Deer ticks are difficult to spot, because of their size, especially in their early life stages, so make sure you do a complete check of yourself and your companions after a hike. Have a friend perform a “tick check” to ensure there are no ticks on the back of your head or clothing. If your pet hikes with you, look deep in your animal's fur and use a fine-tooth comb to be more thorough.
The female deer ticks are extremely tiny, about sesame seed size, with brown bodies, red abdomens and black legs. Males of the species are also brown with black legs and are slightly smaller than the females. In early life stages, deer ticks may be no larger than a speck of pepper.
If a deer tick bites you, don't panic. Not every deer tick is a carrier of Lyme disease. If you find a tick on yourself or your pet, remove it carefully and completely. The best way to remove a deer tick is with a pair of pointed, small-tipped tweezers. Don't use tweezers that have ridged edges or are wide at the tip. Since deer ticks are so small, you may not remove the entire tick with a large pair of tweezers. Or you may damage the tick's body, which could release bacteria.
Grab the deer tick near the point of entry on the skin. Don't grab the body of the tick, as you may pull and leave the mouthparts still in the skin. Pull the tick firmly up and away from the skin. Don't twist the tick or pull it in a different direction.
Methods of tick removal have included hot matches or substances to suffocate the ticks, such as petroleum jelly or nail polish remover. These methods will not remove the tick. They may even cause the deer tick to dig in deeper and cause more harm.