TiCK MiTT: An Innovative Solution for Tick Bite Prevention and Removal
In the fight against tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease, bite prevention is crucial for protecting ourselves, pets, and communities. Experts recommend full tick checks after being in tick infested areas, but with tiny ticks and many hard to reach places, they can be difficult and awkward. Olivia Abrams, CEO and co-founder of TickMitt, turned her personal experience with Lyme disease into a solution: TickMitt, an innovative fabric glove that attracts and catches ticks, making thorough checks easier. Olivia is not only filling a market need but also advocating for tick-borne disease education and research.
What is TickMitt?
TickMitt is a chemical-free, reusable glove designed to remove ticks before they have a chance to embed into the skin. Olivia explains how the product works:
"A TickMitt is a chemical-free tick removal glove. You can simply swipe it over your skin, your clothes, or your pet's fur, and it will help to pick up and find any ticks that haven't embedded into the skin yet."
The glove is designed to make tick checks easier for both humans and pets. Whether you're hiking, spending time outdoors, or just walking your dog, TickMitt is a quick and effective solution to prevent tick bites.
"Instead of spending 30 minutes searching your entire body for ticks, you can do a quick swipe every couple of hours to prevent them from embedding and transferring diseases."
The Inspiration Behind TickMitt
Olivia’s motivation to create TickMitt came from her own personal battle with Lyme disease, which began when she was just a child. Diagnosed with Lyme disease at a young age, she experienced firsthand the challenges of identifying tick bites and the long-term impact of the disease.
"I was diagnosed with Lyme disease when I was in first grade... My left knee really blew up, it was incredibly inflamed. One of the main symptoms of Lyme disease can be arthritis, and I just really couldn’t walk."
After months of confusion and testing, Olivia was fortunate to develop a bullseye rash, which led to her diagnosis. However, her experience underscored the need for better tick prevention methods, particularly for children and pets.
A New Approach to Tick Removal
Olivia worked with textile scientists and product engineers for several years to develop a patented fabric specifically designed for tick removal.
"We used a microfiber, but we changed the microfiber to a very specific loop size... Ticks have hooks, and their legs get stuck in the loops of the fabric. Our patented fabric feels like microfiber because it is a microfiber but it's different in that it has a very specific loop size and thickness to it where it can pick up ticks of all different sizes and life cycles."
The fabric mimics the principle of Velcro, allowing TickMitt to easily remove ticks from fur, clothing, and skin. The product also includes a dryer bag, so users can kill ticks safely after removal.
The Global Problem of Ticks
As tick populations continue to rise due to global warming, Olivia notes that tick-borne diseases are no longer confined to rural or wooded areas. They’re becoming an everyday problem in urban settings as well.
"Something I've realized in starting this is that it's not just a problem in the U.S., but it's a worldwide problem. We get orders from all over the world, and it's continuing to spread and get worse with global warming."
She stresses the importance of proactive tick prevention and hopes to raise awareness about the risks associated with ticks. TickMitt provides a simple, effective way to perform regular tick checks, making it easier for people and their pets to stay safe.
Expanding the Mission of TickMitt
Since launching TickMitt, Olivia’s mission has grown beyond just selling a product. She is now focused on raising awareness about Lyme disease and working with nonprofits to support tick-borne disease research and advocacy.
"We're also trying our best to work with a lot of nonprofits in the space, both to raise awareness, to raise money for patients who can't afford treatment, and also to bring attention to Lyme disease and tick borne illnesses to people within the U. S. government in hope that we can get more state and federal funding."
Olivia’s ultimate goal is to not only provide a tool for tick prevention but to create a movement that drives change in how we approach tick-borne diseases.
Final Thoughts from Olivia
As TickMitt continues to grow, Olivia remains committed to expanding the product line and offering even more solutions for tick prevention.
"We're hoping to come out with some more products to help people stay safe from ticks in a non-toxic and effective way next year, which is really exciting and continuing to expand into other outdoor and pet stores around the world and making tick protection more readily available."
TickMitt has already made a significant impact in the fight against ticks and Lyme disease, providing a convenient and effective solution for families, pet owners, and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
To learn more about TickMitt and to purchase one for yourself, visit their website at TickMitt.com.
Shop Insect Shield's full assortment of repellent clothing
Transcript of the Interview
Mary: Hey, this is Mary from Insect Shield and I am thrilled to have Olivia Abrams, the CEO and co founder of TickMitt here with me today. Welcome, Olivia.
