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EHD Boone County

J

JBS

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Found 8 deer during a quick walk along a creek yesterday in southern Boone county. Figure I'm just finding a small portion. 6 does and 2 bucks.
Local DNR officer...a great guy...said he has been getting a lot of calls lately with the same findings as have some neighbors.

Always thought this was something that occurred during drought periods, guess that is not true.

For those of you that have had this in your area before, what should we expect moving forward?
Has taken the wind out of our sails looking forward to the season....

thanks
 
We've had it the last 2-3 years (Wayne county) and its had an impact on our deer. 1-3 mature deer when typically should be 2-3 times that. Not sure if we've had any this year at all as we haven't found any but we haven't done near the stand work we did the last couple years either. Getting some better deer this year but hoping next year were completely back.

You are accurate that you're finding only a percentage of the dead ones actually there, at least that's how we felt and judging by the herd I'd say it was an accurate statement. Wish there was better news but it is a sh!tty deal no matter how you shake it!
 
Disappointing stuff. Too dry of year, you have the problem. Too wet of year, you have the problem. Perfect year, you have the problem? Lots of threads on it here and I still don't know what conditions are best to avoid the causes of it
 
Happens every year and my observation - in "pockets". Drought of 3-4 years ago had a huge amount of pockets have die off. Huge. As we all know. So- during that period- I had 3 areas that really didn't have hardly any die off. One I found ZERO - This was during 2 drought years while midges were going crazy.
Then- on those same farms of little to no die off during drought- I had fluctuating water levels all season last yr. plenty of rain. I found so many dead bucks your head would spin. One of my farms has about 12 ponds- found EXACTLY (crazy this is possible) 12 bucks - one by each pond like magic. Found plenty more all over. 30-40% of deer late season had a bum hoof or 2. Cracked from ehd or hoof rot. Killed em into spring. Buck from this weekend (yes- it was a good weekend! ;) ) had healed up bum hoof.

SO..... here's my conclusions and questions.... it comes in waves. If u get lucky and misses u in drought- IMO- u will get ur turn eventually - especially if higher deer #'s.
WHY does it hit in pockets and wipe some areas out and others nothing??? Love to know.

What can be done to prevent that's realistic????? Only thing I've found so far with any evidence is: selenium for immune system in mineral. Garlic mixed in some kind of feed that keeps flies from biting. LUCK & just letting nature take its course. General health: year round food, controlled deer #'s- anything and everything to reduce stress & improve general health.

Here's my big QUESTION???!?!??!?!?? Is EHD worse now than 10 years ago? Maybe yes, maybe no. I mean worse now than 10, 15, 200 years. I don't know. Here's my question and point...... I hunted early 2000's where deer #'s were high. I did not have knowledge about ehd at all. At one time I recall finding 2 dead bucks in a pond. It was so new to me- we thought it was where a local poacher hid his deer. Seriously. We didn't know what it was. So- we either didn't notice it or know what we were looking at OR its gotten far worse in last decade. Something changed. I don't know the answer????

We all know WY, MT & ive personally seen dry areas in KS have major cycles from disease. But EHD in IOWA - has something changed or is how it's always been? I dont know.
 
This isn't scientific by any stretch...but my opinion is that "we" are so much more knowledgeable about specific deer(bucks mainly) nowadays that we perceive EHD die offs more so than ever before. 20 years ago no one I knew had a trail camera, let alone dozens of them...no one I knew had such intimate knowledge of specific deer so as to name them, etc. Now, many, many people do.

I suspect that there were fluctuations in years past that we didn't even know about, whereas now we do. Now then, I do think that the severe and widespread droughts of 2011 and 2012 were outside the normal fluctuations and trail cameras or no...virtually everyone was aware of the widespread losses those years.
 
Sligh1 said:
... Buck from this weekend (yes- it was a good weekend! ;) ) had healed up bum hoof. ...
Click to expand...

Ummm...I am going to let this slide this one time...but we are going to need to see some pics right quick Mr. Sligh...and I don't mean perhaps! :D :D
 
I really wish they would study this more. It would be nice to know how to help prevent it...the garlic thing sounds interesting--Skip?

Does anyone spray near ponds/mud to kill the midges, would that work?
 
