Father Forkhorn

On another forum, there's a thread where hunters are reporting more ticks than usual on their deer. I noticed a few on my buck this year and I don't recall finding any before.

What are you seeing? Is there anything to be concerned about?

Bocajnala

This has been an issue in PA for about the last five years. I don't know what changed- but the tiny little ticks are everywhere. They're about the size of a period in a newspaper.

I had over 40 of them on me coming out of a green briar thicket a few years ago. They make tick spray that I spray all over and it does a pretty good job of keeping them off.
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I even had them on me this week hunting in the snow.

-Jake

Rob in VT

I live in Vermont and we have had a steady increase over the past 10 years. I didn’t notice that many on the buck I shot this year. I have picked several off of my throughout the summer and fall this year. They didn’t seem any worse, but maybe I am just getting use to them?

excalibur43

Being a taxidermist, I skin out quite a few deer per year. This year I have only had 1 deer that really had alot of ticks. Dang things were crawling all over me while I was trying to get it skinned out. The rest of the deer I skinned weren't bad at all.

bronko22000

The deer I had taken earlier this year during archery only had a couple. But the elk I shot in November was loaded with them. I saw them as soon as I rolled her over to dress her out and when skinning it back home. I was pulling ticks off my dogs for weeks afterward which I guess they picked up out of the grass.

Father Forkhorn

Took a doe tonight from the same place, but didn't see any.

mrbb

IMO is all due to such lousy poor winters of no to little snow for any amount of time and all the temp swings, I recall back in the 80's early 90's when we had more consistent winters and longer periods of time with snow down,( I/m also a big time snowmobiler, so I know when we had snow and didn;'t and how long seasons have been)
and never seeing a tick on a deer I killed in northern PA
NOW< like everyone stated, there every where ALL YR long!
snow is far and few temps go from freezing to mid 50's ALL Winter
as fact, was in mid 50's here yesterday and snowing now!
used to be ticks were more a thing of below interstate 80, more of a southern issue
but now with warm winters all over,. low to NO snow, in places that sued to have weeks or more of snow down, they migrated IMO
and have set roots and ain't going any where,
we all best get used to them and work to stay safe when outdoors and then when come back in, do a inspection and or change/shower or ALL 3