Heres How to Tell If a Tick Head is Still in Your Skin, According to Doctors

By Kathryn Watson

Medically reviewed by Samantha G. Stoler, MD

You’re out hiking, breathing in the fresh air, taking in the sounds of nature— ticks are the furthest thing from your mind. That is until you see a brown tick butt sticking out from your skin. Maybe you immediately rip it off, only to wonder, How can I tell if a tick head is still in my skin?

If this is you, don’t panic. We‘ve got answers ahead. But first, let’s talk about ticks. We’re seeing an uptick in these tiny, insect-like parasites that feed off people and warm-blooded animals due to the growing populations of two of their favorite hosts: deer and mice. That may be good for ticks—they definitely have their place in a healthy, natural ecosystem—but that healthy place is not on your body. After all, ticks can transmit pathogens when they latch onto you. Over the past ten years, according to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, there has been a surge in Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, many of which can cause severe complications if they aren’t diagnosed and treated.

So if you notice a tick latched onto your skin (and want to remove it, like, right this second)—or you simply live in prime tick country—there are a few things you should know. ishonest spoke to two dermatologists about tick removal and tick safety so you can go forth into the great outdoors ready to encounter this mite-size foe.

How to remove a tick safely | How to tell if a tick head is still in your skin | When to see a doctor for a tick bite

How to remove a tick safely

When a tick attaches to your skin, it will typically live there for three to five days, especially after an outdoorsy activity like a hike.2 But they’re capable of staying on for much longer—up to two weeks (*shudders*).

When you find a tick latched onto your skin, you need to take steps to remove it as soon as you possibly can to lower the potential for disease transmission. There are some supposed at-home remedies for tick removal that suggest smothering the tick with petroleum jelly or painting nail polish or nail polish remover onto the blood-sucker—but none of these guarantee proper tick removal. Instead, here are the best steps to take after a tick bite, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

1. Grab a clean, fine-tipped pair of tweezers. If you’re not sure that they’re clean, give them a quick once-over with an alcohol wipe or, in a pinch, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
2. Take a deep breath to get calm. Your hands should be steady as you remove the tick.
3. With the tweezers, firmly grasp the tick by the head. Try not to squeeze it. Remove it with steady, even pressure by pulling straight upwards and away from the bite.
4. Take a look at the area. The tick’s head or mouthparts may be left in the skin. If you can see them, go back in with your tweezers and try to remove any remaining tick parts.
5. Clean the area with rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, or soap and water—whatever you have available to get rid of bacteria and hopefully avoid infection.
6. The tick might still be alive after you remove it. If this is the case, don’t try to crush it between your fingers. You can kill the tick by trapping it in tape, dropping it in rubbing alcohol, or flushing it down the toilet.

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However, if the tick has been attached to the host for several hours or if you’re unsure of the timeframe, you should save the tick in case you need to have it tested, should you notice unusual symptoms following the bite, Rina Allawh, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, tells ishonest. To save a tick, simply put it in a plastic container or bag, label it with the date, and, if you really want to make sure it is dead, shove it in your freezer.

To remove a tick from your dog or any other warm-blooded pet, use the same strategies as you do on human skin. You might need to get someone else to help you pull apart your pet’s fur and help hold your pet still as you use a tweezer to remove the tick. If you live in an area with a lot of ticks, you might want to invest in a tick removal tool from a pet store, per the American Kennel Club.

How to tell if a tick head is still in your skin

Okay, so you might have freaked out a bit and yanked the tick out as quickly as possible. Now you can’t tell if you got all of it…and it looks like the head might still even be attached to your skin. What should you do next?

If all that’s left is the head, you can usually see it on top of your skin. “In the process of removing a tick from your skin, you may have inadvertently decapitated the tick,” Jeffrey Hsu, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist in the greater Chicago area, tells ishonest. If so, Dr. Hsu says, the head of the tick will still be visible (just likely very, very small) and firmly attached to the outside of the skin.

Getting rid of the head is similar to the process of removing the tick, says Dr. Hsu. He recommends cleaning the area with rubbing alcohol before you give it another go with the tweezers, firmly grasping the head and plucking it off the skin with a straight, upward movement. If you aren’t able to get the tick’s head out, you may need to contact a doctor or dermatologist, as leaving a tick’s head or mouthparts in your skin can potentially lead to a skin infection.1

Even if it looks like the tick is completely gone, you should still inspect the area as close as you can—grab a magnifying glass if you’ve got one available. A small, dark, black dot on your skin might indicate some tick parts are left lurking. If some time has passed since the initial bite and you still have parts of the tick in your skin, the area might have become irritated, causing tick parts to take on a red-black hue.

“If the skin is firm, red, irritated, and if you feel a small lump within the skin, the tick may be lodged into the skin a little deeper,” says Dr. Allawh. If this happens, she says, you may need to see your dermatologist to surgically remove the tick. This is a simple, outpatient procedure performed with a punch biopsy tool.

When to see a doctor for a tick bite

Most tick bites do end up being harmless, Dr. Hsu says, so finding one of these unpleasant critters on your body doesn’t mean that you need to call your doctor right away. However, you should call your doctor or head to your local clinic if you notice signs of infection or any type of skin rash at the site of your tick bite. Unexplained fatigue, joint swelling, muscle pain, fever, or nausea are also possible symptoms of tick-borne illness that warrant medical attention.

1. StatPearls, Tick Removal
2. Informed Health, Tick bites: What Are Ticks and How Can They Be Removed?
3. StatPearls, Lyme Disease
4. StatPearls, Rickettsia Rickettsiae
5. StatPearls, Tularemia
6. Expert Review of Clinical Immunology, Diagnosis & Management of Alpha-Gal Syndrome: Lessons From 2,500 Patients