Tick Removal
What To Do If a Tick Bites You
If a tick is attached to your skin, don’t panic. Keep calm and remove it properly and promptly using a fine-pointed tweezers or special tick-removal tweezers. By removing the tick as soon as you can, you reduce the chance that you, a family member or pet will get infected.
How to Remove a Tick
- Using fine-pointed tweezers, grasp the tick at the place of attachment, as close to the skin as possible.
- Gently pull the tick straight out with steady, even pressure. Do not squeeze, twist or jerk the tick. (Watch this video for removal tips.)
- Do not touch the tick with your bare hands.
- Wash your hands with soap & water, apply rubbing alcohol or antiseptic to bite site.
- Place tick in a zippered plastic bag with a moist cotton ball and bring it to your local health department or private lab for testing.
- If a rash appears, take a photo, write down any symptoms you may have and call/visit your doctor immediately.
Video Source and Creators: Kathryn Rochon, Ph.D., The University of Manitoba
Laboratories
This list below is provided as a convenience only. GLA is not affiliated with any of these labs in any way, does not provide funding to them or receive any payments from them, and does not recommend or endorse any of the labs or their tests.
Patient Testing Labs
Advanced Laboratory Services
501 Elmwood Ave.
Sharon Hill, PA 19079
Clongen Laboratories
Middlebrook Tech Park*
12321 Middle Brook Road, Suite 120
Germantown, MD 20874
Phone: 301-916-0173
Fax: 301-916-0175
Toll Free: 877-CLONGEN (256-6436)
IGeneX, Inc.*
795 San Antonio Rd
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Phone: 800-832-3200
Fax: 650-424-1196
Lyme Disease Laboratory
Stony Brook University Medical Center
Basic Sciences Tower, Level 3
Stony Brook, NY 11794
Northeast Infectious Disease Diagnostic
Laboratory Applied DNA Sciences*
East Stroudsburg University
314 Independence Road, Suite 114
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
Phone: 579-422-7885
*Lab tests ticks and people.
Tick Testing Labs
CT Agricultural Experiment Station
123 Huntington Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Phone: 203-974-8500
New Jersey Laboratories
1110 Somerset Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 732-249-0148
Email: nj@njlabs.com
Northeast Infectious Disease Diagnostic Laboratory Applied DNA Sciences
East Stroudsburg University
562 Independence Road, Suite 114
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
Phone: 570-422-7885
TickChek
1-866-713-TICK
526 Independence Rd.
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
TickReport™
Laboratory of Medical Zoology (LMZ)
TickReport
Fernald Hall, University of Massachusetts
270 Stockbridge Rd.
Amherst, MA 01003
Phone: 413-545-1057
Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (CVMDL) at UCONN
61 North Eagleville Rd, #3203
Storrs, CT 06269
Phone: 860-486-3738
Submission Form
Imugen
315 Norwood Park South
Norwood, MA 02062
Phone: 781-255-0770
Find a LLMD