Can you get sick from tick bites?

p.s. don’t remove the tick by grabbing it with your fingers. Use tweezers at or near the head. Grabbing the body is like squeezing the bulb of a turkey baster. You can also cover the tick with a glob of vasaline. This will cut off the ticks air and she will back out if she hasn’t been in too long. I’ve heard of using a lit cigarette on her rear end, but that means YOU will get burnt too. Your choice.

To remove a tick use a small set of tweezers: grab the head, pulling slowly and steadily.[6]. There are a number of manufacturers that have produced tweezers specifically for tick removal. Crushing or irritating the tick (by heat or chemicals) should be avoided, because these methods may cause it to regurgitate its stomach contents into the skin, increasing the possibility of infection of the host.[7] Tiny larval ticks can usually be removed by carefully scraping with a fingernail. Lyme disease found in deer ticks cannot be transmitted once the body is removed even if the mouthparts break off and are still in the skin. Prompt removal is important; infection generally takes an extended period of time, over 24 hours for Lyme disease.

An effective method involves carving the end of a small stick into a flat blade resembling a screwdriver, but with a small notch in the end. This implement is especially useful removing ticks from dogs.

An alternative method used by fishermen, which does not risk squeezing the tick’s thorax, uses 18 inches of fine weight fishing line. The line is tied in a simple overhand knot that is tightened slowly around the tick’s head. If the line is pressed against the skin while being gently pulled, the knot will tighten around the tick’s head. Slowly pulling the ends of the line will then dislodge the tick from the bite site with a reduced chance of leaving the head attached. This method also works with sewing thread.