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This spring, East Stroudsburg University launched its Tick Testing Lab, offering Pennsylvania residents free testing for four tick-borne pathogens, including Lyme disease.
Director Nicole Chenicci says the state is footing the $500,000 bill.
"Pennsylvania is the leading state for tick-borne diseases, so it's a huge issue and health crisis," she said.
Chenicci says the process for submitting the tick is simple, starting with safely removing it using fine point tweezers.
"Grab at the base of the mouthparts, and pull straight up and out," she explained.
She says do not heed social media posts claiming alcohol, dish soap, Vaseline, or any other substance will make the tick safely back out, because it's anything but safe.
"It's feeding, and if you expose it to something it doesn't like and it's backing out, it's gonna get angry and regurgitate," Chenicci said.
Put the tick in a zip-lock bag, follow the instructions at ticklab.org and drop it in the mail. You can check your test's status and where the most infected ticks are found through the website.
"That data's being published live on our website to provide the state with information in regards to tick distribution, diseases within the ticks across the state, and where people are picking these ticks up," she added.
She says most of the ticks they've tested came from people who were in their backyards.
There's no limit to the number of ticks - dead or alive - you can submit to get tested.
"The purpose of it is to give you early detection of exposure, so we want to protect our residents from these diseases if we can," Chenicci said.