Ticks: how do you get 'em off?!

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Kub

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I found 4 on Harry this morning whilst I was washing him! Horrid little things! 2 birhgt orange ones and two little black/grey ones. One fell off whilst washing but the rest are there.

I've covered them in vaseline as this is meant to sufficate them and then drop off but just wondering what is the best way to get them off?

Normally harry gets one every now and then but sheep have kept breaking into our fields so I wonder if this has given him this little invasion.

Thank you peeps :)
 
You get get special gadgets in pet shops which hook between their head and body, then twist gently ANTICLOCKWISE. They should come out, head and all. Don't scratch off, you may leave the head in. Dogs and humans can get lymes disease which can kill, but I don't know about horses.
 
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If your horse will stand still then the best way to remove them is to use tweezers and CAREFULLY twist them clockwise. This unscrews them, but careful you dont pull or you can end up leaving the head in. If your horse is a fidget, or the tick is in an awkward place the easiest treatment is to put nail varnish on them (doesnt rub off like vaseline can). Good luck with the nasty little suckers!
 
horses can get lymes too - i dealt with a horse in the US who had it...

my tried and tested method is to out my thumb over them and gently rub in a circular clockwise direction (lol - opp to one of the above posts!) and they generally fall off no problems - i do that for the horse and the dogs (and myself when i found one too - YUK!)

we have a big tick problem up here = right on edge of highlands so lots of heather, bracken and deer - horrid blood suckers :(

funnily enough - inthe us they just picked them off - i'd take 10's of each horse each day = they didn't seem as concerned with the head being left in problem over there - i did the same as thats what the yard owner tol dme to do - never had an infected one....
 
sugarpuff said:
You get get special gadgets in pet shops which hook between their head and body, then twist gently ANTICLOCKWISE. They should come out, head and all. Don't scratch off, you may leave the head in. Dogs and humans can get lymes disease which can kill, but I don't know about horses.
Click to expand...

I have a pack of these:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/O-TOM-tick-re...m&pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Dogs&hash=item4cefb72008

for my dog and horse. they are AMAZING!! i don't think you need to twist them anticlockwise, I just twist them whichever way I can at the time. They are so good, they just get the little b*ggers out, mouthpiece and all. You can see the mouthparts squirming in the hook & then you just pop them in a tissue, crush them & chuck em in the bin.

Best option IMO, no mess (as with vaseline), no risk of infection (as with picking) and no risk of burnt horsey (with cigarette ends).

I have a pack of the proper O-tom ones and also a pack of cheapy copies. They both work as well as each other. I cannot recommend them highly enough!
 
I have got the little gadget as my dog is always getting them! :-( or nail varnish remover or vodka does the job (but dont waste to much vodka i can think of better uses for it lol)
 
Well..... I put vodka on one, then someone suggested a cigarette, I could't do that cos I'd put vodka on ! rang vet and they said vaseline, it took couple of days to drop of, it still had a good hold. Next time I'll go for the cigarette 1st, I know my horse would trust me
 
I found 15 on mine the other week. I managed to twist them all off easily without leaving any part of it in the horse. I find it harder to get them off my dog when he has them, then I use a special tick remover from the vets.
 
Someone I know asked this very same question on a Forum Board. Took the advise offered. Now has a very badly scarred horse who went through months of pain and infection.


DON'T mess a round, buy a tick remover and use that.
 
Thanks peeps. Well I pulled them off with tweezers when I went back up. They had already died from being covered in vaseline but I got everything out, I could see the head in all it's gross glory lol. Pretty sure they're due to the damn sheep that keep breaking into our fields *grrrr* but I'll be keeping a close eye on him.

Thanks for all your suggestions, very useful :)

Donkeymad - out of interest, what was your friend advised to do??
 
avet friend of mine told me to spin them in one direction by finger til they dropped out! takes a minute or two but they do fall out of horse dog or cat! then you get the joy of stamping or squashing them!! oh then i clean the area with hibiscrub! had no problems yet .......
 
We get heaps of them over here but don't have the issues with Lyme's disease and I must admit I just scratch them off and squish 'em. If we have a wee infestation then a good spray of Frontline or Ripcord will clear things up. I have never, in ten years of scratching them off had any sort of infection from one but it may be different on your side of the world. I HATE ticks, revolting things!!!! Funny story, one night, in tick season I was hugging my dog and I felt the hugest, most grossest tick on her belly. It felt really fat and full of blood. I was really sleepy and contemplated leaving it till morning but couldn't stand the thought of it on her. So I turned the light on and got ready to deal with it only to discover it was her nipple. LOL I felt a right charlie!!!!!
 
Use tweezers or buy a tick remover and twist ANTICLOCKWISE!!!
I wouldn't use vaseline or anything that would cause them stress as someone has said. It can cause them to "vomit" back into the horse and cause infection.
 
All the sggestions here were made. She tried two methods. The one that caused the problems was burning with a cigarette.
 
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