Finding a tick on yourself, a pet, or a loved one can be an unsettling experience. These tiny parasites are more than just creepy — they can carry serious diseases such as Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. So when you finally manage to remove a tick, your first instinct might be to flush it down the toilet and be done with it.
But here’s the surprising truth: Flushing a tick is not the best way to get rid of it. In fact, doing so could be ineffective — and in rare cases, risky. Instead, there are better, safer ways to ensure the tick is fully destroyed and properly documented for potential health reasons.
Why Flushing a Tick Isn’t a Good Idea
1. Ticks Are Tough Survivors
Ticks are exceptionally resilient. Their hard exoskeletons make them resistant to being crushed or drowned. Some studies have shown that ticks can survive underwater for hours — even days — by going into a dormant state. That means that flushing a tick doesn’t necessarily kill it. There’s a small, but real possibility it could survive the trip through your plumbing and resurface elsewhere.
2. Missed Medical Opportunity
Throwing away or flushing a tick also removes the opportunity to have it tested. If you develop symptoms of tick-borne illness later — such as rash, fever, or joint pain — having the tick available for identification can help healthcare providers determine your exposure and guide treatment. Without the tick, you lose a key piece of diagnostic information.
3. Environmental Concerns
Although less of a concern than the medical issues, flushing non-human waste (like insects, wipes, or medications) down the toilet can interfere with wastewater treatment systems and contribute to environmental contamination. The general rule: toilets are for human waste and toilet paper — nothing more.
How to Properly Dispose of a Tick
Now that flushing is off the table, let’s go over the right way to dispose of a tick once you’ve removed it.
✅ Step 1: Remove the Tick Safely
Before disposal, make sure you’ve removed the tick completely and correctly. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible. Pull upward steadily and avoid twisting, which can cause parts of the tick to break off and remain embedded.
After removal:
-
Clean the bite area with soap and water, rubbing alcohol, or iodine.
-
Wash your hands thoroughly.
✅ Step 2: Decide Whether to Save the Tick
In many cases, it’s smart to save the tick — especially if:
-
The tick was attached for a long time (over 24 hours)
-
You don’t know how long it was on you
-
You begin experiencing any symptoms
-
You live in or visited a tick-endemic area
If so, place the tick in a small container with a tight lid (like a pill bottle or plastic baggie), and add a small piece of damp tissue or cotton to keep it from drying out. Label the container with the date and location of the bite. Store it in the refrigerator until you speak with your doctor or local health department.
Some states even have tick testing programs that can identify species and test for pathogens.
✅ Step 3: If You Don’t Need to Keep It — Kill It First
If you’re sure you don’t need the tick for identification or testing, the next step is to kill it. Here are safe and effective options:
-
Drown it in alcohol: Drop the tick into a small container of rubbing alcohol. This kills it quickly and is ideal if you want to preserve the tick for later identification.
-
Seal it in tape: Wrap the tick tightly in tape (like duct tape or clear packing tape) and then throw it in the trash. This prevents it from escaping or biting anyone else.
-
Burn it (carefully): While not always necessary, burning a tick with a match or lighter will destroy it. Just make sure you’re doing this in a safe place — not inside your home or near flammable objects.
Do not crush a tick with your fingers. This is a common mistake and could expose you to pathogens if the tick’s internal fluids come into contact with your skin or mucous membranes.
Final Thoughts
While flushing a tick might feel like the fastest way to eliminate the threat, it’s not effective or recommended. Ticks are biologically equipped to survive extreme conditions, and flushing them can waste an opportunity to gather important health information.
Instead, take a few extra seconds to dispose of the tick properly — by sealing it in alcohol, saving it for identification, or securely taping and trashing it. These small steps can protect you, your family, and even public health.
And remember: after any tick bite, stay alert for symptoms such as rash, fatigue, muscle aches, or fever over the next few weeks, and contact your healthcare provider if anything unusual develops.
If you want over 200+ ideas, phrases, and text messages to drive your man wild with desire for you, make sure to check out my new program, Language of Desire. I give you step-by-step instructions and tons of exact words to use to get exactly what you both want in and out of the bedroom.
P.S. The reason so many men “pull away” from women is because
women don’t understand this naughty secret about men. . .
