Getting a Tick Tested

I tell people to save the tick after removal pretty much everywhere on this site. Here's the part I never spelled out: what you actually do with it once it's in a bag in your fridge.

Testing a tick isn't a substitute for seeing a doctor if you've got symptoms, don't wait on results to get checked out. But it can tell you what the tick was actually carrying, which is useful information for you and for whoever's treating you, especially in that gray zone where you're not sick yet but you want to know what you're dealing with.

How to Save It Properly First

Don't crush it, don't drown it in alcohol if you want it tested rather than just disposed of, alcohol can mess with some of the testing methods labs use. The simplest approach: drop the whole tick, dead or alive, into a small sealed bag or a pill bottle. Write the date and where on your body it was on a piece of tape on the outside. Stick it in the fridge, not the freezer if you can help it, though either works in a pinch.

If you're not going to test it right away, it'll keep for months in the fridge. Some labs say a dried-out tick is still testable years later, so don't toss it just because time's passed and you're now wondering if you should've tested it back then.

Where to Actually Send It

A handful of labs around the country do this by mail. Costs and turnaround vary, so I'm listing what I know about each:

• TickReport (run out of UMass Amherst) — results in 2 to 3 business days typically, often faster. Tests for the main Lyme-related pathogens plus Rocky Mountain spotted fever and STARI if it's a lone star tick. Probably the most established academic lab doing this.
• IGeneX — tests for Lyme plus a wider panel including Bartonella and relapsing fever. About 10 business days. The tick doesn't need to be fully intact to test it.
• Buckeye Tick Test (Ohio State) — if you're here in Ohio like we are, this is the one I'd use first. Results back in about 72 hours. Straightforward mail-in process, no kit required, just bag it and send it.
• TickCheck — another mail-in option, similar process to the others.

None of these are free, and as far as I know none of them are covered by insurance since the tick itself isn't a clinical sample from your body, it's just informational. Figure on spending somewhere between $50 and $150 depending on which lab and how many pathogens you want tested for.

What the Results Actually Tell You

A positive result means the tick was carrying that pathogen. It does not mean you're infected. Plenty of bites from infected ticks never transmit anything, the tick has to actually feed long enough and the bacteria has to make the jump, which doesn't always happen even from a tick that's carrying it. Think of it more like a smoke detector than a diagnosis: it tells you there's something worth paying attention to, not that there's definitely a fire.

A negative result is reassuring but not a guarantee either. No test is perfect, and if you develop symptoms later, see a doctor regardless of what the tick test said. The test is a piece of information, not the final word.

When I'd Actually Bother Doing This

Honestly, for most bites we don't bother sending it off. If the tick was clearly attached for less than a few hours, or it's a species that doesn't carry much around here, we just keep an eye on things and move on. Where I think testing earns its cost: a tick that was attached a good while before you found it, a tick bite on a kid where you want extra peace of mind, or any situation where the species is uncertain and knowing what it actually was changes how closely you're going to watch for symptoms.

If you want a tick positively identified before deciding whether testing is even worth it, see the tick species page first, or check with your local county extension office, a lot of them will ID a tick for free even if they don't run pathogen tests themselves.