Ticks on bigger bucks

[WV Bowhunter]

I'm wondering if it's a regional thing or if it's just a deer thing but I have found that most of the older bucks I've shot in Ohio have been covered in ticks and mites, literally hundreds in the neck head area. Worst part is you can't really find them until the buck has been dead for a few hours and they start cooling off. I remember one buck I shot I put in the back of a chevy trailblazer for the night and the next morning I had ticks all over the vehicle (I won't be dumb enough to do that again).

I haven't found near as many ticks on bucks I've shot in WV which makes me think it's a regional thing. What have you guys found on bucks throughout the country?

[Nocturnal]

I've killed a couple bucks, one in particular had a good hundred or more from the neck to the ears.

[Jonny]

They had a documentary on moose in Sweden. The ticks are really putting a hurt on the population numbers. Some of the ticks were the size of golf balls

[<DK>]

I agree ticks and chiggers dont seem to come off until, like you stated, they cool off. This guy was taken opening weekend in Sept. , taking him home wasnt bad, but from the jeep to the hanger my grandpa and my arms were black! You can see it on the back of his ears really well.


To add to your thread, idk if its seed ticks or chiggers, but those little things keep me out of the game early bc of getting in my thick spots, which is ironically where the big bucks are. I am trying rynoskin this year, i really hope it works out. Beast tactics require creative access routes, last season i walked through the wrong bush. Wasted half of my water getting them off, didnt make it all the way to my spot bc i didnt want to be moving around in stand so close to bedding.

[Dewey]

My Iowa buck from back in early November had the most ticks I have ever seen on a deer. When my taxidermist was caping him they were literally everywhere. He was even shocked and pretty freaked out by how many there were. Said battling ticks and Lyme disease is a constant battle in that job.

Interestingly I have never had ticks on any of my marsh bucks.

[Ladykiller]

Lived in Michigan 28 years, never saw a tick. Moved to Kansas and ticks galore. Now live in Illinois and they are here as well, but Kansas was worst. I've since heard Michigan is getting worse and worse. Probably need some more controlled burns every year, some varmint eradication, and colder winters again.

[Twenty Up]

Not related to ticks on bucks but it's a life saver for early season hunting, or all-season if you hunt the deep south.

Drink 1 shot of apple cider vinegar 2-3 days before your hunt and the morning of. I used to get annihilated by ticks and chiggers to the point that I wouldn't hunt very deep in the thick stuff, if I'd hunt at all. But if you drink this I find that no ticks will bite me, nor will chiggers. Seems to work decent for mosquitoes as well but a thermacell is much better.

I've seen how devastating Lyme's disease is first hand and the spray's only work to some extent and DEET on bare skin isn't a healthy alternative IMO. The apple cider vinegar doesn't taste good at all but mixed with warm water & honey and it's bearable to chug.

An old-timer passed this on to me so I figured I'd share it with y'all

[flinginairos]

I remember a big buck my dad killed years ago that thing was just crawling with ticks!! Not sure how many was on it but it was nasty!

[Wetfoot]

Ticks are really bad in the UP. Of course, the worst time of the year is during Spring scouting. Thanks for the cider vinegar tip. I'll have to give that a shot here as soon as the snow is gone

[BigHunt]

My Iowa buck from back in early November had the most ticks I have ever seen on a deer. When my taxidermist was caping him they were literally everywhere. He was even shocked and pretty freaked out by how many there were. Said battling ticks and Lyme disease is a constant battle in that job.

Interestingly I have never had ticks on any of my marsh bucks.

Ticks are horrible around my cabin area. All the bucks I've killed are just covered in them!! Even in the northern kettle, ticks are thick and nasty

[wickedbruiser]

Every buck here in MA has ticks. Some worst than others. My buddies buck last year didn't seem to look like it had a lot of ticks but when it came back from the taxidermist it looked like it had a minor case of mange. Small bald patches everywhere.

My experience here is that tick numbers play a role on the type of terrain. Thick brushy areas typically thorn thickets or knee high grass deer are much more loaded with ticks compared to woodlots or swamps. But man is the Northeast infested!!

[stash59]

Way more ticks are spread by field mice than any thing else. Tough to eradicate them.

spraying perimethrin on your clothes. than letting it dry works the best. It lasts about a month. Even after getting them wet.

[Horizontal Hunter]

They had a documentary on moose in Sweden. The ticks are really putting a hurt on the population numbers. Some of the ticks were the size of golf balls

They a putting the hurt on moose in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine for sure. Moose permit lottery numbers are way down. The main issue is that they have never developed the grooming skill to remove them from themselves and each other. They just never developed that behavior. Hopefully evolution will kick in soon.

I think to a degree this translates specifically to mature bucks. Mature bucks are solitary animals once the bachelor groups break up.

I've killed a couple bucks, one in particular had a good hundred or more from the neck to the ears.

This is an area that the buck can't reach on his on his own. When the deer are in their bachelor groups and doe groups there is a lot of grooming that goes on between animals.

Deer never ever go in the vehicle with me. In the bed of the truck or a cargo carrier. No exceptions.

If the weather is right I will hang a deer in the garage overnight or longer. If I hang a deer I lay a tarp out that I spray with permethrin. I have been shocked by the number of dead ticks I have found on it.

In all the years that I hunted there have been only 2 deer that I wouldn't bring home as the year were loaded with ticks. They went straight to the butcher.

I will add that the butchers is another rest place to pick up a tick.

Bob

[Ack]

My 2015 Ohio buck had tons of ticks of all sizes on him.....kinda creepy as I'm not used to that here in Michigan. And like Dewey's taxidermist, mine was a little freaked out by all of them as well.

[pewpewpew]

Does anyone know if deer can smell permethrin on your clothes? Will it get you busted?