Oliva: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.
Mary: Absolutely. Um, first, can you please introduce yourself? Tell us about your background.
Oliva: Sure. So my name is Olivia Abrams. I grew up in New York City and spent a lot of my childhood in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York. Grew up with a number of dogs, very close with my parents, and I attended Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, worked for a number of years in finance before starting TickMint full time, and I also have Lyme disease.
Mary: Okay, so there's many directions I want to go here. Um, I think first, What is a Tick Mittt?
Oliva: Sure. So a Tick Mittt is a chemical free tick removal glove. You can simply swipe it over your skin, your clothes, or your pet's fur, and it will help to pick up and find any ticks that haven't embedded into the skin yet. So it's great if you have a long haired dog or a dog with dark colored fur, or you're wearing dark colored clothes.
Also getting into the areas that you can't see as well. So the back of your neck or your armpit. And also tics can be really small and difficult to see if you're just doing a quick pass through. So instead of spending, you know, 30 minutes searching your entire body for tics, you can kind of just do a quick swipe over every couple hours that you're outside to prevent the tics from embedding and transferring diseases.
Mary: And so you, I believe you invented this fabric. So it's a special fabric that you developed specifically for this application.
Oliva: Yes, so we worked with a tech scientist and a product engineer for many years trying a number of different fabrics And what we did was we used a microfiber But we changed the micro fiber to be a very specific loop size So that it works on the premise of velcro where ticks have hooks and their legs get stuck in the loops of the fabric So our patented fabric feel similarly to a microfiber because it is a microfiber, but it's different in that it has a very specific loop size and thickness to it where it can pick up ticks of all different sizes and life cycles.
Mary: Interesting. So then, so you have the Tick Mitt, so For pets, for humans, and I can see the, the, the, um, how wonderful it as a, as an option is because like you said, for the person to be able to swipe back on the neck or, I mean, on the back, on the top of the head, just certain areas, you, you don't see the tick or you can't, and the, the, obviously the Tick Mittts a lot bigger than your hand, and your hand might just feel like a freckle or a mole and not realize, think, oh, that's just my mole or freckle, not realize it's actually a tick, um, that's gonna, that's crawling up them.
And then obviously for pets, With a long haired pet, I mean, finding ticks can be really challenging.
Oliva: Yeah, definitely. And even if you can see the tick and it's crawling on your arm or your leg, not everyone is comfortable, you know, picking it off with their hands. Maybe they're gonna go and get a tweezer, but this is something that is a little bit less tedious than using a tweezer. And it also comes with a dryer bag.
So once you have a tick on the mitt, you can put it in the bag in the dryer on high heat to kill the tick right away instead of having to, you know, deal with a live tick.
Mary: Oh, that's excellent. And now, so. As you mentioned earlier, you have Lyme disease. So the inspiration for developing a whole new product, where did that come from?
And from, tell us about that part of the story.
Oliva: Of course. Yeah. I was diagnosed with Lyme disease when I was in first grade. So probably six or seven years. And I was spending the summer in upstate New York going to a little YMCA camp. And I never remember getting bit by a tick. So there was never a time where my parents removed a tick off of me and we went to get it tested, nothing along those lines.
happened was my left knee really blew up. It was incredibly inflamed. Um, one of the main symptoms of Lyme disease can be arthritis. And I just really, I couldn't walk. Um, my parents thought that I had, you know, tweaked it in ballet class or in basketball or whatever it might've been. And they took me to an orthopedist and got multiple rounds of blood work and everything would come back normal.
So it was very confusing.
Yes.
And we were obviously going to doctors in New York City. So back in the early 2000s, they never would assume that I would be exposed to tics, you know, but now we actually have tics in New York City. My uncle's dog got into a nest yesterday, just in Manhattan. So we definitely have tics here now.
But when you're going to a doctor, 20 years ago. And you don't tell them that you're spending time outside of the city. They're not going to assume you had Lyme disease. So that occurred for a couple of months. And finally, I got lucky in that I did have a bullseye rash on my neck. So finally one came about, my dad was familiar.
What it was, and we went right to the doctor and they gave me antibiotics. So while it wasn't, you know, something that I took proactively when I first got bit, we caught it relatively early that through a few months of physical therapy, I was able to make a pretty strong recovery. At this point, I just have, you know, some, um, strength issues in my knee.
