Timely thread! I was about to come on here to issue a similar warning. After walking my guy early Sunday morning, I discovered a tick lodged inside his ear. I got rid of it immediately but was surprised to find another one after a long romp in LSP in the afternoon. Two ticks in one day, whereas before we had never had any issues!

Definitely keep an eye on your pooches for uninvited guests! And, if you let your cats roam outside, beware.

We always dipped a Q-tip in rubbing alcohol and then dabbed it around the tick's head and they would let go.

Does DEET prevent tick bites?

From the CDC Website -

Link with Photo on how to Remove Tick
Tick Removal

If you find a tick attached to your skin, there's no need to panic. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers will remove a tick quite effectively.

How to remove a tick:

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible.

Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.

After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.

Avoid folklore remedies such as "painting" the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible--not waiting for it to detach.


Follow-up
If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick.

Ticks are out in force this weekend. I just pulled one off my dog with the hot tweezer technique, and i had one crawling on my leg last week after walking from Port Liberte to Liberty Park via the Golf Club path.

Disgusting little creatures, not much bigger than the head of a pin.

BTW the best technique i have heard is to heat up tweezers, and grab the tick body. As you gently pull, the tick should release its jaws from the skin due to the intense heat from the hot tweezers. You dont want to yank the tick off, as the jaws will stay behind and cause an infection.