An important survival tool that I was reminded of during my weekend stay in the Missouri Ozarks last week: a tick puller.

This is the best tool for removing ticks. Unlike tweezers, you don’t need good aim and fine motor control, especially necessary for seed ticks the size of a pencil dot. Unlike plucking them off with your fingers, you don’t have to touch the tick directly. Unlike using petroleum jelly, gasoline, rubbing alcohol, or fire to get ticks to let go, the tick pullers get them out without trauma, avoiding the tick vomiting back into your body and causing infection.

After about a month of searching with no luck in the midst of a vicious tick onslaught last spring, I found these at Sunshine Market in Mountain View, Missouri for $3.50. Search for them online. The manufacturer’s website is otom.com. They are well worth it!

Ozark tip of the day: check for ticks, all over, at least before bed everyday. Use a flashlight. If you feel something on your skin check it; if you remove a tick before it bites, so much the better for you. In other words, get those suckers before they get you.