Remove ticks and act

Remove attached ticks as soon as they are found.

• Use clean, fine tipped tweezers or a tick removal device. 
• For attached ticks, grasp the tick's head close to the skin surface. 
• Pull slowly upward with steady, even pressure. 
• Do not twist or crush the tick.  
• Wash the site of attachment with soap and water or disinfect with alcohol or household antiseptic.
• Put the tick in a sealable plastic bag or container such as a pill bottle. Record the date and location of the bite, as well as the part of your body where you were bitten.
• Watch for symptoms in the weeks following a tick bite.

• Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases are infections caused by viruses, parasites and bacteria that can be spread through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks.  
• Infected blacklegged ticks need to be attached for at least 24 hours in order to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
• Symptoms of Lyme disease may begin as soon as three days after a tick bite or can be as long as 30 days later. If you have been bitten by a tick or have been to an area where blacklegged ticks may be found watch for early symptoms. 
• Early symptoms may include a rash.  The most commonly reported symptom of Lyme disease is an expanding skin rash that typically begins at the site of the tick bite.  This rash is called erythema migrans. It slowly grows to more than 5 cm in diameter over several days. 
• Early symptoms may include flu like illness ( fever, chills, fatigue, tiredness, swollen lymph nodes, muscle and joint aches).
• Consult your health care provider if you have been:
  • If you find a tick attached to your skin and have no symptoms, you can be assessed for a high-risk tick bite within 72 hours of removing the tick.  Contact your family physician or check with your local pharmacist to see if they provide assessments for high-risk tick bites and Lyme disease prevention.  If you see a health care provider, bring a photo of the tick or the tick in a sealed bag or container
    
  • bitten by a tick and develop symptoms of Lyme disease or
  • to an area where blacklegged ticks may be found and develop symptoms of Lyme disease