NE WA Moose Study

[JimmyHoffa]

Are the ticks out of balance?  Did a predator kill off something keeping the ticks in line?  Some parts of the country that have lots of ground birds (turkeys/grouse) have low tick populations because the birds eat them.  Maybe more cats/yotes eating the birds?

[WAcoyotehunter]

Are the ticks out of balance?  Did a predator kill off something keeping the ticks in line?  Some parts of the country that have lots of ground birds (turkeys/grouse) have low tick populations because the birds eat them.  Maybe more cats/yotes eating the birds?

That's an interesting thought- I don't know if anyone has looked into that too much.

The prevailing thought is that the last 6-7 easy winters have helped increase the population.  We had a tough winter this year, hopefully that wiped them out.

I HATE ticks now... I got rocky mtn spotted fever from one last spring and felt like death warmed over for a week.

[bearpaw]

. The year before last a warden told me they were finding black bears half eaten (wolves) on top of the snow in the middle of winter.

I have heard of that happening, but after spending every winter working and running hounds all over NE Wa and N Idaho, I have never seen it.

I would have to agree, I've heard of it but never seen it, because I haven't witnessed it I don't think bear are a primary target of wolves but I don't know for sure. Another thing to consider is that even in areas where the elk population plunged in Idaho due to wolf impacts there are still quite a few bear. But I know a bio who has worked extensively on predator studies in ID/WY and he told me that they have literally found the remains of every animal in wolf poo.

[WAcoyotehunter]

I believe that.  I am sure they stumble upon dens and dig out bears occasionally.  My hounds have found dens a couple of times while freecast in the winter. 
Wolves are resourceful.  I suspect very few die of starvation barring an injury

[Skyvalhunter]

No but need to die of lead poisoning.

[Falcon]

No but need to die of lead poisoning.

You mean like yours😆

[huntnnw]

The tick issue is a real threat and I have seen lots of mouse over the last 5 years that I'm sure died from tick infestation. I've seen 3 just this year covered in ticks in 127. This issue is unheard of up north as the weather gets cold enough every year. That's the problem with lower 48 moose is the lack of super cold temps. This year I'm hoping it killed off ticks as we were cold for a long time

[CaNINE]

I have read somewhere that heavy snow years help reduce tick infestations. Since ticks typically attach themselves to the feet and lower legs of their hosts. If there is snow on the ground it helps minimize areas where the ticks can come in contact. I also recall reading that cold temps do not hurt the ticks. Not sure if this is accurate. If so, hopefully with the heavy snow we will see less infected moose this year.

[CarbonHunter]

I seen a story about the ticks killing the moose from Maine to Washington and they pointed to the lack of cold weather in winter. (Liberals blaming global warming)  It's mine understanding that this is also to blame for the pine beetles across the west. I know we were cold this year but were we cold enough?  I once heard that it would take a cold snap of -10 to -20 for 2 weeks to kill the pine beetles. Is this the same for the ticks or do they have a different temperature tolerance?

[Jpmiller]

If a tick is on a moose will the body heat and blood intake keep the tickets warm enough to survive a cold spell?

[SpurInSpokane]

If I'm reading this page right, the ticks DON'T die in frost, just become inactive: http://www.tickencounter.org/faq/seasonal_information

Anyone else have a different take/source?

[gutsnthegrass]

The ticks last year were no joke.  My son shot a nice buck up on the camas prairie in Idaho.  I have never seen so many ticks!  They were on every square inch of that deer.  I feel like we put that deer out of its misery.  It was a very healthy, big bodied deer, but the ticks were out of control.

[elkboy]

Nice little review of the literature here, actually:
https://www.qdma.com/burning-questions-can-fire-reduce-tick-abundance/

[rosscrazyelk]

I am curious about the results of this study. Just as I am the past 2 years in the hunting regs the state is asking our help to report all moose sightings.. I find it ironic after a wolf population takes hold they ask for help on moose sightings.

[NRA4LIFE]

As a barometer, I killed a very large, healthy cow northwest of Mount Spokane in November and I did not find a single tick on her.  I also seen a number of other moose close up that I thought also did not have any ticks on them.