Tick removal tools?

[Ceepa]

Can I get a link so I know what to look for. Just pulled one off DC. Ugh.

Do I need more than one tool? The long pointy tweezers or the one that's spoon-shaped? Both?

TIA

[infomama]

I ordered two of each. One is green and looks like a little tiny hammer claw. The other is white and it looks kind of like a spoon.

ETA---I bough the ones Tracey linked to as well as these www.amazon.com/Ticked-Off-Pets-Remover-White/dp/B00008434T/ref=pd_bxgy_petsupplies_img_y/190-4276665-5199056

[trales]

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-300000772-Tick-Twister-Pro/dp/B000VUSV6Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366670157&sr=8-1&keywords=tick+puller


I have about 10 of these around the house. They work every well. I have never had the head stay behind. They always come out wiggling.

Then I flush the tick.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Thanks so much for posting about this! I randomly bought one of these and had it on the counter. Tonight, DH and I went out to the mall while my mom was visiting, and I came home to find a weird thing sticking out of my skin on my tummy. DH pulled out the twister and we twisted that guy right out of the red spot on my tummy. He magnified and took a pic with his phone, and sure enough, it was a tick! I'm ordering more to keep in the car and in the bathroom, along with this one that's staying in the kitchen. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VUSV6Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[infomama]

Thanks so much for posting about this! I randomly bought one of these and had it on the counter. Tonight, DH and I went out to the mall while my mom was visiting, and I came home to find a weird thing sticking out of my skin on my tummy. DH pulled out the twister and we twisted that guy right out of the red spot on my tummy. He magnified and took a pic with his phone, and sure enough, it was a tick! I'm ordering more to keep in the car and in the bathroom, along with this one that's staying in the kitchen. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VUSV6Y/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Seriously I'm freaking out about ticks this year!! How come we never worried about this when we were kids?!

[pb&j]

We have the Tick Key (http://www.amazon.com/THE-TICK-KEY-The-Tick/dp/B000R1D3KQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369313462&sr=8-1&keywords=tick+key), which is great for larger ticks, but kind of fiddly for itty bitty ones. For that I use extremely pointy tweezers to grasp the head, like these from Tweezerman (http://www.amazon.com/Tweezerman-Stainless-Steel-Ingrown-Splintertweeze/dp/B000EMYHA8/ref=sr_1_1?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1369313534&sr=1-1). They have the added bonus of being great for splinter removal, too. The CDC has directions on how to remove with tweezers (http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/).

[hellokitty]

We have the Tick Key (http://www.amazon.com/THE-TICK-KEY-The-Tick/dp/B000R1D3KQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369313462&sr=8-1&keywords=tick+key), which is great for larger ticks, but kind of fiddly for itty bitty ones. For that I use extremely pointy tweezers to grasp the head, like these from Tweezerman (http://www.amazon.com/Tweezerman-Stainless-Steel-Ingrown-Splintertweeze/dp/B000EMYHA8/ref=sr_1_1?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1369313534&sr=1-1). They have the added bonus of being great for splinter removal, too. The CDC has directions on how to remove with tweezers (http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/removal/).

Thanks for posting your review of the tick key. That was one I was considering due to it being a keychain style and metal, but maybe I will stick to one of the other styles.

[almostmom]

We remove many a tick around here, and while tweezers used to be my go to tool, we have one of the plastic ones now, like the ticked off one posted in #2, and that has been great. We have lots of the teeny tiny ticks, and it works. I think one where it opens and closes would work better than one that just slides on, but that's just my opinion.

[brittone2]

We've had several ticks on the kids already this season and have found several walking around indoors as well (possibly tracked in by dog). I also live in Lyme Disease central, so that doesn't help.

HuffPo or similar just had something up about life stages of deer ticks, and I was checking that out the other day. I believe in there they cautioned against twisting not so much just because of the head issue, but because the tick may expel its contents into the bite if twisted off? I think Melbel has said that as well. We just use pointy tweezers. Here's the link...not saying all of the info is accurate, but they do say the CDC recommends that you *not* twist.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/20/lyme-disease-myths-facts_n_3287872.html

When we were in NC we had ticks all. the. time. (heavily wooded lot), but they were at least almost exclusively Lone Star ticks, which can cause STARI but not Lyme as far as I know.

[elbenn]

It looks like these tools are for pets. Are there different tools for people?