We built this because we needed it.

Tickortreat was started by a family in southern Vermont — a place where pulling ticks off your kids after a day outside is just part of life. We run a farm. Our daughters play in the fields and the woods. Our dogs bring ticks in from the pasture. We know the drill.

One evening, after finding an engorged deer tick on one of our girls, we did what every parent in tick country does: panicked a little, Googled a lot, and tried to figure out how to get a single dose of doxycycline before the 72-hour window closed. Our pediatrician's office was closed. The ER felt absurd for something this simple.

We thought: there should be an easier way. So we built it.

Why this matters

The clinical solution already exists — a single dose of doxycycline, given within 72 hours of a high-risk Ixodes tick bite, reduces the risk of erythema migrans by 87% (Nadelman et al., NEJM 2001). Subsequent evidence has reinforced its effectiveness. Yet in practice, this intervention is inconsistently applied. Many clinicians are unfamiliar with the protocol, hesitant to prescribe, or constrained by time and workflow.

The result is a gap between what is clinically known and what is operationally delivered. Tickortreat exists to close that gap.

We close it with discipline. Tickortreat evaluates patients against established IDSA criteria for tick-bite prophylaxis — we are not a prescription pipeline. Patients outside the 72-hour window, with non-Ixodes ticks, or with situations requiring different care receive guidance suited to their situation rather than a default prescription. This matters for clinical integrity and for patient safety.

Tick exposure is increasing in frequency, geography, and duration, driven by warming winters, expanding host populations, and changing land use. What was once a regional issue is becoming a broader national problem. The CDC estimates roughly 476,000 people are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year in the United States — far more than the 30,000–60,000 cases reported through traditional surveillance. As exposure increases, so does the need for fast, evidence-based, and disciplined response.

The difference between one dose given in time and a longer course of antibiotics later is the difference between a five-minute problem and a much harder one. For a child, it's the difference between one spoonful of medicine and weeks of struggling with pills.

That's why the 72-hour window matters. That's why speed matters. And that's why we built Tickortreat.

Toad and Hen

Every good story needs characters. Ours are Toad and Hen — the clinician and the protector. We didn't choose them at random. Toads and chickens are two of nature's most effective tick predators — a single toad can eat thousands of insects in a season, and a small flock of chickens can reduce tick populations in a yard by up to 80%. On our farm, they're the front line of defense. On Tickortreat, they play the same role.

Toad is calm, no-nonsense, and always ready with an evaluation. Hen is a fluffy white silkie who gathers everyone under her wings and teaches them how to stay safe.

Hen is based on a real bird.

That's Hen. She takes care of whoever needs it. She doesn't care if they're hers. She just does the work.

The illustrations

Everything you see on this site was illustrated by Louisa Conrad, a visual artist based in Townshend, Vermont. Louisa works in watercolor, pencil, and ink, and her work draws from the landscapes, animals, and daily textures of the farm where we live. The costumed ticks, the watchful Toad, the fierce little Hen — they're all hers.

You can see more of Louisa's work at louisaconrad.com.

One and Done.