Thanks to eTick, an online surveillance program, you can now submit photos of ticks to an online database for identification by University of Saskatchewan researchers.

Team members will provide information about the tick species, tick bite treatment protocols and a health risk assessment. The site also has a real-time map showing tick submission locations, enabling people to take precautions in higher-risk areas. The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) that transmits Lyme disease is uncommon in Saskatchewan, but migratory birds can transport these ticks across the country.

Saskatchewan’s tick season includes May and June, but blacklegged ticks can be active until the first hard frost. Click here for more details about the Saskatchewan program or visit the eTick site.