Summer is tick season. That means increasing our vigilance, since ticks can transmit a large variety of pathogens while they are attached. Wearing protective gear is a great start. We especially like permethrin-coated gaiters that cover our shoes and pant legs. Careful tick checks upon coming inside are also essential.

If you find a tick that has become attached, what do you do to remove it? We recently received this comment from a reader of this column:

“Last summer, I learned that antiseptic mouth rinse kills ticks immediately. When I found a tick, I used to remove it and put it into rubbing alcohol, where it died after a minute or so.

“Once, I had no alcohol, but my mouthwash was handy. I wet some toilet paper with it, laid it on the tick for a few seconds and shazam! The tick released its nasty grip. I wiped it away with the paper.

“Check it out. Be sure the active ingredients match those of Listerine blue or yellow. If you put a live tick into this solution, it dies in a couple of seconds.”

This might work exactly as our reader suggests; we haven’t tested it. But we don’t recommend this procedure. Another reader explains why:

“As a long-time patient advocate in Tick-Borne Diseases, I must correct an idea that may be ill-advised. Yes, you can put the tick in something to kill it. If you do that, though, you will not be able to get it tested.

“More people these days should send the tick off to be tested when possible. To test the tick, the lab might want a live specimen. You can look up a tick-testing lab online and learn its requirements. Testing can help the doctor decide how best to treat the bite.

“The common recommendation for giving a one-time super dose of doxycycline or another antibiotic is NOT sufficient. Refer to the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society for a discussion of this topic. I think it is unethical that doctors are being told that a one-time dose will keep tick-borne disease(s) from taking hold in your body. There are many, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and STARI, along with Lyme.

“One of the most difficult infections to eradicate may be carried by black-legged ticks: Bartonella. Scientists are still discussing whether or not this infection is carried by ticks; we know it is carried by fleas. Nevertheless, with suspicion that it is carried by ticks, it should perhaps be mentioned as a possibility. We do know that it is turning up very frequently in the tests that are ordered to screen for tick-borne illnesses.

“Thank you for educating people on how NOT to remove a tick. Don’t try to burn, poison or agitate it, because it will regurgitate into your body when disturbed. That’s why pulling them out correctly is VERY important.”

Thank you for this useful information. Ticks are best removed with tweezers or a special, inexpensive tool that can easily be purchased online. They should be pulled straight out without twisting. Everyone should have such a device just in case a tick gets by initial inspection.

Better yet, wear clothing treated with permethrin or apply an effective tick repellent before venturing into woods or fields that could harbor these threats.

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of King Features, 300 W. 57th Street, 41st Floor, New York, NY 10019, or email them via their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com. Their newest book is “Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them.”

King Features Syndicate, Inc.