A design for a DIY tool to safely remove ticks.

Tick bites are becoming an ever increasing problem these days, and safe removal is important; as a direct result.

This tool is my own design, and has been tested for over a decade; by several veterinarians and myself. To date, this design has removed several hundred ticks successfully.

It is built on a curved hemostat, using a hand file. An area is opened in the top of the jaws, that provides space for the tick's body; without compressing it.

Here's how to make this tool.

First, we need to prepare the hemostat, because they seldom line up on the jaws. They must match surfaces, to work properly:

This is the offset in the Jaws on this example.

The closed jaws are first filled flat:

Using a good single cut mill bastard file is best:

The handle is needed for precision control, and it will save your hands!

Once the bottom is flattened it will look like this:

Both sides must close at the skin level to work right!

The next step is to file away the excess on the jaw face:

The cut is at roughly at 45 degrees, and removed two thirds of the serrated jaw surface off the top side of the hemostat. Both sides are cut the same depth, leaving about a sixteenth on an inch of the original jaw at the bottom of the jaws.

The last step is to form the tip to a triangular shape:

This will allow the tool to remove smaller ticks too. This tool removes them alive, so they must be dealt with once removed. I use a jar of alcohol to drop them into, because it cleans the jaws for another removal if needed.

It is important that the tick's proboscis is first sealed at the skin level, to stop the reflux of dangerous fluids. This is critical, because most of the time; the tick body is compressed during removal, acting like a bellows for tick born contagions. The clearance built into this tool prevents this unintentional injection.

Once the tool is sealed, the head must be removed intact; and the tool allows this, by it's firm grip on the proboscis. Lifting the closed tool removes the entire portion of the head that's under the skin.

I clean the area with alcohol, and place a pain patch over the bite location. The patch kills bacteria under the surface, and reduces post removal itching!

This tool minimizes complications from secondary infections from tick bites. Full exchange of fluids takes a day or more, so quick removal is critical.

One of the vets testing this tool removed over 140 ticks from a family pet. He didn't expect the wayward mutt to survive, due to the number of bites; and the site infections. He's the one who told me the ticks were completely intact, and recommended the alcohol swabbing. That dog made a full recovery, and was thrilled to find his way home! They fixed their broken fence....

I considered producing these commercially, but have too many other projects that are more important. Here's hoping that this helps someone out there! I carry one in every first aid kit, as it will still work for original use too.