A method executed by a wireless communication device used in a wireless ad hoc network includes: designating a bit in a loop detection array added to a received frame in accordance with identification information of the wireless communication device; deciding that a route in which the received frame has been transmitted is not a loop when the bit designated in the loop detection array is not used; deciding that the route is a loop when the bit designated in the loop detection array is used; updating the bit designated in the loop detection array to a state of being used and transmitting the received frame toward a destination node when it is decided that the route is not a loop; and returning the received frame to an adjacent node that is a local transmission source of the received frame when it is decided that the route is a loop.