Please Don’t Mail Us Live Ticks
Jonathan L. Larson
LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY
If you are active on social media, you might find some people posting about a project to collect ticks and send them to the University of Kentucky called the UK Tick Surveillance Program. Unfortunately, as with many things on Facebook, while there is a nugget of truth to these posts; they also get a lot of information wrong. The UK Tick Surveillance Program is real and will accept tick submissions in 2023. However, there are a lot of caveats that need to be considered before you slap a stamp on the back of that dog tick.
UK Tick Surveillance Program Facts
This project is not a free medical service
Despite what some posts on Facebook say, this is not a free alternative to paying for a tick to be tested for pathogens. The Tick Surveillance Program is designed as a citizen science volunteer opportunity, where Kentuckians can help with public health monitoring in the state. It is not designed as a testing service where a volunteer will be contacted with a possible “diagnosis.” If a submitted tick tests positive for one of the three pathogens being monitored for, the submitter will be notified but this could be multiple weeks after the tick was sent in. If you are concerned with a possible tickborne infection, you need to seek medical help from a physician.
There is a form you have to fill out
Ticks that are submitted must be accompanied by a form, found at this link. Any tick submitted without this form is discarded.
Submitted ticks should also conform to required specifications
Beyond the form, there are other rules which can be found at this link. To summarize these rules:
- Only ticks submitted from Kentucky residents are accepted; any ticks submitted from out-of-state are discarded.
- Ticks should be dead when submitted.
- Ticks should be shipped inside of a hardened container, which is then placed in a padded envelope. You cannot ship free floating alcohol through the U.S. Postal service.
How to prepare a tick for shipment
There is a step-by-step guide at the above link but in the interest of completeness, here is how to prepare a tick for shipment.
You will need the following supplies:
- 91% isopropyl alcohol (can be found at nearly any pharmacy)
- One hard plastic container, for example pill bottles with identifying info removed, small plastic travel jars, etc.
- Tweezers
- One plain cotton ball
- Two Ziploc bags
- A padded envelope
Step 1 Take your hard plastic container and pour alcohol into the container. You only need to pour in enough liquid to submerge the tick into.
Step 2 Use the tweezers to pick the tick up and submerge it in the alcohol inside of the container. Leave the tick submerged in alcohol for 24 hours.
Step 3 After 24 hours, pour the excess alcohol out of the container into a waste receptacle. There should be no liquid alcohol left. Next, take a cotton ball, or a cut off section of cotton ball, and stuff it into the container.
Step 4 Seal the tick and cotton ball by closing the container lid. Take the closed container and insert it into a sealable Ziploc bag. Then, seal the Ziploc shut.
Step 5 The Ziploc bag that has the container with the tick and cotton ball in it will then itself be inserted into a second sealable Ziploc bag which is also sealed shut. This double bagging helps preserve the sample. The sample is now ready for shipping.
Step 6 Insert the double bagged sample into a padded envelope. Ship the padded envelope and contents to this address:
Tick Surveillance Program
C/O Subba Palli
Department of Entomology
S-225 Ag Science Center N
Lexington, KY, 40546-0091
If you have found a tick and you merely want to have it identified, you can also ask your local Extension agent for help in contacting the UK Department of Entomology.
Jonathan L. Larson, Entomology Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky