Experts Say Deer Overpopulation Likely the Cause for Lyme Disease Spike
OutdoorHub Reporters 12.17.18
The deer breeding season has pretty much wrapped up by now, and experts are already calling for concern about a Lyme Disease spike posed by the current number of deer running around.
A recent tick explosion has had outdoors enthusiasts uneasy about spending time outside, and for good reason. According to the Monroe County Health Department, Lyme Disease has tripled in the U.S. over the last 15 years, with experts reporting 80 to 90 confirmed cases every year.
“It’s been dramatic, the last few years I’ve noticed ticks out and about and I often find them on me and on my clothes, whereas four or five years ago I never did,” Retired Wildlife Biologist Art Kirsch said.
He went on to suggest the overpopulation of deer is to blame for the Lyme Disease spike over the recent years.
“Despite the DEC’s best efforts to reduce the population by issuing more deer permits there’s just not enough hunters to fill available permits, so we’ve dealt with this overpopulation of deer, and the increase in tick numbers is just one byproduct of that,” said Kirsch.
For more information on ticks, and ways you can prevent them from hitching an unwanted ride on you, read this previous OutdoorHub article.
