[TowerTalk] Antenna/Tower work safety - Lyme Disease safety

[Andy]

> We're wandering  a bit, but you don't pull or dig out ticks except as a
> last resort.  Pulling them usually removes the tail end only leaving the
> head to cause problems.   Light a match, let it go out, then touch the
> rear of the tick with the still hot, match head.

We just had a safety briefing on this very topic.  The recommendation,
actually, is to never use vaseline, nail polish, or a hot match to
make a tick come out.  You SHOULD use tweezers, grab as close to the
business end as possible, and ease it out.  Just be careful not to
grab and squeeze the back end.

I am not certain of the source of information this time, but in the
past it was the CDC.  And a paramedic.

Deer ticks tend to be very small, as opposed to the dog ticks that we
are more accustomed to getting out, and dog ticks don't carry Lyme
disease.  A deer tick could be the size of the tweezer tip.

Andy
kb1nxm
(who grew up not far from Old Lyme, CT where this all began)