For ticks found in southern states, Kerry Clark, PhD is often able to test ticks free of charge due in part from funding by FLDA.
You can order a Universal Tick Test online from Ticknology with no kit required. The test looks for several disease-causing pathogens. Fees are based on the expediency of the results.
TickCheck can determine if your tick carries pathogens that cause Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Their average turn around time for test results is 40.9 hours. Fees vary based on the type of panel you pick.
If you’ve been bitten, or suspect you may have been, you can send IGeneX the tick to test and determine if the tick is carrying the pathogens that can lead to tick-borne illnesses: Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme Disease), Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever (TBRF) (including B. miyamotoi), Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Bartonellosis, and Rickettsiosis. The tick does not need to be fully intact to be sent in for testing. Fill out the Tick Test Request Form to send a tick for testing.
Their $60 Basic DNA per tick testing package detects seven different pathogens in deer ticks (blacklegged ticks) and eight different pathogens in non-deer tick species, including tests for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) and Southern-Tick Associated Rash Illness (STARI) in Lone Star ticks. Results typically in 1-3 days.
Clongen Labs offers Tick Testing for Lyme Disease by Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This amplification assay of total tick DNA detects a conserved region of the recA gene in Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent for Lyme Disease. Clongen reports that both dog ticks and deer ticks tend to carry the Lyme bacteria in their digestive system. In addition to Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), ticks can transmit other species of Borrelia, and other disease causing organisms such as Babesia, Rickettsia, Bartonella, and Anaplasma.
