Tick Disposal

The complete guide to tick disposal by Tick Proof. (Note it is a fairly short and straight forward guide)

If you have just removed a tick from yourself, you may be wondering about the proper way to dispose of it. Should you kill it, burn it, chuck it in the garbage, the woods, flush it, or something else? Lots of ideas probably come to your head and since the tick in question was just in the process of feeding on you, most of those ideas probably involve ending it’s life and permanently removing it from your living space. This is totally incorrect; you need to save the tick.

The reasoning for tick retention is that diagnosis of tick-borne disease and sicknesses is not at all an easy process, it is an evolving field of medical science. Conditions that you can contract from infected ticks often mimic other medical ailments and it can be hard for even trained professionals to correctly pinpoint which tick-borne disease you might be suffering from.

Tick borne disease diagnosis is difficult, but it is easy if you have the tick. Do not dispose of the tick, keep it in a small plastic jar, cup, bag, or container. If you begin to experience symptoms consistent with illnesses transmitted by ticks, go see your health care provider and present the tick to them. Ticks can easily be tested to see which disease agents they are carrying, and diagnosis of your condition will be almost assuredly instant and error free.