Found Tick(s)?
What To Do Next
Be a"Citizen Scientist" by identifying, recording and sending your tick in for pathogen testing.
1) Download The Free TickTracker App!
The ticktracker application is tick surveillance is needed for research. When you record a tick sighting or bitings in a specific area it helps our communities track the spread of ticks and tick-borne diseases. This free public app can be downloaded via Apple and Android App Stores and it is in three languages Spanish, French and English.
2) We recommend testing your tick(s) for pathogens with ticknology.org.
Check the website for more information. Please keep the tick as intact as possible, even alive. Although you may have smashed or killed the tick, you should still submit them for testing. The tick testing is a DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which is 99.9% accurate.
How to Remove A Tick
If a tick is embedded in your skin, do not:
1) Grab the belly of the Tick
2) Twist the Tick
3) Squeeze the Tick
4) Yank quickly on the Tick
You should:
1) Grab as close to the mouth as possible (using sharp point tweezers)
2) Slowly, and gently pull straight up, to ensure the Tick does not regurgitate its stomach contents into your blood (these stomach contents are what carry the pathogens the cause Lyme)
3) Clean the wound with antiseptic
