Backcountry first aid · CA

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Seasonal advisory · Spring 2026

Peak deer tick activity runs late April through June across southern Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes, and southern Manitoba. Range is expanding north each year — check yourself after every outing, including suburban yards.

✕ ✕ ✕   Triage start   ✕ ✕ ✕

Found a tick?
Start here.

Pick what matches your situation. If a tick is on someone right now, go straight to Remove It. If it’s already off and you want to know what species it was, go to Identify It. If symptoms started showing up in the last 30 days after a bite, go to I Think I’m Sick.

Action · in the field

Remove it

Fine-tipped tweezers, straight pull. No matches, no Vaseline. Steps and the things that make it worse.

Open guide
Calm · informational

Identify it

Wood tick? Deer tick? Nymph or adult? What species you’re dealing with changes the risk.

Open guide
Urgent · symptomsURGENT

I think I’m sick

Fever, rash, joint pain, facial weakness? What to watch for and where to go — pharmacist, doctor, or ER.

Open guide

Field reference · 60-second version

The whole removal protocol, on one card.

Print it, fold it, tape it to the inside of your first aid kit. One letter page, the whole removal protocol.

  • Why matches, Vaseline, nail polish, and twisting all make a tick bite more dangerous, not less.
  • Four-step removal with fine-tipped tweezers.
  • Save the tick on an index card with the date and bite location. Some labs can test the tick itself — faster than waiting for antibodies.
  • Ontario pharmacists can prescribe a single preventive dose of doxycycline within 72 hours of a deer tick bite. No doctor required.
Full removal guide
⟁Laminate it for the glovebox — paper soaks through fast in a wet pack.

Backcountry first aid · Field reference

Tick Removal — done right

Keep with
first aid kit
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Never do these
  • ✕Matches, heat, or flameForces the tick to regurgitate into the bite — exactly how Lyme and co-infections enter
  • ✕Nail polish or VaselineSame result — stresses the tick into emptying its gut
  • ✕Soap on cottonSame mechanism, same risk
  • ✕Twisting or jerkingMouthparts are barbed — steady upward pull only
  • ✕Digging out a broken mouthpartYour body pushes it out like a splinter. Digging causes more damage
How to remove it
  1. 1Use fine-tipped tweezers. Grip at the mouthparts where they enter skin — not the body.
  2. 2Pull straight up with steady pressure. It will resist. Hold firm — releases within seconds.
  3. 3If a mouthpart breaks off, leave it alone. Your body will push it out.
  4. 4Clean the bite with alcohol or soap and water. Wash your hands.
Save the tick — do not flush it

Tape it to an index card with clear packing tape. Write the date and location on your body. Keep for 30 days. If you develop symptoms, that tick goes with you to the doctor. Some labs test it directly — faster and more reliable than waiting for antibodies to show in your blood. A dated tick on a card is one of the most useful things you can hand a doctor.

When to act immediately

If the tick was engorged and you cannot confirm it was off within 24 hours, do not wait for a rash. Many Lyme cases never produce a bullseye. A single preventive dose of doxycycline within 72 hours of a deer tick bite cuts transmission risk significantly.

Ontario residents

No doctor required. A pharmacist can prescribe the preventive doxycycline dose if criteria are met: deer tick, estimated 24+ hours attached, within 72 hours of removal. Walk in with the tick on a card and a clear timeline.

Tick Removal Field GuideWatch 30 days for: rash · fever · joint pain · flu-like illness

Designed to print on a single letter page · portrait

Three numbers worth knowing

The hours and minutes that change the outcome.

24hours

Attachment threshold

A deer tick generally needs to be attached for 24 hours or more before it can transmit Lyme bacteria. Less than that, and your odds of infection drop sharply. Knowing when the bite started matters as much as knowing the species.

72hours

Ontario pharmacist window

Within 72 hours of removing a deer tick, an Ontario pharmacist can prescribe a single preventive dose of doxycycline — no doctor visit required. Bring the tick on an index card and a timeline.

30days

Symptom watch

Watch the bite site and yourself for 30 days. Most Lyme infections never produce a bullseye rash — fever, fatigue, joint pain, facial weakness, and a non-bullseye rash all count.

General information only — not medical advice. In an emergency, call 911. Read the full disclaimer.

Tick alerts · CA

Seasonal alerts for your inbox.

Eight emails a year. Spring and fall activity peaks, range-expansion news from PHAC and eTick, and what’s biting in your part of Canada. No spam, no sales.

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