Household bleach on an attached tick burns your skin without reliably detaching the tick and can drive pathogens into the wound.
P
Steps
schema.org/HowTo
01
DO NOT apply bleach, chlorine, or any caustic chemical to an attached tick.
02
Bleach is a strong oxidizer that damages your skin and the tick simultaneously, and an injured tick is more likely to regurgitate gut contents into the bite.
03
The chemical burn complicates the wound and adds infection risk.
04
Instead, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick close to the skin, pull straight up with even pressure, then clean the bite with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.