How to Know If a Tick Has Lime Disease

Ticks can be a nuisance after a carefree walk in the woods. And although they can carry several diseases, they are best known for transmitting Lyme disease–a potentially long-term, painful affliction. If you find that you've been bitten by a tick, however, there's no need to panic just yet: if you can capture the creature in question, a trip to the lab can answer your most pressing question.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Don disposable plastic gloves before you handle any ticks.
2. Remove the tick, in the safest manner possible: with a pair of tweezers, grab hold of the tick by the head, as close as you can get to the skin. Pull gently and firmly away from the skin. Do not squeeze the body of the tick, and do not remove the tick by smothering or burning.
3. Store the tick in a small, plastic container–a film container will work quite well. If at all possible, preserve the tick in 70% alcohol, and secure the container shut for transport.
4. Ship the tick to a reliable lab that tests ticks for Lyme disease. If the tick at any point starts to deteriorate or break apart, remember that salvaging the tick's abdomen is most important.
5. Wait for results. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with the details of Lyme disease. A tick needs to feed completely–over a 24 or 48 hour period–before it can transmit the infection. In addition, even infected ticks don't always transmit the disease on every bite. Keep an eye out, however, for the emblematic bullseye-shaped rash, which is Lyme disease's trademark.