Submit a Tick for Testing

If you have a tick or ticks that you would like to submit for testing, please follow these steps.

1) Safely remove the tick(s).

• (Source: Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation)
• If you find a tick attached to your skin, there’s no need to panic—the key is to remove the tick as soon as possible. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but an ordinary set of fine-tipped tweezers work very well.

How to remove a tick:

• Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
• If you already have a pair of fine-tipped tweezers, and a steady hand, you can grasp the mouthparts of the tick, NOT the body of the tick, and slowly pull the tick straight out.
• After the tick has been removed, it’s important to wash the bite site using soap and water, followed with an antiseptic. Over-the-counter antiseptic medications are available at any pharmacy.
• Watch Tick Removal Video (source: CanLyme)

2) Place tick(s) in a resealable bag or plastic container with a firmly closing lid.

3) Place tick(s) in the freezer and leave overnight, or for a minimum of 12 hours.

4) Remove tick(s) from freezer.

5) Fill out the Online Submission Form.

6) Click on the “Submit” button to notify Geneticks that you will be mailing in a tick submission.

7) Once you have submitted, you will receive and email confirming your submission details. Please print this email, and include the paper copy with your tick(s) in the mail. Mailed tick(s) submissions MUST include a paper copy of the submission form, otherwise they will not be processed.

8) Mail the tick submission (paper submission form and accompanying ticks) to:

• Geneticks Canada, P. O. Box 114, Pefferlaw, ON  L0E 1N0

What are the options and costs for testing?

There are two choices for the tests to be run on the tick submitted.

1) Simple Borrelia panel ($30) – Tests for any species of Borrelia, but does not differentiate between the Lyme disease causing (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato) and relapsing fever causing (Borrelia miyamotoi) species of Borrelia.

2) Advanced Borrelia panel ($50) -Tests for any species of Borrelia, and allows differentiation between the Lyme disease causing (Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato) and relapsing fever causing (Borrelia miyamotoi) species of Borrelia.

Note: If you require expidited testing, testing for additional pathogens we have not listed, or would like to contact us regarding testing for research purposes, please feel free to please use our Contact Us email form.

Coming Soon

Bartonella screening – Testing for pathogenic species of the Bartonella genus including Bartonella henselae, Bartonella quintana, and Bartonella clarridgeiae.

Babesia screening – Testing for Babesia microti and Babesia duncani.

Anaplasma screening – Testing for Anaplasma phagocytophilum

Ehrlichia screening – Testing for Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrlichia canis

Q-fever screening – Testing for Coxiella Burnetii

Tularemia screening – Testing for Francisella tularensis

Tick Submission Form 

Submit a Tick

If you are human, leave this field blank.

Section 1: Personal Information

Date of Submission (dd/mm/year): *

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *

Phone (### ### ####)

Mailing Address *

City *

Province *

Postal Code *

Section 2: Personal Information

Number of tick(s) being submitted (Cost for testing is per tick submitted) *

1

2

3

4

5

Other, type number in box below.

More than 5 ticks, please type in number below:

Who were the tick(s) attached to? Choose one from the dropdown options below: * You, the individual submitting the tick(s) Another adult (age 18+) A child (under 18) An animal (i.e., dog, cat, etc.)

If pet/animal was selected above, please specify the animal here: N/A Cat Dog Horse Rabbit Other, please describe in box below:

Other pet/animal type:

Gender of individual or animal the tick(s) were attached to: *

Female

Male

Other, please describe in box below:

Other, please describe:

Age of individual the tick(s) were attached to: *

Was the tick(s) attached to the skin (i.e., feeding)? *

Yes

No

Unsure

Please provide the location where you believe the tick(s) originated from (i.e., name of park, town, etc.): *

What activity was the individual or animal engaged in when the tick(s) were found? Choose one from the dropdown options below. * At a park Camping Gardening Hiking Horseback riding Outside in the backyard Other, please describe in box below:

Other, please describe:

Tick Research: Please let us know if you consent to the following information being used to further the study of the tick population and tick-borne illnesses in Canada - location tick was found and results (postive/negative) of tick-specifc testing. Choose one from the dropdown options below: * Yes, I agree to this aggregate information being used to further research into tick-borne diseases in Canada. No, do not use my aggreate information for tick-borne research.

Please inform us of any additional information we should know regarding this submission:

IMPORTANT: After you select "Submit", you will receive an email confirming the details of your submission. You must print this email, and include the physical copy when you mail your tick(s) to Geneticks.

PAYMENT: Once you click on the "Submit" button below, you will be directed to our confirmation and payments page. Please complete and submit your credit card payment using that form.

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