Not good news...ehd

[woodswalker]

It was bad in western PA several years ago, lost a lot of deer. The only upside is it isn't contagious from deer to deer, just from midge to deer. Even if they could come up with an inoculation, it would be very difficult to administer to wild deer and depending what time of the year an outbreak occurred, they wouldn't try to administer it. In my state at least, drugs are not administered to wildlife when it is close to a hunting season.

[bowfreak8]

I pray to God I never have to deal with EHD. I feel bad for all that due and especially the deer.

[<DK>]

In 2011 I picked up a bow and started hunting again - I found multiple EHD deer that season. I didnt know much at the time about it but that is most definitely what happened. Here is a pic of a nice buck that I found on a hill side adjacent to bedding area.

Just wondering what makes you think the buck in the pic was EHD. It looks like it was hard horned and had tines broke based on the antler i see. I usually found deer with some velvet attached to the antlers as it seems to catch them late august early September as they're shedding.

Hey whitetailaddict, I cant say for sure on anything man. I didnt know anything about it at the time. Everyone around me just said it was blue tongue. That antler is actually in 2 pieces being held together to give idea on the age of skeleton. I am trying to find a pic I took of the whole body for you so maybe you can tell for sure.
The property wasnt pressured nor around it too much at all, maybe it was a wound or age? I did alot of wandering around that year. All I did was find random dead deer... this deer was the 7th dead one on 250 acres. Most the ones we found were in the time frame your talking about exactly actually, this one is the only buck and he was there a real good while. Right after that season the #s really took a dive...just all of them were found at water sources.

[Whitetailaddict]

In 2011 I picked up a bow and started hunting again - I found multiple EHD deer that season. I didnt know much at the time about it but that is most definitely what happened. Here is a pic of a nice buck that I found on a hill side adjacent to bedding area.

Just wondering what makes you think the buck in the pic was EHD. It looks like it was hard horned and had tines broke based on the antler i see. I usually found deer with some velvet attached to the antlers as it seems to catch them late august early September as they're shedding.

Hey whitetailaddict, I cant say for sure on anything man. I didnt know anything about it at the time. Everyone around me just said it was blue tongue. That antler is actually in 2 pieces being held together to give idea on the age of skeleton. I am trying to find a pic I took of the whole body for you so maybe you can tell for sure.
The property wasnt pressured nor around it too much at all, maybe it was a wound or age? I did alot of wandering around that year. All I did was find random dead deer... this deer was the 7th dead one on 250 acres. Most the ones we found were in the time frame your talking about exactly actually, this one is the only buck and he was there a real good while. Right after that season the #s really took a dive...just all of them were found at water sources.

No problem i was just curious. EHD is real bad for deer hunting. In those bad years I'd find more dead heads than sheds. A friend found a 160 class with a drop tine and another 150 the same year in a creek. I feel like the deer populations in those areas is just getting back where it should be so i hope this doesn't become worse

[Mibowfreak]

Hate to see that. Not good.

[Hawthorne]

That sucks! I hope it doesn't hit Michigan again. Some of the areas that got hit hard in 2012 are just getting back to where they were from a lot of guys I've talked with. It does a number on the mature buck population

[hunter_mike]

Dang...

[<DK>]

Many have probably seen this video, I just saw it for the first time. Figured id share bc of the relevance...EHD is some rough stuff if this is what its like for them...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP9N6NydMzg

[Dewey]

Really sad to watch that video.

[stash59]

Yeah mother nature can be a cruel witch at times.

[Wetfoot]

That's hard to watch.

[Bigb]

It was around us in Illinois a few years back. Farms 5 miles away were hit hard but we were left pretty much untouched. We had a couple pretty dry summers which caused the midges to be at the water holes for deer when they congregated. We got lucky and didnt have it and I personally attribute it to we have two long gravel bottom creeks that run the length of where I hunt. They are supplied by a couple springs that basically keep water running all year long. I'm always amazed that we have minnows and frogs in these creeks when I would guarantee they freeze over. I think I found one 1.5 year old a few years back that died from it but other than that we were left untouched.

[Whitetailaddict]

Couldn't even finish watching that video. Just makes me sick watching an animal have to suffer. Anybody from PETA or animal rights groups who think hunting is brutal has never been able to see the effects of Mother Nature. No hunter goes out in the woods looking to make an animal suffer and regardless if there are hunters or not deer and other animals will always be faced with terrible demises such as this disease.

[mainebowhunter]

It was around us in Illinois a few years back. Farms 5 miles away were hit hard but we were left pretty much untouched. We had a couple pretty dry summers which caused the midges to be at the water holes for deer when they congregated. We got lucky and didnt have it and I personally attribute it to we have two long gravel bottom creeks that run the length of where I hunt. They are supplied by a couple springs that basically keep water running all year long. I'm always amazed that we have minnows and frogs in these creeks when I would guarantee they freeze over. I think I found one 1.5 year old a few years back that died from it but other than that we were left untouched.

I watched a lot of the bowhunt or die guys back a couple of years ago. They are big Illinois guys. They got HAMMERED with EHD. The running water is key.

[Bigb]

It was around us in Illinois a few years back. Farms 5 miles away were hit hard but we were left pretty much untouched. We had a couple pretty dry summers which caused the midges to be at the water holes for deer when they congregated. We got lucky and didnt have it and I personally attribute it to we have two long gravel bottom creeks that run the length of where I hunt. They are supplied by a couple springs that basically keep water running all year long. I'm always amazed that we have minnows and frogs in these creeks when I would guarantee they freeze over. I think I found one 1.5 year old a few years back that died from it but other than that we were left untouched.

I watched a lot of the bowhunt or die guys back a couple of years ago. They are big Illinois guys. They got HAMMERED with EHD. The running water is key.

I talked with some guys that hunted with them a few years back. They also lost there best lease during EHD. I'm not going to say where or its size but it was BIG and in a VERY prime part of Illinois. They had to start with new land those years and I think it really hurt. It honestly is town by town with EHD. I still couldnt believe 5 miles from us was hit hard and we barely saw any effects.