Ticks on Deer This Year

[fluffer]

I don't ever recall seeing ticks as bad as they were on the deer I killed near Spicewood this last week. It was just completely infested. It has been a few years since I have shot a deer, but this just seems insane. Is it like this everywhere? I don't recall seeing many ticks on the deer I have shot in south Texas, maybe it is a central texas thing?

[rtp]

I’ve seen the same in fort bend county.


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[tpack]

I noticed 1 when I was gutting by buck last week.

[BTLowry]

I did not see a single tick on the deer I shot a week ago

What I did see was quite a few lice of some sort which was a first (or at least long enough ago I forgot)

Lice and pigs all the time but these were not same lice as on pigs

[SmTx]

Nastiest deer I've ever killed was in San Marcos in February several years ago. Hundreds of ticks. Guy who ran the place said it's because we never got a good freeze that winter.

[buck_wild]

I've had just the opposite observation. I have cleaned over 10 deer this year so far and can't remember seeing LESS ticks in any previous year I can recall.

[buck_wild]

Nastiest deer I've ever killed was in San Marcos in February several years ago. Hundreds of ticks. Guy who ran the place said it's because we never got a good freeze that winter.

I doubt there is an area of the state that didn't see a super freeze this past year.

[bowaddict40]

I've had just the opposite observation. I have cleaned over 10 deer this year so far and can't remember seeing LESS ticks in any previous year I can recall.

Same with us. We have had hardly any at all on the deer we have killed.

[44mAG]

Deer killed in Kimble county have been covered in ticks. More than usual as you have observed.


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[Sackett]

Noticed the same thing in Houston County too. Figured the freeze had something to do with a population explosion?

[chunkinlead]

Shot a doe in Lampasas Co. she had quite a few ticks too.

[careybirdwell]

The 2 deer i have shot in McCullough County this year have been loaded with ticks

[Dusty Britches]

I don't think the freeze has anything to do with tick populations. They have ticks in the NE part of the country, so what makes anyone think they would not survive a Texas winter, even if is the coldest in many years?

I always worry when someone says tick infestation. I know there is a Longhorn tick that is invasive and has sickening populations on livestock in parts of the NE, Arkansas, TN, and a few other states. Some livestock have so many ticks they die from anemia. These ticks carry a bloodborne pathogen, too. If you can look at the tick, you will see it's 2 antenna look like long horns. If you see that, call Ag Extension or a vet or Texas Department of Agriculture or the Game Warden asap.

[PondPopper]

I've had just the opposite observation. I have cleaned over 10 deer this year so far and can't remember seeing LESS ticks in any previous year I can recall.

Same.. They have been basically spotless.. Even the Nilgai.

[Hills of Texas]

We’ve had about 300 in so far and the ticks are the worst I’ve seen in years. Looks like the ivermectin works though cause I have had a hitch hiker yet.