Why Burning Ticks Can Make You Even Sicker in Michigan

We've all been there: You're enjoying a Michigan summer—maybe a backyard BBQ, up north hiking, or a camping trip, when boom, a tick decides to belly up to the all-you-can-eat buffet that is your body. Your first instinct may be to grab a match and burn it off, but experts highly recommend not doing that.

RELATED: Invasive Tick With Deadly Potential Confirmed in Michigan

I get it. You've got a blood-sucking insect draining precious fluid from your body while potentially infecting you with a vicious disease, but why shouldn't you use fire or heat to remove it? Let's dive in.

Gross Truth About Burning Ticks

Yes, a hot match placed against a tick's abdomen will make it voluntarily back out of your skin. However, according to LifeHacker, it will also stress the tick out while its head is embedded in your skin, and a stressed-out tick behaves like a Michigan frat boy after Taco Bell at 2 a.m. Translation: it throws up—inside you.

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That tick vomit is filled with cringeworthy things like germs, saliva, and possibly diseases it sucked out of its last victim. Congrats. You've just become a recycling bin for tick puke.

Other Bad Tick Hacks to Avoid

Oh, and in case you're thinking of using another Michigan "hack", like nail polish remover, alcohol, or even soap. Sorry, same result.

Sure, the tick may let go and attempt to crawl away, but the Mayo Clinic reports that this will result in the tick injecting you with a bit of barf and backwash. Lovely.

Protecting Yourself in Michigan Outdoors: The Right Way to Remove a Tick

The safest way to remove a tick is also one of the more "icky" methods, which is using tweezers, gripping as close to the skin as possible, and pulling steadily. The goal is not to pull the creature out, leaving its mouth and head inside your body.

RELATED: Lyme Disease: Revealing Michigan's Risk For Tick-Borne Illnesses

So, unless you want that vampire bug to projectile spew into your veins, skip the matches, use some tweezers, and leave the fire for roasting marshmallows (just check for ticks first).