Ticks

• Government of Canada: Learn about Lyme disease, its causes, symptoms, risks, treatment and prevention. Also find information on surveillance and guidance for health professionals.
• Public Health Ontario: Learn about data and analysis, guidance and best practice, laboratory testing, and more. 
• Public Health Ontario: Blacklegged tick life cycle.

If you have been bitten by a tick, you can submit the tick for identification. Only blacklegged ticks are sent for bacterial testing. The identification and testing of ticks provides data to monitor emerging tick populations in Ontario. Tick testing should not be used for the diagnosis or management of Lyme disease, as per Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) guidelines. Please speak to your health care provider if you are concerned about your health.

Laboratory identification results can take 3 weeks or longer depending on peak times (May-June and Oct-Nov). Blacklegged ticks are forwarded to the National Microbiology Laboratory for bacteriological testing, which can take up to 6 months. Public Health will contact you with the results.

Public Health cannot accept ticks found in the environment, on floors or furniture, or on dogs or other pets.  If you find a tick on your pet, please take it to your veterinarian for identification.

• Tick Submission and Testing FAQ
• Grey Bruce Health Unit: Tick Submission Form

• Tick Encounter Resource Centre: Information on tick species, tick habitat, tick identification, etc.
• eTick: A public platform for image- based identification and population monitoring of ticks in Canada

Videos

• Ticks Crawl Up!
• How do ticks become infected?
• Tick Factoids

Please contact your veterinarian if you are concerned about your animals’ health.

• Ontario Veterinary Medical Association: Ticks and Lyme Disease: Keeping Pets Safe and Healthy

Pets and Ticks: Ticks 101, Tick Maps, Research Updates, Tick Tracker, and more.