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Ha ha ;). More to come.
So- most of info I got I either researched online or asked deer breeders with fenced deer. I ask them because they have deer that are worth - Geesh, $20-40k maybe?!?! They look into all the science on keeping their deer alive. Here's a vague & shortened summary.... for ponds - they do and can spray them. Same with weeds and wet areas. Not real realistic for landowners in Wild BUT...... some cattle guys do have planes spray creeks and ponds when bad enough. Still not practical. They have all sorts of medications they give deer. If they don't PREVENT with sprayings and I think actually getting stuff on fur of deer & through feed- they can dart a deer and treat it with some success. So- most that - not practical. Many do certain feeds and minerals, etc. selenium & some do garlic. Lot of info out there but only handful is practical.

Other thing I noticed..... areas with a lot of cows- deer breeders hate them. & info was showing areas where lot more cattle- obviously higher concentration of disease...... salt in water is a big one. So- u have a cattle yard with salt everywhere and cows pissing & crapping in water. Making it a muddy salty mess..... all info out there said that's obviously prime conditions for midges. They survive well and love it. A swarm of midges can actually move a mile or 2 on windy day. So- info i read- a deer could get bit when that happens. Logical if downwind from cattle yard- could have impact. Weeds, brush, timber sounded like it helped slow down midges on windy days. There was a certain vegetation some deer breeders planted - I forget. Maybe something like Egyptian wheat. Kept them from flies or helped. So- midges can travel, cows & stagnant salty water = bad. I guess do as much tall grass as possible, do stuff for water to keep massive amounts of salt out - obviously flowing water or rocky banks are better. Hard to control a lot of these things BUT just some random rambling info I'm recalling.
 
Virtually everywhere I have heard of local EHD kills usually involves properties with standing/stagnant water. If I had this on my property I'd consider treating those area's if the cost was reasonable.
 
Thanks for the information.
No lack of water here…both my creeks have been running all year. One of them normally stops by now. No standing water other than that in a field from time to time for a short period. Only cattle are maybe 25 head in a timber pasture.

We do (did) have a lot of deer. Likely all I can do now is leave the does alone, and encourage the neighbors do the same.

Saturday evening I saw 13 vultures in a big dead oak tree which was odd. Now I know why.

Lots of work and expense on plots and habitat…but guess I can’t control everything. (which has always been annoying)
 
My creeks ran like crazy last year too.... Dead deer everywhere. I think it's just the fluctuating water levels can create the muddy banks where the midges hatch from even in rainy years. & like I said, those midges can go a couple miles with wind. But, ya, creeks & ponds, you get heavy rain that makes them go up a lot and come down, well, you're gonna have midges. I was digging holes last year for trees.... It was late NOVEMBER & each hole had about 3-4" of water in it from some rains & because I augured the holes, it sealed it up to collect water. Buddy of mine who is very educated on EHD said "hey, look in every one of your holes, see that cloudy stuff?..... thats a pile of MIDGES". Sure as heck, it was, hatched in NOVEMBER and it was MIDGES that bite deer and kill them. Somehow in holes I augered over the summer & finally was getting some rootmaker bags put in them. MIDGES all over. Dead deer all over. It all came together the following spring when I realized all the damage that was done. My place got hammered, real bummer.
 
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Good read.

https://www.qdma.com/can-prevent-ehd/

Most of my creek banks or very sandy. I would assume this helps some with hindering larvae production.

Found the information on salts interesting. Controls other insect populations in standing water but not the midges. In fact may help them by killing off other "competition."

Only the female midges feed on blood. Figures. LOL
 
Odd how the deer we are seeing lately are mostly groups of this years fawns. Seems to kill the adults but not the fawns so much.
 
I was hunting some oxbows along the river this morning and came across two deer that looked like ehd kills, one 8 pt and a younger doe. Western IA
 
Perhaps one might use anilogic's deer mineral products as they have been tested at deer farms for ehd protection, other health protections and supplements and did what they are supposed to.

I started using it after the 2012 ehd epidemic in our area. The deer hammer it and so far so good on ehd. The mineral dirt 180 and block are what I use. According to the cameras over the licks I have, the deer are still digging it, literally.
 
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