Heat, nail polish remover, glue or alcohol are effective at removing ticks

False. Many websites and people advise that the best way to remove a tick is to burn it with a lighter/match, or to smother it in Vaseline, glue or alcohol. However, while these methods may indeed remove the tick, they may also result in higher risk of infection if the tick is stressed and regurgitates its contents (including the bacteria) into the blood stream. Instead, always use a dedicated tick tool or fine-nosed tweezers (not blunt tweezers that squeeze the tick).

In a study published by Oteo et al. (63) aimed to evaluate different methods of tick removal, it was concluded that removal of ticks with tweezers significantly reduces the development of complications and infection by tick-borne microorganisms, when compared to other methods.

Other  popular methods for removing ticks from the skin such as applying a hot match or a fingernail to the tick’s body, covering the tick with oil, Vaseline, petroleum, nail polish or alcohol, are not recommended and are associated with an increase of complications and transmission of infectious agents because they induce the tick to salivate and regurgitate into the host (63, 64).