Chester County Health Department
www.chesco.org/health
Tick Prevention
Precautions should be taken in high risk area such as damp, grassy, or wooded regions or when outside for an extended period of time while doing yard work, gardening, hiking, etc.
Tick Removal
Remove a tick from your skin as soon as you notice it. Use fine-tipped tweezers to firmly grasp the tick very close to your skin. With a steady motion, pull the tick's body away from your skin. Then clean your skin with soap and warm water.
Avoid crushing the tick's body. Do not be alarmed if the tick's mouth parts remain in the skin. Once the mouth parts are removed from the rest of the tick, it can no longer transmit the Lyme disease bacteria. If you accidentally crush the tick, clean your skin with soap and warm water or alcohol.
Don't use petroleum jelly, a hot match, nail polish, or other products to remove a tick.
Preserve the tick if possible in case symptoms start to occur. The blacklegged tick, or deer tick, is the only tick known to carry and transmit Lyme disease to humans.