What a stupid thing to do, he must surely have known that there a two diseases which are carried by ticks, one is quite serious and we have injections every three years against that one, the other is not so serious and there is no treatment for it.

I don't mind holding them, if they are all swollen up they wil not bit you, and if I've picked them off the dogs fur then I have about five minutes in an open hand before they will try to 'dig in' if one closes the hand then it's much less (They like the dark and the warmth of the body)

Of course I always wash my hands thoroughly after handling them.

Yes Pat, but how

I have found that they are incredibly tough, for example squeezing them between two bits of wood is no good, any type of wood is too soft, I now use a pair of metal workers pliers, only by considerable force between two metal jaws can you crush them. You can hear a 'click' when they are crushed

Other methods I've used are :-
A) Turn the gas torch on them, the flame is said to be 2,200 degress C
B) Drop them in a glass jar of petrol with an airtight lid

I once collected some and put them in a glass jar with a metal lid and put it in the oven at 100 degrees C they survived I then took the jar and put it in the freezer at minus 15 degrees C they survived that. My next experiment will be to put them in a plastic jar with a plastic lid and microwave them

Couldn't get near her with the Tom O Wotsit! So I gave hubby the job!

Both these were smaller than peas! I found the bigger one but would never have found the little'un.

Hehehehe

Eurggghhh
I was concerned about this too but it didn't seem to happen (touch wood)

Once out hubby takes them outside on the concrete path and with a stone he batters and crunches them to death