective imo. be sure to pull it out at the head and not the abdomen. the bloated abdomen contains microorganisms that can be harmful to your dog. also, if the tick's head gets left behind it's no reason for concern, as the body will heal itself and push it out

 

[ouch]

I have a Home Owner's Veterinary Guide For Dogs which I purchased at a yardsale last week, but it's from 1983.

The ticks have gotten smarter since then.

 

[TonyH]

Just slap some Lilac Vegetal on and that tick'll run screamin out the room!

Does it have the same effect on women?

These posts are related, I think.

 

[HoratioCaine]

These posts are related, I think.

Everybody knows women run away screaming from the Veg. But how they react to sulfur is more of a mystery.

 

[Matt S]

I'll concur with the guys, get some tweezers and pull em out as close to the head as you can. If the tick isn't bloated, you don't have much to worry about, but still want to pull it out correctly.

My last job was environmental consulting for land development. We had guys in the office who spent the whole day in the field, often picking up ticks. The only method used around the office was tweezers.

 

[gaseousclay]

I've read that a bloated tick means it's a female and where there's a female there's a male nearby

 

[soapbox]

Also note that Lyme Disease is carried by very small ticks, not the "seed ticks" or "dog ticks" you can easily see -- these ticks can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and other maladies, though.

 

[VR6ofpain]

All I got out of this thread is if you are a tick, you should not drink The Veg, and if you do, expect bad results from biting women.