I had a tick Once Only, and Creature covered it with margarine to stop it breathing. When it dead, he was able to get it off with tweezers.
They is horrid. 
Was it difficult to refrain from licking off the margarine?
It's a good idea, though, and not one I would have thought of! They do say not to cigarette them or grab them, or they eject toxins into the bite site. Puagh.
Helio, that's correct from what I've read too. Covering them with vaseline to kill them is an alternative to margarine but neither are recommended. Anything that causes them distress will risk them disgorging their gut contents into the victim and greatly increase the risk of infection. They should be removed firmly but gently with tweezers, or preferrably a tick hook. The sooner the better. After removal, treat the bite mark with antiseptic.
This is what I've got:
http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/information/tick_removal.htm
I think I'd find it difficult to keep a steady hand, with the constraints of a) not squashing it and b) not snatching it off too quickly and leaving the head behind. Wish there was an easier way! Mind you, we've been lucky so far - the most likely victim, the dog, hasn't picked any up thank goodness.
This is why tick hooks are a better solution than tweezers as you grip the tick close to the skin and avoid squeezing it.
Learning to use the Tick Hook looks complicated! I think I'd be panicking too much to get it right and would certainly snap the blighter's head off in my screeching flap 
It's been most interesting, but now you've researched it thoroughly for us Eccles, don't go getting any more! 
and 
at Hagsrus - no idea that New Forest ponies were so stroppy!
Meh, over half the cases of Lyme disease for the entire state of Virginia occur right here in Loudoun County. We are tick-grand-central.
Light weight shirts and trousers that cover the arms and legs, plus sturdy hiking boots and bandanas are advisable. We add Cutter's Gel bug repellent on exposed skin at wrists, ankles and neck.
A thorough tick search of your nearest and dearest family members [human and feline] afterwards is good.
After having removed a tick, and gently washed your skin, then denature the bite site with a household vinegar soak. Don't vigorously wash the site until after you denature it. [this advice works well for poison ivy exposure also.]
Rinse, dry, and finish with topical triple antibiotic cream or ointment.
Leastwise that's what we do in this here neck of the woods.
Thanks for the tips, Asy, which lead me to more questions to an obvious expert!
What exactly are you denaturing when applying vinegar? Also household vinegar has impurities in it. Would acetic acid be better?
I wasn't aware that you could get antibiotic cream. Is it prescription only?
"What exactly are you denaturing when applying vinegar?"
Most foreign substances introduced via a bite of any sort are proteinaceous. Acid denaturation of proteins is fast and effective. What you want to do first is to remove as much foreign substance as possible by gentle soap and tepid rinse with a copious flow of water. You don't want to scrub the site, which would increase circulation, irritation, and increase the depth of contamination. Having got rid of the tick and gently cleansed the site, vinegar denaturation of what remains appears to render foreign proteins non functional. [a protein is a protein whether it came from a bacterium, an arachnid, an insect, a plant, an animal...]
"Also household vinegar has impurities in it. Would acetic acid be better?"
The nice thing about household vinegar is that it is a food item. As such, it is dilute and comparatively safe to be taken internally in small quantities. [mind, you, I wouldn't mainline it, heh.] I don't recommend other sources of denaturant.
"I wasn't aware that you could get antibiotic cream. Is it prescription only?"
Over the counter bacitracin/neomycin/polysporin is good.[provided you aren't allergic to it]
Caution: some toxins [snakes, spiders, marine animals] need to be handled strictly according to specific protocols. Poison Control should be consulted first.
Insect stings are not bites. The beginning of our sting protocol currently has you shave the protruding stinger away using a new safety razor. However, this protocol seems to change annually, heh.
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