Would complete elimination of the deer population eliminate the Lyme disease threat?
Asked by
hominid (
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October 15th, 2014
Has anyone really looked into the rise of Lyme disease, and if this is directly related to a rise in the deer population? I understand that the ticks can live on other hosts, such as rodents and birds. But it seems that deer is the preferred host.
I understand that Lyme disease is controversial in many ways, and it’s difficult to get solid info about the whole thing. There are many kids I know who supposedly have had (or still have?) Lyme disease. And it’s very common to return from a hike and have more than one tiny deer tick hiding somewhere (hair, skin, armpit, etc).
I consistently hear that a reduction in the deer population would be a guaranteed way of reducing the deer tick population, and therefore the occurrence of Lyme disease. If this is the case, would it be safe to assume that 0 deer = 0 deer ticks = 0 cases of Lyme disease? Note: I’m not proposing killing the deer. Just trying to figure this out.
Has anyone really done the work of researching this? If so,
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11 Answers
No,other animals are tick hosts.
I think, and I could be wrong, that the disease originates in rodents, and the tick is a vector. So eliminating deer would not eliminate the disease. You have to check me regarding the transmission of the disease though. I could be confusing it. I think the ticks prefer deer, they don’t get the disease from the deer. Ugh, my knowledge is rough on the topic. So, no deer would mean far less ticks and far less incidence of Lyme’s disease most likely. It probably would throw something else off in the balance of nature though.
They feed off of pets and people too. So I would bet, no.
Wow, I just read JLeslie response and found a website saying where lyme disease may have come from.
This is a conspiracy theorists dream.
Check out the answer to the first question. http://www.aldf.com/Misinformation_about_Lyme_Disease.shtml
Actually it was the second question
That’s a pretty famous conspiracy theory. Conspiracy may not be the correct word. Theory that it got out by accident is more in line. No proof though so it’s still just internet lore. There is another tick disease “Babesiosis” that seems to be speading from that area also. I really doubt it but who knows….
Unfortunately, there are a lot more nasty tick-borne diseases besides Lyme in the US. My bro-in-law, living in the epicenter of Lyme diseaese (as do I) contracted ehrlichiosis.
Unfortunately, there are lot more carriers besides the white-tailed deer. White-footed field mice, pine and meadow voles, opossums, raccoons, dogs, eastern cottontails, lizards and birds (grackles). Source
Unfortunately, you’d have to kill off a huge piece of the local fauna and then there are no guarantees. Often the ticks drop off the animals and lurk in brush and unmowed grass, waiting to pound, attach, creep to a warm and fecund spot (like your armpit or groin) and then gorge.
No, as others have said, many hosts for this species of tick other than deer.
This is like asking if we should eliminate all warm blooded mammals because of the potential for rabies.
No.
From this article about determinants of lyme disease risk, “Indices of deer abundance had no predictive power [of lyme disease risk]”.
From this article about biodiversity and lyme disease risk, “We present a conceptual model of how high species richness and evenness in communities of terrestrial vertebrates may reduce risk of exposure [to Lyme disease]”.
This I found interesting (from @Cupcake‘s first link);
The strongest predictors of a current year’s risk were the prior year’s abundance of mice and chipmunks and abundance of acorns 2 y previously.
Oaks and maples are the predominant deciduous trees around here. I find thousands of baby oak tress growing everywhere from dropped acorns (and often find acorns stashed away in the Wellies that I keep in the garage.)
No and it would have other tragic consequences too that we can’t foresee.
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