What Can You Put in a Dog's Ear to Kill Ticks?

The inside of a dog's ear is a favorite spot for a feeding tick to embed itself. The readily available pink flesh is like a buffet to this eight-legged cousin of the spider. The trouble for dog owners is that this is also one of the most difficult places from which to properly remove ticks. It is a tender spot, and dogs generally are less than cooperative during the somewhat invasive procedure.

  1. Petroleum Jelly

    • This isn't the quickest method to kill a tick in your dog's ear, but it makes the process less painful. Thoroughly coating a tick with petroleum jelly blocks its breathing apparatus and denies it the necessary life-giving oxygen. It usually takes 30 minutes for this to occur. While your dog won't be squirming, the downside is that the tick does continue to feed until its oxygen supply is depleted.

    Rubbing Alcohol

    • Isopropyl rubbing alcohol also will deny ticks oxygen by drowning them. Although it might be tempting to "pour" the alcohol directly into the dog's ear in an effort to irrigate, this is not a good idea. The pressure from the liquid could cause the tempanic membrane, which is basically the canine equivalent to the ear drum, to rupture. It is better to moisten a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol and dab it directly onto the tick.

    Liquid Soap

    • Various liquid soaps -- especially those with an antibacterial agent -- also will drown a tick when applied directly to its body. Again, the process takes time for the available oxygen to be dissipated. However, the presence of the antibacterial agent gives the inside of your dog's ear an immediate cleansing.

    Tweezers

    • Petroleum jelly, rubbing alcohol and liquid soaps in most cases will kill the tick but won't provide the ultimate goal, which is getting the tick out of your dog's ear. A tweezers is your best bet. With the tick dead, it won't react by biting deeper into your pet's flesh when you apply the pressure to force it to release its grip. Rock the tick back and forth gently to ensure its mouth releases from the flesh and that you do not separate the head from the body.

    No Matches

    • The old wives tale of using a burning match to get a tick to release its grip is simply that: A tall tale. Your dog is already nervous enough having you messing around with its ears. Adding flame to this situation will only get one or both of you burned.