Setting record straight on tick removal

“Thanks to P.S. of the Lyme Disease Association for setting us straight on home remedies for tick removal. Soap doesn’t work; neither does petroleum jelly or a lit match. There is only one good, safe way to remove a tick, and that’s with tweezers, pulling the tick straight out with steady pressure. If you have a tick and are unsure how to detach it properly from yourself or a pet, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( www.cdc.gov) and the Food and Drug Administration ( www.fda.gov) offer step-by-step, illustrated instructions on their Web sites; just search for “tick removal.”

“If you have a natural-fiber rug such as jute or seagrass that slips around on the floor, try this trick: Choose one side of the rug to be the bottom, and run very thin lines of acrylic caulk along the rug every 6 inches or so. Let the caulk dry completely and you are set. The caulk lines will keep the rug from slipping.

“To prevent garbage cans from filling with water during rainstorms, drill several holes in the bottom, near the sides. This will also help bags to come out of the can easier.

“”I found a terrific way to keep track of when I have last taken a twice-weekly pill. I would forget if I had taken it on Monday or Tuesday or what, so I started writing a letter on the plastic cap to remind me of the last time I took it. I use a dry-erase marker, and I can simply rub off the last letter and replace it with the current day’s letter. Now I know at a glance whether I am up to date on my meds.” — A.A. in Florida