How to take a tick sample? - briefly
Use fine‑tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible, pull upward with steady pressure, and transfer the specimen into a sterile tube containing 70 % ethanol. Label the tube with date, location, and host species before sending it to the laboratory.
How to take a tick sample? - in detail
Collecting a tick specimen requires preparation, proper tools, and adherence to biosafety guidelines. Begin by assembling a fine‑pointed tweezers, disposable gloves, a sterile container (e.g., a screw‑cap tube), 70 % ethanol for preservation, and a label with collection details (date, location, host species). Wear gloves throughout the procedure to prevent contamination.
- Locate the tick on the host or in the environment. If on an animal, restrain the host gently to expose the attachment site.
- Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible with tweezers, avoiding compression of the abdomen.
- Pull upward with steady, even force until the mouthparts detach. Do not twist or jerk, which could leave mouthparts embedded.
- Transfer the intact tick directly into the sterile tube containing ethanol. Fill the tube to submerge the specimen completely; this halts metabolic activity and preserves DNA.
- Seal the container, label it with all relevant metadata, and store it at 4 °C until laboratory processing.
If sampling from vegetation, use a white cloth or flag to sweep low foliage, then collect any attached ticks with tweezers and follow steps 4‑5. For bulk collection, a drag cloth (½ m² of white fabric) can be pulled over vegetation; ticks that cling to the cloth are removed with tweezers and placed in ethanol.
Maintain a log of each collection event, noting GPS coordinates, habitat type, weather conditions, and host information. This documentation ensures traceability and supports downstream analyses such as pathogen screening or species identification.
Finally, dispose of gloves and any contaminated materials according to local hazardous waste protocols, and decontaminate tweezers with 10 % bleach followed by sterile water before reuse.