“So if you’ve been bitten by a tick, a lot of times people kind of panic.”

Finding a tick on yourself, your family member, or your pet can be scary. While it’s vital to remove a tick as soon as possible, it is also important to ensure that you do it properly, and that you take the right steps once it’s removed. This includes storing the tick, and sending it in for testing in case it is carrying a dangerous tick-borne disease like Lyme, or a dangerous allergen like Alpha-gal.

1. Remove the tick, the best strategy for removing a tick is by using fine-tipped, pointy tweezers like the ones from TickEase . By having something with a very pointy tip, you are able to get as close to the skin as possible and pull the tick out.

How to remove a tick:

 Hold tick with fine-tipped, pointy tweezers

 Get as close to the skin as possible

 Pull straight up in a slow, steady motion

2. Keep the tick in a plastic bag

After removing the tick, don’t throw it away. Instead, place it in a Ziploc bag. Most people won’t know how to identify what kind of tick it is, and if you don’t, you won’t know what kind of diseases it may be carrying.

3. Identify the tick

Next, take a clear photo of the top side of the tick, and send it to TickSpotters , where my team and I will identify it for you within 24 hours with the following information:

 The kind of tick it is

 How long it was attached

 And what kind of germ it likely, or even didn’t likely, transmit to you

4. Send the tick in for testing

After the tick has been identified and TickSpotters has let you know if the tick that bit you has a high chance of carrying a disease, you can choose to send in the tick to a testing facility.

It should be noted that while tick testing can be a helpful resource, it should not be used as a substitute for physician diagnosis of disease. Tick Testing Services Recommended by TickEncounter:

 TickReport

 Eco Laboratory

 Ticknology

 TickCheck

Safe Tick Removal, Storage, and Identification

If bitten, it is vital to remove the tick quickly and properly. Equip-4-Ticks shares the important steps to removing a tick safely, what to do with the tick once removed, how to get help with tick identification via TickSpotters, and where to send the tick to have it tested for Lyme disease.