# Ticks on Deer after the kill??



## fatboy95 (Nov 23, 2005)

When I was stationed at Vandenberg AFB, CA the blacktail deer had more ticks than a dead **** on the road side had flies... I just made sure not to get any raid on the meat. spray em let em sit for a few then get the hide off.


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## muzzyhunter17 (Mar 4, 2007)

Raven1911 said:


> I was told a story about someone shooting a deer and having to spray Raid all over the coat to kill all the ticks? Is this correct? I haven't shot a deer yet but am going to try very soon. I was just wondering if the deer carry that many ticks on them and if they do how do you get rid of them? Just sounds weird and not too appetizing. Anyone encounter this scenario?


O yeah, Over in oregon when the season gets to the part of the year when it gets warm in the days We ALWAYS have massive ammounts of ticks on our deer, Just getem gutted and skinned pretty quick and you will have no problem, And I wouldent reccomend spraying anything like raid on them. Ticks dont bother anyone:darkbeer:


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## Mil6161 (Nov 13, 2003)

*Ticks....*

Do not spray raid on the deer. i wouldn't anyway. I have shot deer with no ticks and ones with a bunch. You'll even see them crawl out from hair 
but do not worry....
I get Permanone or a permithrin type spray and treat my clothes overnight and use ultrathon bug cream...I hunt in New England and we are loaded with them....They're hard to evade so take the best precautions ......:wink:


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## rcmjr (Jan 31, 2007)

with the opener of bow season in Missouri moved to sept. 15 the number of ticks I've encountered on deer has gone WAY up.


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## flinginairos (Jan 3, 2006)

I have never had a problem with the ticks on a deer. I always see them on the deer but you really dont need to worry about them. I usually pull the hide off as soon as I get it back to my house to get the meat cooled off as quick as possible. If you leave your deer hang outside the ticks will come off when the body temp. starts to drop. A few of the bigger bucks I have killed have been crawling with them. I dont know if I really helped, thats just what I do. Good luck this season! you will have a blast!:wink:


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## BowtechIAN (Apr 16, 2007)

Let the Derr hang a day or two adn the ticks will just fall of


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## Beehaw (Sep 7, 2006)

This far in the south every deer we kill, regardless of date, is usually COVERED in ticks on the belly area. I have never worried about them. I butcher my own and I usually get the skin off the day of the kill. The ticks do seem to let go soon after death.


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## dogg3250 (Aug 16, 2006)

I find them on deer every fall No big deal. just make sure you check your self after you have cleaned the animal. Late fall season I hang mine for a day or two and let the ticks fall of on their own.


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## LEADWORKS (Apr 6, 2006)

In my part of the country *YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE TICKS!!* 

*Lyme disease* is carried by deer ticks and can be transferred to humans if the tick bites you, and it's pandemic in my area of the country. Lyme is nothing to mess around with. Please don't tell people not to worry about the ticks.


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## RCL (Apr 23, 2004)

I don't think I've ever killed a deer that *didn't* have ticks on it.......:noidea:


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## Mil6161 (Nov 13, 2003)

*pepper?*

Now that I think of it my buddy told me he heard of someone sprinkling the deer with pepper.....


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## Raven1911 (Feb 26, 2007)

So I guess rule of thumb in colder weather is to gut it and let the animal hang for a day or two and as the body temp drops the ticks come off? I think I will have a problem with this one as it does not get cold where I live and I don't think leaving an animal hanging for a day or two will keep the meat. Anyone put anything on the deer to get them off? Any other suggestions? Sorry, I am worried about Lyme disease and just paranoid probably Maybe I will have to suck it up and just gut it and skin it with the ticks on??:zip:


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## Raven1911 (Feb 26, 2007)

Mil6161 said:


> Now that I think of it my buddy told me he heard of someone sprinkling the deer with pepper.....


Would that be before eating it?! LOL


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## Rodent Hunter (Aug 19, 2006)

I use to cut up alot of deer for people. Some wouldn't have any ticks others would just keep moving with all of them. With all the problems from Lymes I did alot of research. The larger ticks that are most often seen are not to be worried about as far as Lymes they may carry other things. The deer tick that does carry Lymes is about the size of the ball in a ball point pen so kinda hard to see. So like everyone else said use some kind of good bug dope. I was also told that ticks will usually crawl on the new host for up to 12 hours before actually biting and can be washed off with a GOOD showering. One other thing that a taxidermist in my area does is places the hides in a plastic bag with flea and tick killer for pets liberally applied. Then leaves the bag in a cool area to kill any creepy crawlies. Over all they don't do anything to the meat like raid would.


