Bitten By A Tick? Have It Tested For Lyme

According to the Portland Press Herald, Mainers who have been bitten by ticks can have the tick tested for Lyme Disease and rule out infection or start treatment right away.

This has been a terrible year for ticks; I've found them on my pets, kids and myself. I get so skivved out every time I reach for that tick spoon. Yuck. Removing the tick as soon as possible is important to prevent getting Lyme when you've been bitten, so suck it up, Buttercup and get that bug gone.

If you've removed a tick and you're concerned that it carries Lyme, you can send it off to be tested for $15 through the UMaine Cooperative Extension where it will be tested for not only Lyme but anaplasmosis and babesia. Find more information and directions for mailing in your tick here.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention received more than 1,400 confirmed and probable Lyme cases last year. Opportunity for exposure is high in Maine because many of us work and play outdoors.