10 Easy Tips to Remove Ticks off Your Pet
Ticks are no fun. These adamant bloodsuckers keep gorging on your pet’s blood until they become pea-sized. In contrast to fleas, ticks are relatively easy to handle. They can be easily removed off your pets’ bodies. The best tick treatment is to take your dog to the vet but if one is not available in your area, you can follow some simple steps.
You will need:
- A high-powered blow dryer
- A fine-toothed comb
- A pair of gloves
- A fine-tipped tweezers or a special tick removal tool
- A kettle of hot boiling water
- A clean and clear glass bowl
- A bottle of alcohol solution
This is How Veterinarians Remove Ticks:
Step 1: Check your pet immediately for ticks especially if she has been outdoors, especially in grassy areas. Some ticks are very small, almost the size of a flea. In no time, they will become huge.
Step 2: Boil water and keep ready all the tools listed above. Wear the gloves.
Step 3: Run the blower on low heat and blow the hair until you locate the tick. Use the comb if the fur is too thick.
Step 4: Warm the tip of tweezers with a cigarette lighter for about 10 seconds.
Step 5: Catch the tick with its mouthparts and NEVER by its body as it may puncture the tick and release disease-spreading fluids onto your pet’s skin.
Step 6: Pull the tick gently and immerse it in the bowl of boiling water or alcohol solution. You can also kill ticks by freezing them.
Step 7: Sterilize the tweezers after use.
Step 8: Once you are sure all ticks are dead, collect them in a newspaper or paper towel and discard them in the trash bin or bury in the ground. Make sure to save a few ticks in a plastic bag to show it to your vet for any possible disease.
Step 9: Clean the site with antiseptic medicine or anti-bacterial soap.
Step 10: Use spot-on topical products such as Frontline Plus Flea and Tick, k9 Advantix or K9 Advantix II that work on both fleas and ticks, including immature stages of fleas.