Where should you take a removed tick? - briefly
Take the tick to a medical professional—your doctor, urgent‑care clinic, or a hospital laboratory—for identification and possible pathogen testing. If a clinician is not readily accessible, submit the specimen to the local health department’s vector‑borne disease program.
Where should you take a removed tick? - in detail
After a tick has been detached, the specimen should be delivered to an entity capable of identifying the species and testing for disease agents. The most reliable destinations are medical or public‑health facilities that routinely handle arthropod surveillance.
A physician’s office, urgent‑care clinic, or emergency department can assess the bite site, evaluate the risk of infection, and prescribe preventive treatment if indicated. These providers often have protocols for submitting the tick to a regional laboratory.
County or state health departments operate vector‑surveillance programs. Their laboratories accept tick submissions for species confirmation and pathogen testing (e.g., Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp.). Submission typically requires a short form noting the date of removal, geographic location, and the host animal.
If the tick was removed from a pet, a veterinary clinic can forward the specimen to a veterinary diagnostic lab. Some veterinary practices perform their own testing for common canine tick‑borne diseases.
When preparing the tick for transport, follow these steps:
- Place the live tick in a sealed plastic container (e.g., a screw‑top vial) with a moist cotton ball, or preserve it in 70 % ethanol if immediate testing is not possible.
- Label the container with the collection date, exact location (city, GPS coordinates if known), and the host (human, dog, cat, etc.).
- Keep the specimen at room temperature; avoid freezing or excessive heat.
- Include any required submission paperwork and contact information for follow‑up.
Choosing a qualified medical or public‑health laboratory ensures accurate identification and timely detection of pathogens, enabling appropriate clinical management and contributing to regional disease monitoring.