Q&A for How to Remove Leeches

No. It may cause the leech to vomit blood into your body which could pose serious issues.

Leeches have difficulty attaching through any thick layer of skin or fabric, but it is possible for them to chew their way through loose weave or very thin fabrics.

No, you should never pull the leech off. If you do, you might rip your skin because its teeth are stuck in your skin.

Get out of the water as fast as possible so the leech can't reach you. If there's one leech in the water there's probably a lot more.

If you find one leech, check your entire body to see if there are more. Leeches inject an anesthetic into your skin when sink in their teeth, so their bites are painless. You may not be able to feel the presence of other leeches elsewhere on your body. Don't freak out, they're not going to harm you.

Salt attracts them.

Generally, no. Many people do not even notice they have a leech on them until they see it.

While this isn't a foolproof measure for avoiding leeches, it'll prevent them from piling on. Spray your skin and clothes with a standard insect repellent and reapply it every few hours while you're in a leech-infested area.

The most effective substance to stop bleeding from a small cut is styptic. This may be applied in a powder form, a liquid form, or a moistened stick. There are also Q-tips that once broken, moisten the end with this astringent chemical that will usually stop small areas of bleeding.

Get your dog to stand in front of you while you inspect him. Leeches often come in batches, so if he has one leech clinging to him, he might well have more. Check him thoroughly, not forgetting his ears, belly, legs and tail. Slide a flat object between the leech’s mouth parts -- the narrower end, attached to the dog -- and your dog’s skin. Try a thin, stiff piece of plastic or your fingernail. Grip the leech firmly around the middle of its body with your other hand and pull. Leeches drop off once they’ve satisfied their hunger, but in the meantime they’ll be sucking blood from your pet. Drop the leech into a bucket of water or return it to its natural environment.

Wear thick socks and tuck your pants into them. Stay out of the water.

No, you cannot. Once the leeches have eaten their fill, they will drop off.

If a leech is stuck and you cannot remove it, seek medical attention immediately.

No, that will not work to remove them.

Most leeches take about 20 minutes to suck your blood until satisfied, but some may be slower or faster.

You can buy leech oil on eBay for about $18.

They can, but they usually won't. However, they can enter through orifices as some species prefer feeding on mucus membrane areas (including your intestines, vagina, eyeballs, nasal passage, etc.).

You'll need tweezers, and to cut open the skin a little. If you can't do it yourself, go to a hospital.

Yes, but it's extremely rare. Leeches carry parasites that cannot survive in the human body. But if they fed on a different person with, say, HIV, that virus can survive in the leech for months and can be transferred to you if it bites you. But again, this is extremely rare. Another extremely rare way to die would be if you had contact with so many leeches that they sucked out all of your blood, but that would be a lot of leeches, so don't worry.

If you do something like slapping the leech, burning it, pouring salt on it et cetera, the leech may vomit blood into your wound, which can cause a infection. Howver, a leech cannot live inside your body.

It is possible, but they will easily fall off because there is not much blood before reaching the actual eye ball.

Yes, because water is where they usually live. Freshwater leeches prefer to live in still or slowly flowing waters, but specimens have been collected from fast flowing streams. Some species are considered amphibious as they have been observed in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats.

You can, but you shouldn't. The leech will vomit its contents back into your blood, risking infection.