Moose and ticks - a bad season

[cooperhill]

Article from the Keene Sentinel. Article mostly references Southern (west) NH. I'm not sure this is an issue (yet) in the North Country.

http://www.sentinelsource.com/features/environment/a-tiny-enemy-vampiric-ticks-are-draining-region-s-moose/article_aea682c1-c3e5-56a1-aad1-2973e12cd6c0.html

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Empirically speaking, this is a horrible year for ticks. We've found 2-3 at a time on the kids from just running around the yard

Tim

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I think there's a type of tick that attacks moose, but not people. I recall encountering a poor moose one rainy day in late winter as 3 of us were hiking up to Garfield. This poor fellow was standing just off the trail, with hundreds of ticks, some of which were engorged with blood and had fallen onto the snow. The ticks didn't look like the same variety as humans and dogs seem to attract. The longterm prospects for that moose didn't seem promising.

Anyone out there who knows their ticks care to comment?

 

[peakbagger]

A few years back my brother's neighbor ended up with a dead moose in their front yard in Milan NH. They called fish and game and the warden that responded said that the moose had died of an infestation of "winter ticks". He stated that the ticks had migrated south from canada following the moose population and that these ticks did not bother humans. The next time my brother went up to his property, he had another dead moose on his property that has suffered a similiar fate. I havent seen many moose this spring but the ones I saw looked fairly healthy.

 

[erugs]

I suppose this quote from the article should bring us some relief:

"As for moose, it’s not the first time their numbers have dipped due to ticks, Rines said. 'There was a really bad worldwide die-off back in 2001,” she said. “Of the collared moose in New Hampshire, 75 percent of the calves died. Cows lost 20 percent of their population as well.'”

What I wish these stories would do is speak of the different varieties. If humans can't be harmed by the ticks that kill moose, it is good for us to know that's why we might see dead moose, but better to know that it is not the same tick that causes Lyme disease.

The article also stated that Lyme disease got its start in CT, but that's not true. A number of people living in Lyme, CT came down with similar symptoms, thus the disease became known locally, then regionally, then nationally as Lyme. The disease has been around for at least a hundred years, but the numbers have recently accelerated. Vets who see dogs with ticks don't usually say whether they are dog ticks or deer ticks they are seeing. Or both.

 

[Jason Berard]

On a walk in Enfield, NH last week, we came across a pile of moose hair. It was LOADED with winter ticks! They are a bit bigger that wood ticks IIRC.
http://www.nrri.umn.edu/moose/information/WinterTick.html

I have only had 1 tick on me so far this spring.....

I'm glad I didn't have a close-up like this! http://2aday.wordpress.com/2007/03/29/nanophoto-of-the-day-hikers-surprise/

 

[erugs]

Those close ups make my stomach turn, even as I avert my gaze.

 

[DougPaul]

The article also stated that Lyme disease got its start in CT, but that's not true. A number of people living in Lyme, CT came down with similar symptoms, thus the disease became known locally, then regionally, then nationally as Lyme. The disease has been around for at least a hundred years, but the numbers have recently accelerated.

The possible first detailed description of Lyme disease was written in 1764 after the author visited a tick-infested Scottish island. Museum specimens show DNA evidence of Lyme in North America in 1894 and Germany in 1884. Lyme disease appears to have been around for thousands of years in America. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease#History

I have read that moose ticks are not a threat to humans.

Doug

 

[Becca M]

Hey, is there a reason they can't come up with a Frontline tick killer for the back of the mooses' necks??????

 

[DrJJFate]

Hey, is there a reason they can't come up with a Frontline tick killer for the back of the mooses' necks??????

It would probably work to some degree

 

[DougPaul]

Hey, is there a reason they can't come up with a Frontline tick killer for the back of the mooses' necks??????

The difficult part is likely to be getting the moose to cooperate...

(And it would have be done in a way that does not let the pesticide get into the local waters.)

Moose populations also seem to be be exploding even with the ticks.

And then again there is the goal of leaving things as natural as possible...

Doug

 

[Elizabeth]

I have only had 1 tick on me so far this spring.....

I was worried that the deep snow cover would have insulated the soil too well, so that lots of ticks would have survived the winter and made it a bad year. That does not seem to be the case.

I have had a several (5 - 6) instances of "dog ticks" and one deer tick on me so far this year. For people, I would call it a moderate tick season, so far.

 

[forestgnome]

Moose populations also seem to be be exploding even with the ticks.Doug

It's my understanding that the moose pop has been declining over the past few years. F&G has allowed fewer and fewer moose to be taken in the hunt for the past few years. The number of tickets issued to hunters is determined by the size of the pop, if I understand it correctly.

The ticks were not bad at all last year, but I heard that it was expected to be bad this year. The few moose I've seen this year didn't look to have many on them.

Here's a nice pregnant cow I saw on May 6th. Typically the ticks are on the backs of the ears, shoulder and chest areas, and especially around the but. If you see bare patches on the winter coat, it's due to the moose trying to rub off the ticks.

Soon the ticks will drop off and due some icky life cycle stuff.

I saw a 2 year old bull calf yesterday morning. I didn't see any on him.

happy trails

 

[billski]

Nasty!

Did a little bushwhacking in the Andover Mass. Conservation land. And I mean a little - 15 mins. I came back with fifteen (count-em 15) ticks all over me. At least five on my head. I literally had to shed all my clothes to find them all.
I'll learn to wear all white next time.

 

[DougPaul]

It's my understanding that the moose pop has been declining over the past few years. F&G has allowed fewer and fewer moose to be taken in the hunt for the past few years. The number of tickets issued to hunters is determined by the size of the pop, if I understand it correctly.

I was thinking more of over a 10-20 year span.

Increasing or decreasing, the species is hardly in danger.

Doug

 

[cooperhill]

New publication by UNH Coop Extension on winter (moose) ticks.

http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource001955_Rep2885.pdf

 

[Andrew]

Last week while grooming up in Nash Stream, another operator came accross a moose laying right in the trail corridor who wouldn't get up. He called in a CO who had to put the poor thing down as it appeared to be suffering, my guess is ticks and I do see quite a few that also appear to be in bad shape.

 

[michael]

Bemis Mtn Lean-to

Last Spring, my District Overseer (Baldpate - MATC) and I had to hike in and remove a small moose from next to the Bemis Mtn Lean-to. Alerted as we were to the likelihood of severe tick infestation, we purchased Tyvex suits to prevent the ticks from getting on our clothes and bodies as we or rather my partner cut the moose into smaller pieces for removal.
Ohhh it was absolutely crawling, dare I say pulsating with life! So gross.
There were so many ticks. We tried to set them on fire with white gas but the fur had too much moisture in it. A couple of times we had a good blaze and the little buggers were popping and snapping. But after the flames died out we could see that it really was not effective.
The chainsaw work was not precision however we were able to cut it up into 3 smaller pieces. But the ticks were flying all over and I just stepped back and let Tom take the brunt of it.
Sorry for the graphic details but the point being, I saw firsthand how this little moose was fairly consumed by ticks. It was too weak to move and just seemed to hunker down next to the lean-to and after a big snow, it just succumbed to the elements.

 

[erugs]

That description truly makes my Lyme disease sound like nothing.