Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew don’t always go looking for cases—sometimes, the cases find them. And no one likes finding ticks, but some days, you forget your insect repellant, your long pants, or your regular tick check, and then there you are, an amateur acarologist.
If you find a tick on yourself, your kiddos, or on a pet, the case isn’t closed! You can still take steps to stay healthy and protect others:
- Remove the tick safely and completely. Tweezers are best for this fiddly job, and you’ll want to make sure to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible.
- Save and identify your tick. If you’ve been binging CSI or true crime to stay out of the heat this summer, put those skills to use! Use our handy graphic below to figure out what kind of tick is responsible for your bite. That info will be useful if you start to feel sick later.
- Ready to join Team Tick? Join forces with other tick inspectors and send ticks removed from humans to VDH. The Virginia Tick Survey helps us learn more about the kinds of ticks biting humans and where different tick types hang out.
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