How to Remove Seed Ticks From Humans

Written by Nicholas Schrandt

27 July, 2017

Seed ticks are the larva of ticks and will attach themselves to the skin of a larger animal in order to feed and progress further through their life process 1. While they are not as dangerous as adult ticks, seed ticks are still capable of passing on various viruses and diseases 1. Remove them as soon as they are discovered. Thankfully, they are not nearly as difficult to remove as their adult counterparts.

Is This an Emergency?

If you are experiencing serious medical symptoms, seek emergency treatment immediately.

Use a magnifying glass to identify the tick. Clean the area carefully.

How to Get Rid of Ticks That Have Burrowed Under the Skin

Learn More

Wash the area with body lice shampoo.

If the shampoo does not work, place a strip of tape over the tick and press down gently. Remove the tape in a quick, pulling motion.

How to Get an Embedded Tick Out

Learn More

If the tape was unsuccessful, use tweezers. Grasp the seed tick as close to your skin as possible and pull firmly on it, without crushing the tick.

Check the bite area with the magnifying glass to make sure that no segments of the seed tick's body remain.

Thoroughly wash the bite area and your hands with soap and water.

Warnings

Do not use grease, Vaseline or any form of heat to try and remove the tick. This may only increase the chance of disease transfer.

Do not squeeze the tick or remove only the body and not the head. This may cause the inner organs of the tick to get into the bite, increasing chances of infection or disease transfer.