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## muzzyhunter17 (Mar 4, 2007)

Raven1911 said:


> Would that be before eating it?! LOL


Now you CAN sprinkle some kind of pepper on it to keep flies off but not on the meat


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## WaterboyUT (Mar 11, 2006)

Hundreds of ticks on my Idaho buck last year.


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## jkvshooter (Nov 11, 2006)

With our earliest archery season starting in mid-July it is usually 90-100 degrees and deer are covered with ticks. Just get the skin off and the meat boned out ASAP. I have had as many as 40 ticks on me and not one of them bit or attached themselves to me. I work quickly, strip down and SEARCH for ticks everywhere, and then do it again. Remeber the more squeamish about it you are the longer it takes to get the job done and those little bas^%$#s off you.
When I have hung a buck (temperature permitting) it seemed like all the ticks moved toward the head. I dunno.


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## ARCHERYSNOB (Feb 13, 2006)

I skin mine right away,and throw skin into burn barrel.

When the body of the deer starts to get cold,the ticks will seek the warmth of another host,and that could easily be the hunter. Check yourself very well,Lymes is no joke.


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## mn5503 (Feb 21, 2006)

I have found plenty of ticks on deer. Plenty of deer ticks too, even in colder November temps. Deer ticks can be active all winter, even in MN. Don't become too paranoid but it's a good idea to always check yourself out after being in an area that has ticks. I know a couple people who contracted Lymes and it's not to be taken lightly. Like someone else already said, it's the tiny little deer ticks that are more likely to carry Lymes. 

A couple more weeks and the things will be all over the place around here. Pretty common around here to have a couple dozen or more of the creepy little parasites climbing on you in a real short time if you spend any time in the woods when things warm up a little.

I hate ticks


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## APAnTN (Mar 17, 2007)

*ticks*

when the body temp drops on the deer the ticks will leave they are after the warm blood just dont transport inside a suv or you will have them crawling everwhere i found out the hard way


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## acridlon (Jul 18, 2006)

*ticks*

Every deer that I have been around when harvested has had ticks. Same goes for elk. Seems like they try to come off the deer quicker the colder it is outside. I am sure thats because the core temp of the animal drops faster. Just be sure you check yourself well, and I mean everywhere. I killed a deer on a late season hunt outside Boise one time, and the ticks were bailing off that pig like crazy. We thought we had done a pretty good check before leaving, but a few miles down the road and I saw one in my rear view climbing on my headrest. Everytime I think about that I feel like I need to jump in the shower. Alan


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## gmherps (Jul 18, 2005)

I would think that when the deer was skinned that the ticks would no longer be there.


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## IGluIt4U (Sep 22, 2004)

Raven1911 said:


> So I guess rule of thumb in colder weather is to gut it and let the animal hang for a day or two and as the body temp drops the ticks come off? I think I will have a problem with this one as it does not get cold where I live and I don't think leaving an animal hanging for a day or two will keep the meat. Anyone put anything on the deer to get them off? Any other suggestions? Sorry, I am worried about Lyme disease and just paranoid probably Maybe I will have to suck it up and just gut it and skin it with the ticks on??:zip:


I've dressed hundreds of the suckers.. and never had a tick leave the warm comfort of the deer to attack me when dressing or skinning... you're being a bit paranoid.. we start in September and of the nine I took last season, all had ticks on em...none got on me during the drag, dressing, or transposting to the cold box. Just don't hang em in the house, in case some do fall off while it's hanging...:wink: I'd never even consider spraying em down with bug juice.. the ticks are on the part you ain't gonna eat.. just skin em and dispose of the hide quickly and you'll be fine.. they aren't in the meat...  :wink:


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## dapper (Jun 5, 2005)

I've seen plenty of ticks on the deer I've harvested. Once the carcass starts to cool down they start to detach and move. What concerns me is not them getting on me, because I'll be looking for them, but to fall off once the animal gets to my residence and then maybe find one of my family members as the next host. And they may not even be aware of ticks because they never go into the normal tick enviroment.

Dan


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## Cthuntfish (Sep 9, 2005)

*I think people are talking different topics here*

I'm in CT so there isn't anywhere else where Lyme is a bigger issue. Every year there are ticks on the deer we kill. I don't get worked up about it, we either skin the deer and get rid of it, or if we're hanging it we set up something under the deer and the ticks will back out and come off into the bag or can. In the colder months when you're more likely to hang the deer, the ticks aren't as much of an issue. It's the early season deer and typically we skin, quarter and put them in coolers on ice. 

