COVID-19 Updates: Taking steps to return to normal.
- Public health restrictions: Alberta entered Step 2 on March 1.
- Book your vaccine: Albertans 5+ can get it now. Get third dose when eligible.
COVID-19 Updates: Taking steps to return to normal.
Learn about the submit-a-tick program, how to remove a tick, tick surveillance in Alberta, and Lyme disease.
Ticks are small spider-like animals (arachnids) that bite to fasten themselves onto the skin and feed on blood.
Ticks are most active during the spring, summer and fall seasons and can be active when the temperatures are above 4 degrees Celsius.
In addition to ticks that live in Alberta year-round, migrating birds bring ticks from warmer areas into Alberta during the spring.
Alberta is home to many species of ticks. Most tick species in Alberta do not carry Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease in people. However, there is evidence that tick species capable of carrying the bacteria are expanding their range in Canada.
Visit Health Canada for more information on risk areas for Lyme disease in Canada.
While most ticks do not cause serious health problems, it is important to protect yourself, your family and even your pets from tick bites. It is also important to remove attached ticks immediately in order to avoid potential infection or diseases that can be transmitted from the bite. Some tips to prevent tick bites include:
Although the risk of Lyme disease is very low in Alberta, there are other tick-borne diseases that can be transmitted by ticks.
It is important to properly remove a tick as soon as possible. Removing a tick 24 to 36 hours after a tick bite usually prevents Lyme disease from developing.
If a tick is attached to your skin, you can safely remove it.
Visit your health-care provider for assistance in removing a deeply embedded tick as soon as possible if:
If you develop a rash, fever or flu-like symptoms within 30 days of a known tick exposure, talk to your health-care provider about your recent tick bite, when it occurred and where you likely acquired the tick. A health-care provider does not require a tick in order to make diagnoses. However, if the tick is available, it may be submitted for further testing at the request of your health-care provider.
Lyme disease can affect humans, wildlife and domestic animals. It can cause an infection and, if left untreated, can cause serious, long-term complications and disability.
Symptoms usually develop between 3 to 30 days after a person is infected from a tick bite. Symptoms of early Lyme disease infection include:
Lyme disease can be resolved successfully with identification in the early stages of the disease and with antibiotic treatment. It is important to emphasize that the risk of getting Lyme disease from a tick bite in Alberta is considered very low.
Between 1991 and 2020, there were 132 human cases of Lyme disease reported to Alberta Health. All were reported as having been acquired while travelling outside of the province in areas where the bacteria causing Lyme disease and the ticks that carry it are known to circulate.
Lyme disease is diagnosed based on the presence of symptoms, a physical exam, the possibility of exposure to infected ticks and, if necessary, laboratory testing. If your health care provider suspects Lyme disease, you may be asked to provide a blood sample for testing.
Public health and laboratory experts in Canada, the United States and worldwide support the 2-step testing used in Alberta as the best laboratory method for supporting the diagnosis of Lyme disease. These high standards help protect individuals from misleading false-positive (inaccurate) results and unnecessary treatments.
In Alberta, laboratory testing for the first step is done by the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health. The second verification step is done by the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg to reduce the chances of false-positive results.
The Alberta government advises against the use of laboratory testing offered by some private laboratories outside of Canada. Some of these laboratories use non-standardized testing methods. These methods may report a higher number of false-positive results.
False positives can result in misdiagnosis that can lead to a delay in finding the actual cause of an individual’s illness, as well as unnecessary, expensive and sometimes harmful treatments.
A 2014 study found that one alternate United States laboratory had incorrectly diagnosed Lyme disease in up to 57% of healthy people who did not have Lyme disease.
Learn more about Lyme disease on the MyHealthAlberta website.
Other ticks in Alberta can carry organisms that may cause diseases in humans such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever (transmitted by Dermacentor andersoni and Dermacentor variabilis), Powassan virus (transmitted by Ixodes cookie and Ixodes scapularis) and tularemia (transmitted by Dermacentor variabilis). The number of cases of these diseases reported to Alberta Health each year varies from 0 to 3 cases, mainly acquired locally.
Like Lyme disease, there is a low risk that other tick-borne diseases, such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis or southern tick-associated rash-illness (STARI), may occur in Alberta.
If you find a tick on a person, a pet or anywhere outside, consider submitting a photograph of it to the Alberta Submit-a-Tick program.
Submit-a-Tick is a surveillance program which helps to monitor the types and distribution of ticks in Alberta, and to assess the risk of acquiring Lyme disease within Alberta.
You can submit photographs of ticks for rapid photo identification through the eTick website or using the eTick app.
Only ticks that have been requested to be submitted to the lab following photo identification through eTick will be accepted for testing at the lab. This ensures the best use of laboratory services. Most ticks found in Alberta are not the type that can transmit Lyme disease.
Note that Alberta Health Services Environmental Public Health and Indigenous Services Canada First Nations and Inuit Health Branch offices are not accepting tick submissions.
If you are asked to submit your tick to the Alberta Public Health Laboratory through eTick, complete and print the Tick Testing Request form that must accompany your tick to the lab (see below for details). Submitting a tick to the lab when requested is optional. By submitting the tick when requested, you are helping Alberta Health to monitor for ticks of public health concern in Alberta.
Members of the public can drop off their completed Tick Testing Request form and tick specimen at a local lab location, or send it by mail.
Collection, shipping instructions, drop off locations and mailing address are provided on the Tick Testing Request form as well as below:
Specimen Receiving
Public Health Lab (ProvLab) North
University of Alberta Hospital
WMC 2B4.04, 8440-112 Street
Edmonton, AB T6G 2J2
Note acute care and hospital labs do not accept tick submissions.
The results of photo identification will include the type of tick along with information about the species. The results from the Laboratory will provide you with confirmation of the type of tick if it could not be identified by photo, and if applicable, the results of testing for the Lyme bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi.
The results can be shared with your health-care provider if you are concerned about a bite from the tick, but are not needed to diagnose or treat tick-borne illnesses in people or pets. Most tick bites do not result in illness. If you are bitten by a tick, consult with your health care provider right away if you develop symptoms within 30 days of the bite. If you are concerned about a tick bite to your pet, consult with your veterinarian.
Read about tick-borne diseases for information about symptoms of Lyme disease, diagnosis and treatment in humans.
Since the tick surveillance program began, there has been a steady increase in the number of ticks submitted by people in Alberta. The proportion of ticks testing positive for the Lyme disease bacteria has not increased.
The risk of Lyme disease substantially increases when a local population of ticks capable of causing the disease becomes established. There is no evidence that ticks capable of carrying the Lyme disease bacteria have formed established populations in Alberta.
Was this page helpful?
You will not receive a reply. Do not enter any personal information such as telephone numbers, addresses, or emails.
Your submissions are monitored by our web team and are used to help improve the experience on Alberta.ca. If you require a response, please go to our Contact page.