I can overdo it a little bit when I tried to be very active. Um, but compared A lot of other people with chronic Lyme, I'm very healthy and, um, feel like I have the opportunity to help other families not get chronic Lyme and work really hard to do that because a lot of patients don't have that much time, energy, um, or ability to work.
So I feel lucky to have that time, but going back to getting diagnosed with Lyme, we of course took a lot of precautions after that to not let ticks come into our home. And we always had really big dogs, and it was difficult for them to, to check them for ticks. We would give them, you know, some paracatrio, so an oral medication, but we didn't really want to use topical medications on them.
We find that it can be really sensitive to certain dogs, and we also didn't want to, you know, pet them and then be covered in these chemicals. Um, so. I started messing around with different fabrics in my home and little different towels and would rub them down when they would get wet. And sometimes we would realize that ticks and other insects would stick to them and that was really the original inspiration behind TickMitt is how do we keep our dogs, um, from not bringing ticks into our home and getting them all over our furniture.
Mary: Right. So it really was, it was something you were just trying to do for yourself. And for your own home and then realizing, wait, we have something that actually could make an impact for other people. And then you said, okay, let's, let's make a business about it.
Oliva: Yeah, it was something that we talked about really for a long time, I think.
We were prototyping for four or five years. And then I was in college and, uh, wanted to be an entrepreneur like everyone else in my family and came up with a business plan for TicMet. And then I graduated around the time of COVID. So didn't think it was a good idea to start a business then. And eventually it was just like, well, you know, if I'm not going to do it now, then it's just going to keep sitting around.
So, you know, after eight or 10 years of talking about it, we're really excited that we were finally able to bring it to everyone.
Mary: That's fantastic. So, and now, and also I understand, congratulations, you won an innovation award at the Big Outdoor Retailer trade show, uh, last month, which is exciting.
Yeah, no, it's definitely a
Oliva: surreal.
Mary: Yeah. Yeah. No, it's, I think more and more folks because people really want to enjoy out the outdoors, but people do realize now they need to protect themselves. Um, be especially like the ticks because they can cause potentially long term devastating illness. I mean, there's other, you know, mosquitoes are annoying, you know, ants, some people, you know, there's some, some other insects that can cause some discomfort or, um, you know, potentially.
Having to, you know, it takes. extra precaution, but ticks really can be, you know, devastatingly life changing. So I think, but more and more people know that now and are looking for other options. And, you know, as an insect shield, yeah, we, you know, we're working on a, you know, prevention products people can use, but we feel like there's a whole arsenal of goods.
People, people still need to do tick checks or, you know, they always, and their dogs, um, it's really important to have something, not just, you know, You doing it on your own and trying to look, but to have an actual item designed to pick up the ticks. I think it's a game changer for many people.
Oliva: Yeah, definitely. And it's something super easy and portable that you can bring with you if you're going to take it to work, and you work in an area with ticks, for outdoor adventures, or even if you're just going around your block with your dog, it's good to do a quick wipe down before coming back in the house.
Mary: Absolutely. And even I mean, I've talked to a lot of folks in the tick world. I mean, a lot of people are just like, it's always about, Oh, going out to the trail, but most people are getting their ticks a lot, or many of them are getting them in their backyard. I mean, I live outside of a big city, not very far from the city and there's mice and deer running all over the streets.
And I mean, I'm not like living in a farmland. So, you know, ticks are something people need to consider every day. Um, if they're just taking a walk around the neighborhood.
Oliva: Yeah, and something that I've really realized in starting this is that it's not just a problem in the U. S., but it's a worldwide problem. So we get orders all over the world, and it's continuing to spread and get worse with global warming. So I think that a lot of people have, You know, been more reactive to ticks where they get a tick bite and now they know that they need to keep themselves safe.
But what I'm hoping is that people can be more proactive about it and think at the beginning of every spring, I need to buy my tick gear and I need to use it until temperatures go below freezing. Because even if we're not spending as much time outside and it's 50 degrees out. you still need to have tick protection.
Mary: Absolutely. Now tell me about Tick Mitt. So you're selling direct and then you're selling in stores. What's your distribution?
Oliva: Yep. So we sell on our website, Amazon. We sell in a number of stores, Orvis and independent stores all over the U. S. We also sell in Doors in Canada, Sweden, Norway, South Korea. Everyone needs tick protection. Uh, and we're going to be launching on Chewy in the next few weeks.