I don't recommend rolling around with a deer loaded with ticks, but I don't think you have to over-react to ticks on deer.

Personally, I wouldn't spray anything on the deer that I plan on eating, whether it's just the hide or not....and does Raid kill ticks anyway?


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## TTS in PA (Aug 7, 2006)

*Worry...*



LEADWORKS said:


> In my part of the country *YOU HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE TICKS!!*
> 
> *Lyme disease* is carried by deer ticks and can be transferred to humans if the tick bites you, and it's pandemic in my area of the country. Lyme is nothing to mess around with. Please don't tell people not to worry about the ticks.


You should definitely worry about ticks (Lyme Disease). I also have never killed a deer without ticks. We just get the cape off ASAP. If it’s too hot to leave the deer hang, we quarter it and put the pieces in a refrigerator for the number of days preferred and then process it ourselves. Check yourself for ticks thoroughly after processing a deer.

While ticks will drop off a dead deer (no heat or blood flow), they don’t JUMP off or JUMP onto your arm. They can only craw and move slowly. One other thing I’ve done is to keep some tape handy, roll it around your hand sticky side out (like for removing lint from dress cloths) and just ‘stick’ them off the hide as its hanging (this is after the deer has been cold for a while). I had one buck ‘tape’ off 25 one day, and 25 the next, and I’m very sure this was not all the ticks it had. Now, even if I’m going to let a deer hang, I still remove the cape. (I don’t like the idea of dozens of ticks dropping off and looking for something else to feed on right next to my house, which is not a known tick area)

I also agree I’d never spray ANY type of insecticide on something I was going to eat, but that’s just my opinion.

TTS


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## joesandi (Jun 5, 2006)

Raven1911 said:


> So I guess rule of thumb in colder weather is to gut it and let the animal hang for a day or two and as the body temp drops the ticks come off? I think I will have a problem with this one as it does not get cold where I live and I don't think leaving an animal hanging for a day or two will keep the meat. Anyone put anything on the deer to get them off? Any other suggestions? Sorry, I am worried about Lyme disease and just paranoid probably Maybe I will have to suck it up and just gut it and skin it with the ticks on??:zip:


My wife is a taxidermist and she will get deer in after the hunter has taken them to a processor and she still finds ticks, alive, over a week later and being in a cooler/freezer. The best thing is to process the deer and check youself for ticks after you have finished.


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## maypo59 (Jan 10, 2007)

Here in ol' Kentuk, I ve seen deer with no ticks, seen some looked like one big tick they was so covered.. no big thing. They ain't wolves or nothing, just little creepie crawlies. Just like anytime you've been to the woods, check your self for ticks. spiders. fleas, whatever, but check. Even though you used a good spray before you went out. The ticks on the deer are going away with the cape, no need to worry. Now, I have a buddy who SWEARS he found a live tick on a boar head and shoulder mount that was on the wall about 4 years.. I am assuming the tick crawled all the way up there and bit after it was mounted and he just happened to notice it about the time the tick was thinking.. "dang I hate cold pork..."

anyways, check yourself, get your wife hunting and the checkin's a whole lot more fun!


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## spoco57 (Aug 31, 2005)

*Keds and ticks*

Last year we had this discussion about ticks on deer and somebody apprised me of the possibility that what I thought were ticks, were actually deer keds. Sure enough, what I took to be ticks were, in fact, deer keds. We do have ticks here, but the deer almost always have a lot of keds and very few ticks. I've lived here all my life, but the idea of keds is a new notion to me. Anyhow, they are disgusting and tick-like, but not dangerous. Deer can be crawling with them, too.

Here's a link.
http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/deer_keds.htm


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## OHbowhntr08 (Mar 1, 2007)

honestly ive never really noticed ticks on my deer. 

most deer i shoot are in late october/early november and ive never noticed one or even found one

i live in soutwest ohio but hunt also in indiana...anyone else from this area experienced this?


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## Cthuntfish (Sep 9, 2005)

*Keds too*

We get plenty of Keds on the deer here as well.


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## redrockhunter (Aug 11, 2005)

after you peel the bark off a deer the ticks stay in the hide, not the meat. but don't leave the hide laying around cause the ticks will just find you or a dog or cat to attach to.


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