A new tick testing laboratory service at Ohio State University's Extension is now available to identify the most dangerous ticks that spread diseases.
Summer is around the corner, which means it will be tick season. The pests have been spreading in Ohio, especially since new species have invaded.
WOSU’s Debbie Holmes spoke with veterinarian, Dr. Tim McDermott, an educator at OSU Extension.
Debbie Holmes: How big is the tick problem in Ohio and is it worse in certain parts of the state?
Dr. Tim McDermott: We have a huge problem with ticks in Ohio. We've gone from one tick of medical importance to humans, companion animals and livestock about 15 years ago to five now, including adding two new ticks to Ohio in just the past couple of years. You can encounter a tick pretty much anywhere in Ohio. I will say the hot spots are going to be the eastern half of Ohio and the southern part of Ohio.
Debbie Holmes: And why is that?
Dr. Tim McDermott: Two of the ticks that really are causing big problems right now are going to be, well, we'll say three of the ticks. The deer tick, the lone star tick, and the longhorn tick, and those are the counties where they're in heavy populations. All three of them can tolerate either pasture or meadow where they are out encountering producers and their animals, or in the case of the deer tick and the lone-star tick, they really like the wooded environment.
Debbie Holmes: So there's a lot of wooded areas in the southeast and eastern part.
Dr. Tim McDermott: Yes, that's that whole Appalachian and Allegheny Plateau region of Ohio.
Debbie Holmes: Tell me then about this new tick testing laboratory service.
Dr. Tim McDermott: We are super excited about that. We have our Infectious Disease Institute discovery theme working with the College of Veterinary Medicine, where I am courtesy appointed using the extension outreach. And we have a laboratory where, if you find a tick embedded in you or one of your animals, you can submit that to the lab, and they can test it to see if it carries any of the pathogens that cause disease that we worry about from ticks.
Debbie Holmes: And so, before what would happen? You wouldn't know, nobody would, if somebody got bit or somebody got, you know, a tick on their body. They would pull it out or whatever, but they wouldn't know which one it was.
Dr. Tim McDermott: Prior to this lab we had no testing service here in Ohio. There were a couple of other places that potentially could do some laboratory testing, but now we have an expert right here where the problem is located.
Debbie Holmes: Now this is not a mobile testing service, right?
Dr. Tim McDermott: No, this is truly a laboratory at Ohio State University where the ticks get submitted and then they get tested for the pathogens.
Debbie Holmes: So, people who come in contact with a tick need to then send it to you?
Dr. Tim McDermott: Yes, so if you have a tick embedded in you, the first thing you need to do is remove it the correct way because there's lots of incorrect ways and one correct way. You need to use tweezers or a pointy tick tool. You (need) to get all the way down to that head which is embedded. You need to gently but firmly pull upward to remove the tick. Wash your hands, wash the spot. Take the tick, place it in a plastic baggie, squirt a little hand sanitizer in that.
Debbie Holmes: And then mail it in an envelope, I suppose.
Dr. Tim McDermott: Yes. Instructions for submission are right on the laboratory website for Buckeye Tick Test.
Debbie Holmes: Do people have to pay, then, for this diagnosis?
Dr. Tim McDermott: Yes. So, we kept it as inexpensive as we could. The testing costs $49.99. And what it does is it tests for all of the common pathogens that affect humans, companion animals and livestock that ticks can vector or transmit here in Ohio.
Debbie Holmes: And that is part of the goal, right, is preventing the spread of Lyme disease, which is one of the diseases that can happen.
Dr. Tim McDermott: Yes, Lyme disease is one of the diseases that we check those ticks for. Lyme disease is a huge problem here in Ohio. Between 2010 and 2023, we had a 35-fold increase in the number of Lyme disease diagnoses here in Ohio. It's actually worse than that. And unfortunately, our biggest two cohorts that are affected by Lyme disease here in Ohio are our kiddos. Five to nine and 10 to 14 are the ages. It went from something like 37 cases diagnosed back in 2010 to over 1,300 now.
Debbie Holmes: And that's because the ticks, there's more ticks, there's more different kinds of ticks, and they're reproducing faster or what?
Dr. Tim McDermott: We are seeing a general spread of ticks here in Ohio and in our region. Climate change is allowing them to exist in other habitats. Wildlife movement is bringing them in contact with other people. We don't really have a predator of ticks that's going to eat them as food. And so, we have lots of ticks out there and as a result, we're seeing increased amounts of disease.
Dr. McDermott and a colleague at OSU Extension are hosting a webinar Wednesday at 4p.m. They will provide an update on ticks in Ohio and information about the Buckeye Tick Test. Click here to watch the webinar.
