Few years back, I walked into the spring woods to quickly scout an area I wanted to take my son Turkey hunting the next morning. I was on my way home from work and did not have any repellant. A half hour later, back at the truck, I pulled 40 or so "bear" ticks off me. Thus the idea that a healthy deer could have 100 or more ticks on it's body is no surprise to me. Standard procedure for me anytime I hunt, hike, search for Morels is to use repellant. I also take all my clothes of and either put them in the washing machine immediately with hot water, or put them outside so any ticks on them will crawl off. I use Frontline on my bird dog from the first warm days of spring till after a coupla hard freezes in the fall. At three years old, she already has the spirochetal bacteria present in her blood. Since she has yet to manifest any symptoms, the local vet will not treat her. They claim 80% of the dogs they test have the spirochetal bacteria that cause Lyme in their blood. Years ago a good friend of mine shot a 180 class buck with a bow and stopped by with it to show me. The buck was in the back of his truck and the bed of the truck was covered with at least 100 various sized ticks that were leaving the deer as it cooled. The deer was obviously very healthy as it was heavy in rut and chasing does when my friend shot it.
I make no joke about ticks and Lyme, this is why I suggest always using a repellant when they may be present. But they and the Lyme they carry are a fact of life in the outdoors. Even if one never goes into the woods, they are present in your backyard.
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