Best tick removal tools?

OK so following my adventures ending up with one myself in Scotland - am STILL finding them on the dogs (easier to find on the greyhound, very hard on Layton with his collie-type fur)... before we ever venture onto the Isle of Skye again I refuse to go without ammo of tick removal thingees as I'm sick of my very very posh expensive eyebrow tweezers being used.

What's the best of the multitude of plastic things around for getting 'em out? Otherwise there will be no nice walks on the hills or by the lochs, no sticking your head into the undergrowth to sniff for bunny rabbits and next time we visit the in-laws it'll be walks around concrete carparks in picturesque places!

Dogs are taking removals like troopers and hubby's getting a dab hand at getting them out cleanly but I want my posh tweezermans back for their intended purpose!

I use a o'tom tick remover tool. It looks like a very miniature crowbar and removes the ticks head effectively. There is also a thing called a tick lasso but i have never used one.

http://www.otom.com/how-to-remove-a-tick

Ideally, you want something to prevent the ticks from attaching in the first place. I don't know what the incidence of tick-borne disease is in Scotland, but it's rising everywhere.

So next time you visit, something like a Scalibor collar? One each for the dogs - maybe one for you and OH too from the sound of it!

the o'tom one is good

I use a scailbor collar. Obviously it doesnt stop all the ticks attaching but I have noticed a big diffference in the number that do attach when walking round our local woods. They are good value too, something like £8 and lasts for 5/6 months.

I have used the oTom ones for years, they are the best things I have come up with
http://www.tollertales.nl/shop/tickotom.jpg

Heh - yeah - MIL still doesn't quite believe there can POSSIBLY be ticks in the long grass near her house!

Hubby's just the midgey magnet - appears to be me and the dogs that the ticks are keen on.

Right now I'm contemplating never crossing the border again cos they gross me so out.

Actualy Dizzi I reckon eyebrow tweezers are the best I have a selection of different tools including some stainless steel tweezers for handling delicate electronic componants with a choice of different shapes. But the eyebrow tweezers seem to me to work best. Bear in mind there a four stages of tick (On a host)

1) They are crawling around on the dogs coat - This is easy, just pick them off with thumb and finger.
2) They have just bitten the dog (or you ) and inserted the three mandibles into the flesh - This is when they are most difficult to remove as there is so little body to get hold of.
3) They are about halfway through the blood sucking process and are big enough to grab with the tweezers.
4) They have grown to about the size of a pea and are about to drop off the dog, at this stage you can easily lift them off with fingers.

Now, how to dispose of them, for me any that are at stages 1 - 3 have to be squashed between two metal objects, you will hear a distinct 'click' as the body is crushed, anything other than steel eg wood, plastic, shoe, is too soft and they will survive.

For stage 4 it's too messy (Blood spurts everywhere ) so I get my gas torch out and burn them (Flame temp. 1700C)

I was sent a few of these lasso tick removers

http://www.tickremover.com/vara-prod...-for-djur.html

by Werner Johansson of the following company:

http://www.zeckenschlinge.com/index.php?sprak=eng

for arranging some English/German translations for him.

Although Pereg has only picked up one tick [so far] I was able to remove it easily.

I accidently ran over a dropped off one with the hoover once, made a bit of a mess