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2025 EHD?

I've been told it blew up here from hurricane Ike in 2008. That strong wind we had for a week carried those gnats here. IDK maybe I do know that both of my hunting areas have been dealing with it every year since 2017. I used to believe this is going to go away but I don't believe it's going to anytime soon. It's not just Ohio it's across the whole mid west. Makes me sick in my stomach every august
 
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the ODNR post with the graphic a page or so back

☠️ Please Report Dead or Sick Deer 🚨
⭐ Our agency is seeking reports of dead/sick deer suffering from Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) to help us track potential disease outbreaks. If you find a deer that has died or observe a deer that is behaving abnormally, please report your observations online.
🔗 https://ow.ly/h6Ue50WIcZk

🔖 General EHD information:
⏺️ Virus does not affect humans
⏺️ Caused by the bite of an infected midge (small fly)
⏺️ Transmission of EHD ceases with the first frost which kills the midge and interrupts the disease cycle.
⏺️ One of the most common diseases of white-tailed deer in the United States

🤒 Symptoms
⏺️ Symptoms vary and usually develop about seven days after exposure.
⏺️ Deer may appear disoriented and show little or no fear of humans.
⏺️ Affected animals experience high fevers may appear feverish and are often found in or near water in attempt to cool themselves.
⏺️ Pronounced swelling of head, neck, tongue and eyelids
⏺️ May have respiratory distress.
Click to expand...
 
I need to take a ride around our Muskingum property this weekend. Didn't smell anything last weekend but I was mostly in a tractor.
 
IMO.... This is strictly food for thought... Could EHD be a result of all the chemicals being spread on the ground today??? Everyone's spraying Roundup to kill weeds today... Whether it be hunters trying to establish a food plot or farmers trying to squeeze that extra dollar out of their crops... Today corn and soybean are Roundup ready... Meaning while the corn is growing it can be sprayed with Roundup and not be killed... Years ago you did not hear of widespread EHD and how come mountainous areas don't have it... And there are bodies of water in mountainous areas that would have these midges... So I'm not buying the theory that it comes from midges...
 
RUR crops were introduced in the late 90's. Athens is leading the state right now per that map, which has considerable more woodland/hills than crop land compared to other counties.
 
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5Cent said:
RUR crops were introduced in the late 90's. Athens is leading the state right now per that map, which has considerable more woodland/hills than crop land compared to other counties.
Click to expand...
Wva is having an outbreak too. An area I hunt in Kentucky got hammered a few years back and there isn’t an ag field for miles in any direction.
 
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Just a thought guys... I just remember growing up there was no such thing as EHD... Nor was cancer so prevalent...
 
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EHD is very interesting to me. In my area of NW/NC Ohio, we have as high or higher a deer density as anywhere else in the state… Yet, we are almost never noticeably affected by EHD (knock on wood). Why is that? Is it because we have ample water supplies nearby? Even on a drought year, like 2024, we weren’t really hit by EHD.

The biologist in me wants to know more about the disease. But I wonder, all of you screaming to the DNR to “do something about it,” what exactly do you want them to do? Yes, it sucks that deer are dying before season. But the reality is we have as many or more deer on the landscape now as we’ve ever had. Arguably too many. Mother Nature is gonna do what she does, no different than when any other population of a species gets relatively high. If we don’t kill them, she will.

I often wonder if EHD didn’t kill mature bucks, if everyone would be as up in arms about it as they are. Let’s face it… guys get pissed because a deer they’ve got 2-3 years of pictures gets taken out by a midge instead of their arrow/bullet. Don’t get me wrong… I’d be really upset too. I just think we need to step back and understand there’s only so much we can control.
 
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jagermeister said:
EHD is very interesting to me. In my area of NW/NC Ohio, we have as high or higher a deer density as anywhere else in the state… Yet, we are almost never noticeably affected by EHD (knock on wood). Why is that? Is it because we have ample water supplies nearby? Even on a drought year, like 2024, we weren’t really hit by EHD.

The biologist in me wants to know more about the disease. But I wonder, all of you screaming to the DNR to “do something about it,” what exactly do you want them to do? Yes, it sucks that deer are dying before season. But the reality is we have as many or more deer on the landscape now as we’ve ever had. Arguably too many. Mother Nature is gonna do what she does, no different than when any other population of a species gets relatively high. If we don’t kill them, she will.

I often wonder if EHD didn’t kill mature bucks, if everyone would be as up in arms about it as they are. Let’s face it… guys get pissed because a deer they’ve got 2-3 years of pictures gets taken out by a midge instead of their arrow/bullet. Don’t get me wrong… I’d be really upset too. I just think we need to step back and understand there’s only so much we can control.
Click to expand...
The areas I live and hunt in, Warren and Highland county have no were near the deer numbers we had 20 years ago thanks to EHD and probably other factors. You don't even see many road kills during rut anymore. There are some pockets with good numbers but there also are pockets with very few deer. 20 years ago the numbers were spread pretty equally though out the region. It's not that way now in SW and SC Ohio
 
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