Removal: saving the tick (and what CDC says about testing)

01

If you want to keep the tick for identification or pathogen testing:

02

Place the tick in a small zip-top bag or pill bottle. Add a piece of slightly damp paper towel for live ticks, or a few drops of rubbing alcohol to kill it.

03

Label the bag with the date you found it, the location on your body, and where you were when you were bitten.

04

Store in the freezer if mailing to a lab. University programs (for example, the UMass Laboratory of Medical Zoology / TickReport) accept mailed ticks and report species + pathogens within a few business days.

05

CDC explicitly does not recommend basing your medical decisions on tick test results: testing labs are not held to clinical quality-control standards, a positive tick test does not mean you are infected, and a negative result can be falsely reassuring. Use the test for local-prevalence awareness, not as a substitute for symptom monitoring.