A pair of tweezers (or forceps)

A bottle of strong antiseptic--the kind you'd use on cuts and scrapes

Optional:

A bottle of rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol (any beverage with a high alcohol content could also do in a pinch!)

A bottle of calamine lotion

About 5-20 minutes, depending on how long it's been attached

Obviously, the best way to minimize tick hassles is to avoid getting bitten in the first place. If you're walking through grassy areas, use a string or rubber band to close your pant legs around your socks. Lacking a rubber band, you can tuck your pant legs into your socks. Some experts recommend applying a strong bug repellent that contains DEET is useful, although others claim this chemical is too toxic for human use. If you're walking through an area with a lot of overhanging greenery, wear a hat. Remember, ticks generally drop down onto their new host.

If you're de-ticking a pet or other animal, ask someone else to be the designated holder. Their job is to keep the creature steady while you perform the plucking routine.

2torial #0512: Learn2 Remove a Tick Hmmm, a fellow traveler! Ahh, the discovery of the dark bump that turns out to be an unwittingly-collected field sample of the genus Ixodes, otherwise known as the tick. These insects are usually found in woodlands and brush, waiting to catch a ride to some other neck of the woods. But really, they're not painful, nor even dangerous in most cases--you just have to be careful to remove them slowly. (Note the dangerous exception--in some parts of the world, certain ticks can carry Lyme disease (which can cause severe neurological damage) during the summer months. Read on for strategies to stay healthy in Lyme disease land...) To see a tick is to want to remove it, but unfortunately there's a lot of conflicting (and downright mistaken) lore about the right way to go about the eviction process. In this 2torial, you'll get the time-tested method generally approved of by health professionals. It's called the "Patient Pull" approach, and it works on people and animals. Just be gentle (and try to avoid the gross-out reaction). First of all, avoid a panicky reaction. When you discover a tick, fight the natural reaction to yank it immediately or rub it or swat it. Prompt removal is important, but your primary goal is to remove the tick in one piece, while it's still alive. And that'll require a little preparation and patience. If you feel yourself getting panicky, take ten slow, deep breaths (actually count them)--you'll be in a better mindset for the task ahead. Why the emphasis on live removal? Because if you pull too hard or too quickly, you'll only get the body of the tick, leaving its tiny head imbedded in the flesh (where it will almost certainly cause an infection). What's worse, an injured or dying tick tends to regurgitate your blood right back into your bloodstream--with its own nasty microbes, bacteria and viruses added to the mix. Prepare to Pull Begin by getting as clear a view of the site of the tick as possible. It it's nestled in hairs, lightly comb or pull them back. Have a friend hold them down, or wet them and surround them with a towel or other cloth. Wash your hands thoroughly, and sterilize the tweezers if at all possible. If you've got rubbing alcohol you can wipe the tweezers with it. This should disinfect them fairly well, although it's best to follow this up with a "flaming": run a lit match over the edges until well-heated. If you don't have rubbing alcohol or other sterilizing solution, then just flame the tweezers and proceed (but let them cool down first!). If you don't have tweezers (and can't wait until you locate a pair), then use a paper towel or other paper product. Avoid grasping the tick with your bare hands.   Perform the "Patient Pull" Don't hurry this step, even if you find it distasteful. Just be patient and thorough. Using the tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the surface of the skin as possible. Then pull. Not enough to risk separating the body from the head--just enough to see the skin begin to pucker at the point of entry. Take care not the crush the tick, or even squeeze it any more than necessary. You're now applying sufficient pressure to convince the tick that it's time to vacate the premises. If you can maintain this position for anywhere from several seconds to a minute or two, it should finally remove its grip. You don't need to rotate the tick, although a little gentle side-to-side motion may be called for. Resort to Stronger Measures   If after several minutes the little creature isn't responding to your pressure, it's time to try a little liquid persuasion. Place on the site, a single drop of alcohol wait a minute, then add another drop. Do this for ten drops (and ten minutes), and you should sufficiently loosen the tick's hold. However, too much alcohol raises the possibility of regurgitation, so dose sparingly. Disinfect and dispose Once the tick is out, inspect it to determine if it's intact. If the head has broken off, either go deeper with the tweezers (and don't worry about crushing the remains), or make an appointment with a health-care provider to have the site professionally cleared and cleaned. Don't simply toss the tick in the trash. They're extremely tenacious beasts--even if you resorted to the alcohol drip, it's probably still alive. If you're concerned about the possibility of having contracted Lyme Disease (see Step 6) you'll want to preserve the tick for testing: placing it in a couple of nested zip closure-type sealing plastic bags or a small glass jar with a tight-fitting lid will do the trick. If you're not going to have the tick analyzed for disease, then make sure it's permanently departed. Place it in a couple of layers of paper towels or tissue paper on a flat surface, then crush it by rolling a can or jar over it repeatedly. Finally, drop it in the toilet, to be flushed down with the next use. Swab the site of the bite thoroughly with an antiseptic, and try to keep it clean and dry for a while. If there's an irritation or itching sensation, apply calamine lotion. Live Safely in a Lyme Disease Area Worried about Lyme disease? You don't necessarily have to be. Not all ticks carry Lyme disease--and more importantly, tick-borne Lyme disease appears to be limited to certain geographic areas. If you're at all concerned, call your local hospital or municipal health department; they'll have information about the subject specific to your area. If you're in an area with Lyme disease, do a very careful inspection of your clothes and exposed body parts (and your pets) every time you come in from a forest or a meadow. If you'll be outdoors in tick habitats for several hours or days, check yourself and the others in your party every two or three hours. Wearing light clothes provides color contrast and improves the chances of spotting a tick. Found it! If you find a tick in a Lyme disease area, it's very important to avoid contact with your bare fingers during the removal process. Do you have a pair of tweezers with you? (Are you sure you don't? Many multi-purpose knives have a pair tucked away in the handle.) If you don't have it, use a piece of tissue paper or handkerchief to remove it. Analyze it: If the tick is difficult to remove, it may have been attached for some time. In this case, you definitely want to save the tick for laboratory analysis. Once a disease organism is identified in the tick's body, treating a human patient is pretty straightforward. Although as the disease progresses in humans, it's much more difficult to diagnose, and therefore more difficult to treat. Take the time and get it checked out. All you need is a few sturdy zip closure plastic bags, which are both light and easily compacted. -end- Learn More!