Mary: Oh, that's excellent. And let me ask the Tick Mitt too.
Does it, does one last you for a long time? Does eventually you need to get a fresh one? How's the longevity of the fabric?
Oliva: Yeah, we usually say about 400 to 500 times in the dryer, um, so a couple of years, two to three years, depending on how a lot, you know, if you're only using it, if you don't live in an area with a lot of ticks, and you're using it a few times a year, then it'll last you a long time, but for the people who are in a heavier tick area and are using it on a daily basis, it'll probably last you two to three years.
Mary: Oh, that's fantastic. So it's a very good, good value as well. Um, and, and I'm just throwing this one out there. Are, are you looking to expand out into other, any other types of, you know, tick protection for folks or other, you know, types of options within the Tick Mittt?
Oliva: Yeah, I mean, our company has only been about around about a year and a half now and we've grown so much since then we're hoping to come out with some more products to help people stay safe from ticks in a non toxic and effective way next year, which is really exciting and continuing to expand into other outdoor and pet stores around the world and making tick protection more readily available.
And we're also trying our best to work with a lot of nonprofits in the space, both to raise awareness, to raise money for patients who can't afford treatment, and also to bring attention to Lyme disease and tick borne illnesses to people within the U. S. government and hope that we can get more state and federal funding and legislation passed so that States and towns have to, you know, put up signage in their part saying you need to know that there are ticks here or letting, you know, fire departments and police departments get tick protective gear because they're going out into areas where they might get bit.
So, you know, working with a lot of different people within the tick borne disease world to make change and not just selling products, but creating a solution to. Something that's very difficult to combat.
Mary: Yeah, no, I love that because we, we feel the same way and I think there's, I've met folks like you and others who, you know, have been really have been their lives and their families have been affected by tick borne disease and they've taken that and they've become advocates and have products and are Stay Really get out there.
And I don't know of many other communities where, you know, everyone really, you know, bonds together. And then also is like, how do we help each other? And how can, you know, I take my experience and not hopefully someone doesn't go through what you did. Luckily, as you said, you were, um, you have some minor symptoms now.
Um, and were diagnosed relatively quickly, but still, you're six years old and your knee, you know, it looks like you have arthritis. I mean, that had to be just so scary for the whole family. Like what's going on with our, our healthy little one. And here she is having this, you know, very, you know, strange symptoms.
Um, and luckily you were able to find the care, but then your father and you got the bullseye later.
Oliva: Yeah, and in that regard, I was definitely very lucky to get a bull's eye rash. I believe only 20 to 30 percent of patients get it nowadays. But what we're hoping for is to just make people more aware of Lyme disease because if they're having any sort of strange, unsolvable symptoms, then they can say to their doctor, You should test me for Lyme disease because it's not necessarily on the top of a doctor's mind, especially depending on what area.
If they're not getting as much training on it as you would hope and so being able to advocate for yourself and your loved ones and having the knowledge that this is a serious disease and there are a lot of different symptoms that come with it is a huge step in getting more people diagnosed.
Mary: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story and telling us about Tick Mitt and it's, it's wonderful. And like I said, we, I think all of us, all of us working in the, the preventative world and we all need to work together because it's like, we all have a toolbox of things we can use for when we're going to different locations and to have, um, new options like this.
I just think, Oh, it's wonderful. And I think for people and then, and for dogs, we, I mean, you see the video I watched and it may be your father on the video. Is your father have on your YouTube doing a tick check on a dog? Um, but just seeing it, I mean, when it gets, cause they do, I think people don't also realize that the ticks will often go on dogs into the warm, fuzzy spots, which often is like the neck area and in dogs, a lot of dogs, even.
Short haired dogs have a lot of extra skin in that area and can be really hard to feel around. Um, so it's got to just be, um, very advantageous for anyone with, um, with, with dogs to have this other option. So it's great. All
right. Well, thank you so much. And everyone TickMitt.Com. Is that the, uh, your, your, uh, website?
Oliva: Yes.
Mary: Okay. And we'll put that on the, on the link below T
Oliva: I C K M I T T dot.
Mary: Perfect. I apologize for anyone watching. We have a little delay, but I think we got through and really excited to learn about what you're doing.
So thank you so much for coming in.
Oliva: Thank you for having me.