Remove a Tick Safely

Even after all of your diligence and preventative steps, if you still find a tick, do not panic! Just click here to see each step of the removal process, as well as information about where and how to get the tick tested for possible pathogens once you have removed it below.

Should I Get A Tick Tested?

Where Do I Get A Tick Tested?

Of the labs that test ticks for pathogens, not all are created equal in terms of quality of testing standards. One lab that is considered both a respected laboratory and offers the best variety of strains for the lowest price (at publication) is Tick Report, a lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s College of Natural Sciences.

With a baseline Standard DNA package for just $50 that tests a blacklegged tick for four different strains of borrelia, and one strain each of babeosis, erchiliosis, and anaplasmosis (common tick-borne infections), Tick Report presents a rare good deal for Lyme-associated testing. And, you receive the results via email in 3 business days!

Ticknology is another reputable tick testing lab recommended by ILC’s tick partner Tick Encounter Resource Center.

How Should I Use The Results?

There are a few things you should keep in mind, though, when deciding whether to have a removed tick tested or how to use tick testing results.

The results from a tick test should only be used as a signpost, rather than the last word on how you will move forward. While the lab turnaround time may be quick, as the CDC rightly points out, the symptoms of a tick-borne illness could show up before the test results come back. If one is showing early signs of any tick-borne illness, they should immediately seek medical help, not waiting on a tick testing result! The test results can be used later by the treating physician.

Do not attach too much weight to the tick test results – regardless of whether they are positive or negative. Just because the tick that you actually found tests negative for pathogens, it does not mean any other undetected tick that might have bitten you at the same time is also disease-free. Infected ticks and clean ticks can live side-by-side in the same habitat. So, be vigilant, be aware of the early signs and symptoms of infection, and keep doing thorough tick checks, even if the tick you found tests negative.

On the flip side, even if a tick tests positive for a pathogen, there is a possibility that the pathogen(s) did not have the opportunity to transmit that illness to you. The jury is still out on how long it takes for a tick to transmit Lyme disease to a host once it is attached, so a positive test might not necessarily mean that you are infected.

The best use of positive ticks test results is in how they could inform your treatment should you start to present symptoms. Currently, the only somewhat reliable diagnosis of Lyme and its associated tick-borne illnesses is a clinical one (i.e. based on symptoms and exposure). The problem is that the symptoms of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses can overlap with each other and mimic non-tick-borne illnesses – which means that an accurate clinical diagnosis is all that much more difficult.

However, positive tick test results could, at least, offer your doctor some rough guidance about which pathogens could be causing any odd symptoms that arise post-tick bite, and help him or her decide on treatment approaches that could be successful against your active infection.

Visit Lyme Diagnosis for more information.