Here’s How to Know More About the Tick You Found

We're all freaked out about ticks and the deadly diseases they can be carrying. An Upstate New York lab is trying to help alleviate those fears, or at least confirm them by offering free tick analysis.

The Thangamani Lab at SUNY Upstate Medical University is using the free testing to study the geographic location of ticks and the diseases they carry in Central New York. The lab warns not to use their findings for a medical diagnosis. If you found a tick attached to your body, you should still take appropriate action.

Here's how to send a tick in for testing:

Put the ticks (dead/alive) in a Ziploc bag with a piece of moist tissue paper or grass.
Place the zip-lock bag in an envelope with the following information:

• Date:
• Location (please provide the zip code):
• Was the tick collected from a human or a pet?:
• Email address to share the test results:

Mail the envelope to this address:

• Thangamani Lab
  4209 Institute for Human Performance (IHP)
  505 Irving Avenue
  SUNY Center for Environmental Health and Medicine
  SUNY Upstate Medical University
  Syracuse NY 13210

It takes the lab about 7 to 12 business days to complete the analysis and the results will be emailed to you. Even if the tick tests positive for a disease, it doesn't mean you or your pet does. Read more on the lab's testing process at their website.

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