Removing Ticks Without Tweezers, Pain, Heads Remaining Embedded
Note: The following is an experientially based method that has thus far been tried six times. It will most likely work for you also, but we make no guarantees.
If you live on Staten Island and walk in the woods here, you have undoubtedly been bitten by a tick or two thus far this summer. Unfortunately, there is no 100% effective repellent that I have found, and even store-bought formulas (such as Herbal Armor’s formula) are not completely effective. Usually, you will find the tick a few hours after your foray into the woods, or sometimes it will be found the next morning. The most common time that I have personally found ticks is during a shower. This is the most reasonable time as you are washing, and they always have a certain feeling. They feel kind of like a pimple but not really. Then, when you look close, you notice that it is a bug, and you might even already have a rash.
So, if you find it in the shower, that is ideal, because that is what this method is all about. If you don’t find it while showering and you can quickly re-enter the shower, you may want to do that. The essential (tested) ingredients for this method are a shower with running water and Dr. Bronner’s Almond liquid soap.
The method is very simple. When you have discovered the tick, pour some of the liquid soap into your hand, and then rub it around the tick. Make sure you get it very very foamy by rubbing it with your hand in circular motions. Make sure you notice a bubbly foam all around the area, particularly exactly where the tick is embedded. Then, wash other parts of yourself, and keep the tick affected body part out of the water.
You should do this for at least 60 seconds. You don’t have to count, just approximate. After the amount of time seems sufficient, rinse the area, and rub it gently with your hand. In four out of the five times that I have tried this method, the tick was gone after the first try. Washed down the drain.
On one occasion, I had to repeat the above procedure one additional time, as he had been lodged there for longer than a day. But, even then, after the second time of using this method, he was also gone, down the drain. Just check with your hand, and with your eye, after the removal to make sure that it is gone. If it isn’t gone yet, then do the method again.
And that’s it. It really is that simple. After trying this method on six ticks this season, I am convinced that it works. In the event that it doesn’t work for you, please let us know in the comments. In that case, you can also try our previously published easy tick removal method with tweezers and essential oil. This method is also 100% effective, but there have been a few occasions where the head remained. This is why the soap method is so effective. The head and body are all gone completely.
I am not really prepared to conjecture as to why this is, but it seems that almonds can kill small organisms, including the mites that infect squirrels, causing mange. It may also be the foaming action, which seems to be critical to making this method work. Either way, it is definitely the best method I have ever tried.
Banner Image: Deer tick. Image Credit – JerzyGorecki
