· The fine print ·
About this site.
woodticks.ca is a Canadian public information site on tick removal, identification, and the diseases ticks carry. It covers what to do in the field, what to watch for in the 30 days after, and where to go for care in Canada when you need it.
Section 1
Medical disclaimer.
This site provides general information only. It does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personal medical decisions. The information here should help you recognize what you’re looking at and act sooner. It is not a substitute for professional judgement.
In an emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room. Specific emergency signs after a tick bite include high fever with confusion, severe headache, facial weakness on one side, seizures, or any neurological symptoms.
Section 2
Content-currency notice.
Tick ranges, treatment guidelines, and public health advice all change. Lyme is pushing further north every year, and pharmacist prescribing rules change province by province.
Every medical page on this site shows a Last reviewed date at the bottom. The date is the last time the content on that page was checked against current public-health sources.
For anything time-sensitive (a fresh bite, a decision about doxycycline, whether your area is now a Lyme risk zone), verify with your provincial health authority or a healthcare provider. The Public Health Agency of Canada publishes current Lyme-disease information and range maps; eTick.ca tracks ticks submitted by the public across Canada.
Section 3
Provincial variation notice.
Healthcare protocols vary across Canada. The Ontario pharmacist-prescribing pathway for preventive doxycycline after a high-risk tick bite, for example, does not exist (or exists in a different form) in most other provinces.
Wherever this site describes a specific Canadian healthcare pathway, the province or provinces it applies to are named. When in doubt, confirm with your local public-health unit or pharmacist regulator.
Provincial public-health units
Where to look first.
- Ontario: Public Health Ontario (publichealthontario.ca)
- Quebec: INSPQ (inspq.qc.ca)
- BC: BCCDC (bccdc.ca)
- Alberta / SK / MB: provincial Ministries of Health (search by province)
- Atlantic provinces: provincial Departments of Health
Section 4
Affiliate disclosure.
When woodticks.ca recommends physical products (tick-removal tools, insect repellents, clothing), some of the links may be affiliate links to Amazon.ca or other retailers. If you buy through one of those links, the retailer pays woodticks.ca a small commission.
We choose the products ourselves. Commissions don’t affect which ones appear, and we don’t accept payment for placement.
Most affiliate links are on the tick kit page, with a few on articles where a product fits. Every affiliate link is tagged (affiliate) where you click it and carries rel=“sponsored” in the HTML.
Section 5
Privacy.
We collect the minimum amount of information needed to run the site: your email address if you subscribe to the newsletter, and anonymized pageviews so we can see which pages are useful. We don’t sell or share your information, ever.
You can opt out of analytics at any time. Full details, plus the opt-out switch and the unsubscribe paths, on the privacy page.
Section 6
Contact.
Corrections and feedback are welcome, especially from clinicians and public-health staff. If you spot a factual error or an outdated reference, email hello@woodticks.ca.
For a medical emergency, call 911. This inbox is checked when we can get to it and is not a clinical resource.
Last reviewed