Ticks:
Ticks can be brought to the Aspetuck Health District for species identification. The nurse can determine whether the specimen is a deer tick, dog tick, or lone star tick, and provide information on tick-borne illnesses and symptoms. There is a $10 fee for this service, which includes a handling and mailing fee for the tick to be sent to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) Tick Testing Laboratory. If the tick is a deer tick, it will be tested for five tick-borne illnesses, including Lyme Disease. There is no additional fee for CAES services. The results are sent to you via email directly from CAES in approximately 1 to 3 weeks, so please check your email regularly.
Alternatively, ticks can be submitted directly to the CAES Tick Testing Laboratory. Please visit the CAES website for more information.
If your tick is identified as a deer tick, it is recommended that you contact your primary medical care provider to discuss Lyme Disease prophylaxis, because prophylaxis should be administered within 72 hours of tick removal. Headache, fever, joint swelling or pain, or a bulls-eye rash are all potential symptoms of tick-borne disease and should be brought to the attention of your primary medical care provider as soon as possible. When you have received the results from CAES, you should also share these with your medical provider.
Daily tick checks and early removal are important ways to avoid tick-borne illnesses. For more information about ticks and tick-borne illnesses, please visit CAES at: https://portal.ct.gov/caes.
PLEASE NOTE: Although CAES will identify all ticks sent to them, they do not test dog and lone star ticks for any tick-borne illnesses. If you are interested in having a dog or lone star tick tested, you can send it to the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. Testing options and pricing can be found at their website: https://cvmdl.uconn.edu/tick-testing/options/ or by calling 860.486.3738.
Bats & Other Animals:
If you think there has been exposure to a potentially rabid animal, please call the Health District for further assistance. Staff will complete the paperwork necessary to have an animal tested for rabies at the State Public Health Laboratory in Rocky Hill, CT.
A courier service is available to transport the animal from the Health District to the state lab for a $100 fee payable by the resident.
Please note that only dead bats will be accepted for testing. If you have a live bat, please call a Nuisance Wildlife Control Officer or consult a veterinarian to have the bat euthanized.
Local Animal Control contact information:
To learn more, visit Connecticut Department of Public Health’s website.