Tick myths fact-checked: 7 stubborn misconceptions
Few animals are surrounded by as much half-knowledge as the tick. Most of it is harmless — the business with the trees costs nobody anything beyond an unnecessary glance upward. Other misconceptions are more expensive: someone who believes the season ends in September stops checking. Someone who trusts a safe time window waits instead of acting. Here are seven, checked against what the Robert Koch Institute actually writes.
| The myth | What is actually true |
|---|---|
| Ticks drop from trees | They climb grass and bushes, mostly below one metre |
| Ticks jump | They are brushed off on contact — that is the whole mechanism |
| Ticks are a summer problem | Greatest activity is usually in spring and autumn |
| Every tick carries Lyme disease | Regionally up to 30 % carry Borrelia — and carrying is not disease |
| After 24 hours you're safe | TBE viruses are transmitted shortly after the bite |
| You must twist a tick out | Ticks have no thread. Pull slowly and straight |
| Oil or glue helps it let go | The RKI explicitly advises against it — it raises the risk |
1. "Ticks drop out of trees"
The best-known misconception of them all — and the one that points your attention in exactly the wrong direction. The RKI describes it plainly: the tick climbs to an exposed spot such as a blade of grass, a bush or fallen deadwood. When an animal or a person passes, it is brushed off on contact and holds on.
The height is what matters: most ticks wait at less than one metre above the ground, frequently at only 10 to 50 centimetres. That also explains why children and pets are affected more often — they simply move at tick height. And it tells you where to start a check: low down, not at the head.
2. "Ticks jump or fly"
Ticks do neither. They climb, wait, and get brushed off — the entire host transfer consists of direct contact. Walking through tall grass does not collect them out of the air; it collects them off the vegetation you brush against. The practical consequence: closed shoes and keeping to the middle of the path do more than any amount of looking upward.
3. "Ticks are only around in high summer"
The RKI names spring and autumn as the time of greatest activity. The felt connection between heat and ticks comes mainly from people being outdoors more in summer — not from there being more ticks about. In practice: the check belongs in April and October too. When exactly the season starts and ends is in "Tick season in Germany".
4. "Every tick carries Lyme disease"
No — and the figures are starker than most people assume. The share of ticks carrying Borrelia varies regionally and runs to up to 30 percent. For the TBE virus it is 0.1 to 5 percent in risk areas. And the more important point: a tick carrying a pathogen is not transmission, and transmission is not disease. The context is in "How many ticks carry disease?"
5. "After 24 hours you're safe"
This is the most dangerous myth on the list, because it invites waiting. In reality it depends on the pathogen: Borrelia transmission takes up to one to two days according to the RKI, whereas TBE viruses are transmitted within a short time of the bite.
So there is no window in which nothing can happen. Both figures lead to the same, unspectacular advice: remove it as early as you can rather than watching the clock. The detail on feeding duration is in "How long does a tick feed?"
6. "You have to twist a tick out — clockwise or anticlockwise"
More has probably been argued about the direction of rotation than about any other tick question, and the argument was pointless: ticks have no thread. The RKI simply describes grasping the tick with tweezers close to the skin at its mouthparts and pulling it out slowly. A slight wiggle while pulling is fine; twisting like a screw is more likely to tear the body off. The full method: "How to remove a tick properly".
7. "Oil, glue or nail polish helps it let go"
Here the RKI is unusually blunt: the tick must under no circumstances have oil or glue dripped onto it before removal, because this would irritate the animal unnecessarily and could cause it to release its saliva and with it possible pathogens.
The home-remedy myth thus gets it exactly backwards: what passes for the gentle method raises the risk. And it costs time — the one quantity that, after the previous point, actually matters.
What's left
Sort the seven misconceptions and two practical sentences remain. First: ticks sit low, so a check starts at the bottom — and it belongs in spring and autumn as much as in summer. Second: there is no safe window and no home remedy, so all that counts is finding the tick early and removing it cleanly. Everything else is decoration.
Finding it early is the whole trick: TickSpot shows your camera feed inverted — a dark tick becomes a bright dot. Free, no sign-up.
Start the tick checkFrequently asked questions
Do ticks drop from trees?
No. According to the RKI they climb grass, bushes or deadwood and are brushed off on contact. Most wait below one metre, often at only 10 to 50 centimetres.
Can ticks jump?
No, they can neither jump nor fly. They reach a host purely through direct contact.
Are ticks most active in high summer?
No — the RKI names spring and autumn as the time of greatest activity. Ticks read as a summer problem because that is when people are outdoors most.
Are you safe after 24 hours?
No. Borrelia need up to one to two days according to the RKI, while TBE viruses are transmitted shortly after the bite. There is no safe window.
Sources
- Robert Koch Institute: Tick FAQ (behaviour and height, season, removal, oil and glue, transmission timing, infection rates — in German)
- Robert Koch Institute: Lyme borreliosis FAQ (in German)
Note: this article puts common beliefs in context and does not replace medical advice. If redness appears after a tick bite, or you develop fever or lasting malaise, seek medical advice.