Ticks definitely don’t swim!

November 20, 2012

Image of a tick being flushed down the toilet with the caption "Flushing a tick down the toilet should be the last you'll see of that critter. However, TERC recommends taping the tick, especially those found on family members, to an index card with the date and location found. Hang on to the card for six months or so, just in case unusual symptoms appear. That way you can always have the tick tested for pathogens."

Image of a tick in a toilet bowl with the caption "Ticks (at least various stages of deer ticks) can be submerged in water for 2-3 days and seem to survive just fine."

Image of a tick held with tweezers above a toilet with the caption "Don't miss!"

Image of a tick held with tweezers above a toliet with the caption "Ticks definitely do not swim!"

Here’s a question we get occasionally: Can ticks swim or do they drown?

A related comment that recently came in: I’ve heard that ticks can hold their breath for up to an hour and possibly longer?

Oh, really? TickEncounter isn’t aware of any “formal” research on either subject specifically but here’s what we’ve observed in our research labs over many years:

Ticks definitely do not swim!
Ticks (at least various stages of deer ticks) can be submerged in water for 2-3 days and seem to survive just fine.

Why is this important to you and your pets? Part of getting TickSmart is re-framing how people think about ticks, and in this case, a common misperception that ticks will be killed – in the bath, -by swimming, -in the washer, -in the hot tub, -etc. NONE of these “treatments” seem to have a deleterious impact on ticks.

On the other hand, flushing a tick down the toilet should be the last you’ll see of that critter. Ticks don’t drown easily but they don’t swim either, making flushing them down the toilet a perfectly safe means of disposal.

TickSmart Tip: Tape the tick, especially those found on family members, to an index card with the date and location it was found. Hang on to the card for 6 months or so, just in case unusual symptoms appear. That way you can always have the tick tested for pathogens… or, for show & tell.