How To Check for Ticks on Humans & Dogs

Spending time outdoors is something most people love to do, especially in the spring, summer, and fall months. Unfortunately, ticks are most common in the spring and summer months, though they are active year-round. You are likely to find ticks in wooded areas or places with tall grass. It’s important to know how to check for ticks before you spend time outside so you can better remove them as quickly as possible. This article will help you spot ticks and effectively check yourself and others for ticks. Plus, we’ll take a look at how to check your dog for ticks, what you should do if you find a tick, and the science behind tick bites and disease transmission. 

Why Are Tick Checks Important?

Ticks shouldn’t stop you from enjoying time outside. Knowing how to perform a tick check on yourself, family members, and pets means you can catch ticks before they cause any damage. Checking for ticks and catching them early on means you can avoid diseases that ticks cause, like Lyme disease.

The Best Defense: Quick Tick Removal

According to the Centers for Disease Control, if you remove a tick within 24 hours, you have a very low risk of getting a tick-borne disease.

Lyme disease — the most common disease spread by ticks — is a bacteria that can live inside the tick’s mouthparts. When a tick bites, these bacteria slowly travel out of the mouth and into your body. However, it can take between 24 and 36 hours for these bacteria to make their way into your body.

So, even if you find a tick that has latched on, that doesn’t mean you’re at risk of infection. If you know that the tick has been there for less than 24 hours, you can simply remove the tick, and you’ll be fine.

What Ticks Look Like

Ticks are very small — much smaller than some people assume. Adult ticks are about the size of a sesame seed, whereas younger ticks are even smaller. Nymphs (adolescent ticks) are the size most commonly found on hikers and pets, and these ticks are only about the size of a poppy seed. Though, ticks should not be confused for fleas, as they latch and stay on their food source.

Ticks are normally a dark-brown-to-black color, which can make them hard to see against your skin. You may mistake them for a freckle or mole if you don’t look carefully.

Guide: Tick Checking Yourself and Others

Use this checklist to discover ticks before they cause real damage.

1. Start by Checking Your Clothes

Ticks typically start on your clothes or shoes and then make their way to your skin. If you walk through a tick-infested area, ticks can take several hours to make their way through your clothes and to your skin. 

A common practice is checking your pant legs and socks anytime you walk through grass or shrubbery that is taller than your ankles. Ticks like to hang off vegetation and grab you as you walk by. 

As soon as you get back to your vehicle, remove any outer layers and give them a quick look-over. When you get home, you can throw all your clothes in a hot-water wash cycle and dry them with hot air to kill any ticks you didn’t find.

2. Inspect Your Body and Take a Hot Shower

Not only does a hot shower feel great after a long hike, but it can be a great time to inspect your entire body for ticks. Soap and hot water can help wash away any ticks that have not securely latched on. However, after ticks bite you they create a cement-like substance that holds them onto your skin. So, you still need to inspect your entire body.

Ticks typically prefer parts of your body with high heat and low light. Most commonly, ticks choose to bite around your hairline and in your hair, in your belly button, arm-pits, and other joints, around your waist, or in your pubic region.

Remember that this is not an exhaustive list — depending on the clothes you were wearing and your body, a tick could choose to bite you anywhere. 

3. Get a Tick Buddy

Checking the back of your head or anywhere on the back of your body can be very difficult. While you can accomplish this task with a small mirror, another person can really be helpful. Ticks sometimes choose to attach in very hard-to-see places, so do your best to check every area of your body. 

Guide: Tick Checking Your Dog

Find ticks that latch on to your furry friends.

1. Spot Check During Your Excursions

As you’re hiking, periodically give your dog a check (especially if they just ventured near some tall grass or weeds). If you find a tick before it has time to burrow down under the hair, you will save yourself a lot of trouble.

Some hikers even carry a sticky lint roller, which can easily pick up ticks that have crawled onto your pet. 

2. Post-Hike Check

When you get back to your vehicle after a hike, this is a great time to give your dog a more thorough check. Start at the head and work your way to the tail. Have your dog lay on their back and give them a belly rub.

Then, check again from the head to the tail on this side. If your dog has long hair, the best practice is to rub the hair against the grain so you can see all the way down to the skin. Go slow. Nymph ticks are very small and can easily move out of the way as you search. 

Repeat this check on your dog 24 hours after the hike to be sure you didn’t miss any ticks.

Types of Ticks

There are many kinds of ticks that feed on the blood of mammals, reptiles, and birds. These ticks can also spread diseases, including Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and ehrlichiosis.

Black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, spread most of the diseases mentioned above, including Lyme disease, babesiosis, and anaplasmosis. Both nymph and adult deer ticks will bite humans. The biggest risk of being bitten by these ticks is in the spring, summer, and fall seasons. However, if temperatures are above freezing, adult ticks can also be out in the winter months.

Dog ticks carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Usually, adult dog ticks will bite humans and the highest risk is during the spring and summer months.

Tick Prevention

The best way to prevent ticks is by using an insect repellent containing DEET. The percentage of DEET references the length of time the ingredient works for, and I recommend using 20 to 30% DEET. For reference, 30% DEET bug spray lasts for about six hours. You should only apply this spray once a day, however. Permethrin products can be sprayed on clothing items to prevent ticks but shouldn’t be sprayed directly onto your skin. However, picaridin can be used on either clothes or skin. Be sure to read the label and follow instructions on any bug repellent you use.

How To Remove and Kill a Tick

If you do find a tick embedded in you, a family member, or your dog — don’t panic. Removing ticks from dogs or yourself and killing them is easy. Here are the general guidelines suggested by the CDC:

First, use a pair of tweezers to grasp the tick. Try to grab the tick as close to the skin as possible. Without twisting, pull the tick straight up. With steady, even pressure, the tick should detach.

Sometimes, pieces of the mouth or head of the tick are left in the wound. If you can, try to remove these pieces with tweezers as well. If you cannot remove these pieces, that is OK. The skin will push them out as the wound heals. Next, wash the wound with soap and water or rubbing alcohol. This will help wash away any bacteria present, making sure that the wound can heal without infection. 

To kill a tick, there are several suggested methods. The best method is putting the tick in a jar with rubbing alcohol. The tick will die in the alcohol, and you can wash it down the sink. Alternatively, you can sandwich a tick in packing tape or flush a tick down the toilet. All of these methods make sure that a tick won’t escape and be able to bite you later.

Final Thoughts on Removing Ticks

The best way to prevent the spread of disease from a tick is quick removal. You should do a tick check on yourself and your family members after spending time outside near tall grass and wooded and shady areas. If your family pet goes outside, you should check them daily for ticks. Check areas like your hairline, in and around your ears, belly button, armpits, and groin. If you can’t see or reach all of those areas, be sure to ask someone for help.

There are a few ways to prevent ticks from latching onto your skin, including using insect repellent with DEET, tucking your pant legs into your socks, and much more. If you do find a tick, don’t panic. You can easily remove them with a pair of tweezers and a gentle hand. Grab the tick with the tweezers and gently and steadily pull up. If part of the tick remains in your skin, don’t worry. As your skin heals, it will push out the remainder of the tick. If you think you may have a tick-borne disease, contact your physician immediately.