A new at-home kit called LymeAlert allows people to test a tick for the bacterium that causes Lyme disease without sending it to a laboratory. The test detects Borrelia burgdorferi, the primary Lyme-causing pathogen in the United States.
Users place the tick in a container, add a supplied solution, crush the tick by twisting the lid, and insert a test strip. Results appear within 30 minutes, indicating whether the tick carried detectable levels of the bacteria.
The kit is available for pre-order at $49.99 on the company's website and is expected to ship at the end of August. Co-founder and CEO Dr. Dawicki, a physician assistant in Boston, developed the product after years of fielding patient questions about tick bites and Lyme risk.
Current blood tests for Lyme disease in humans detect antibodies, which may not appear for days after a bite and can produce false negatives. Testing the tick directly can provide earlier context, though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not recommend tick testing because results do not confirm human infection.
The CDC notes that commercial labs vary in standards, a tick carrying the bacteria may not have transmitted it, and a negative result does not rule out bites from other undetected ticks. LymeAlert does not require FDA approval because it does not diagnose disease in people.
Dawicki says the test detects bacterial loads as low as 400 units, compared with animal studies suggesting roughly 1,000 units may be needed to guarantee infection. A positive result should prompt a conversation with a health care provider about whether antibiotics are warranted.
The company hopes the test will reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, which contribute to antibiotic resistance. Dawicki notes that many providers currently prescribe antibiotics prophylactically after a tick bite.
LymeAlert is also collecting climate, humidity, and migration data to build an AI model predicting tick distribution and pathogen prevalence. Future multiplex strips aim to detect additional tick-borne pathogens such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and alpha-gal syndrome triggers.
You Can Now Test Ticks for Lyme Disease-Causing Bacteria at Home
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