How to Get Ticks Out of Hair

Ticks live in wooded and grassy areas throughout the United States. These pesky bugs resemble a miniature watermelon seed and can carry diseases ranging from Lyme to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. The best defense against tick-related diseases is frequently checking your body. Checking your bare skin is easy, but preventing and removing ticks from your hair line and scalp requires a little more strategy.

Things You'll Need

• Rubber gloves
• Long clothing
• Tweezers
• Zipper-sealed plastic bag

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Instructions

• 1

  Put on your rubber gloves and wear a long-sleeved shirt. Make sure the person hosting the tick wears long clothing. Long clothing and gloves protect exposed skin from a fleeing tick that accidentally slips through the tweezers.

• 2

  Locate the tick by gently parting the hair, until you can easily access the bug. Rubbing, scratching or ruffling the hair give the tick opportunity to hide again, potentially burrowing into the scalp.

• 3

  Remove the tick by squeezing the exposed part of its body with your tweezers. Do not twist. Twisting an engorged tick can break the mouth piece off under the skin.

• 4

  Maintain a firm grip on the tick and insert it into a plastic bag. Seal the bag immediately before placing it in the freezer. If the tick bit you or someone else, freezing the body allows disease control experts to test for any diseases it may have been carrying, in the event of illness.

• 5

  Clean the tick bite and your hands with antibacterial soap or iodine after removal.