Have You Tried Peppermint Oil to Remove a Tick? Don't!

With the mild winter and increase in mice, ticks are at epic levels from Rockport to Haverhill and everywhere in between. From Lowell to Marlborough we’re hearing reports of a large number of ticks questing for their spring blood meal. This uptick in the deer tick population might leave you asking Google how to safely remove a tick. With a great deal of good information and and an equal amount of bad information on the Internet, you might find yourself inadvertently increasing your chances for a tick-borne disease.

MYTH BUSTING: PEPPERMINT OIL IS NOT A SAFE TICK REMOVAL METHOD

While we’ve discussed extensively many ways NOT to remove a tick, new “home remedies” pop up on the daily. Only when these remedies gain traction do we feel it is necessary to intervene. We have recently seen a video circulating Facebook that shows a person using peppermint oil to remove an embedded tick. This video had so many views that Country Living addressed the bad advice in a recent story. Since then the video itself is mysteriously unavailable.

While we hope that means the video was taken down, we need to make sure everyone knows, DO NOT use peppermint oil to remove a tick. The stress of smothering a tick can cause it to regurgitate into your blood stream, potentially passing on the disease. The idea is to remove the tick as quickly and safely as possible with a pair of pointy tweezers without causing any kind of release of liquid into the open wound. With Lyme taking as much as 24 hours to be passed to us from a tick bite, quick, safe tick removal can be a great Lyme prevention method.DO NOT use peppermint oil to remove a tick. The stress of smothering a tick can cause it to regurgitate into your blood stream, potentially passing on any disease it might be carrying. The idea is to remove the tick as quickly and safely as possible with a pair of pointy tweezers without causing any kind of release of liquid into the open wound. With Lyme taking as much as 24 hours to be passed to us from a tick bite, quick, safe tick removal can be a great Lyme prevention method.

If you see any other tick removal home remedies, always check the CDC for their best advice on tick removal. If your home remedy in any way contradicts, please stick with the CDC’s specific instructions for safe tick removal.

Avoiding ticks and tick bites is the best way to avoid these gross tick removal hassles in the first place. At Mosquito Squad of Franklin & Framingham, we’ve got you covered. Our tick barrier treatment combined with tick tubes eliminates 85-90% of the ticks on your property. Call to schedule your first tick treatment today!