It's Official. Moose in BC are in Trouble

[Vladimir Poutine]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/majority-of-b-c-moose-at-risk-from-potentially-deadly-ticks-1.3721931

[Drillbit]

.....................

[Lastcar]

Well shiiiiiit...we almost had a thread about hunting. How dare anyone try that.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[palmer]

So stupid question...can we not spray for ticks like we spray for skeetters ? Or some such plan....

[Lastcar]

So stupid question...can we not spray for ticks like we spray for skeetters ? Or some such plan....

Apparently, the treatment has to be applied fairly directly on the animal. There was talk of trying to do it with paintball guns and the pellets would be filled with whatever it is that rids them of the ticks.

Guys would be lining up for that job!

[Caribou_lou]

I recall them collaring a pile of moose? Was that winter of 2015? Nothing in the article states anything about collared moose being killed by deadly ticks. You'd think that would be a tool that would prove they are being overwhelmed with ticks to the point of death.

I see lots of moose all winter in the Skeena region and would not say 10 percent have hair loss.

[panhead]

They'll be in more trouble when my draw date comes due ...

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Lives need getting. Girlfriends await proposals. Wives need diddling.

[TPK]

I heard something about an idea around controlled burns in heavy tick areas as a means to knock the number of ticks down. Doesn't help those already infested but may help prevent more.

[sawmill]

Ticks. Is that a new word for Stewards of the land?

[bigredchev]

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/british-columbia/could-shooting-moose-with-paintball-guns-help-fight-winter-tick-infestations-1.2963342

[Piperdown]

Ticks. Is that a new word for Stewards of the land?

Ha ha awesome post

[GoatGuy]

There's quite a bit to this.

Moose didn't evolve with ticks, and as a result don't know how to deal with them like deer/elk do. Deer/elk etc will groom themselves, whereas moose won't - they will try to remove the ticks by scratching/rubbing off their hair.

Typically the ticks 'drop off' in the early spring to lay eggs. If it's cold they hit the snow and die (many will actually get eaten by birds), if it's warm they hit the dirt and drop their eggs increasing the number of ticks. With climate change this becomes a bigger problem.

Fire suppression likely also plays a role in high tick loading.

Treating them isn't likely a viable solution.

[Arctic Lake]

So just wondering what's the latest observations on tick infested moose. Are you seeing many affected moose / hair loss ?
Thanks
Arctic Lake

[1899]

There's quite a bit to this.

Moose didn't evolve with ticks, and as a result don't know how to deal with them like deer/elk do. Deer/elk etc will groom themselves, whereas moose won't - they will try to remove the ticks by scratching/rubbing off their hair.

Typically the ticks 'drop off' in the early spring to lay eggs. If it's cold they hit the snow and die (many will actually get eaten by birds), if it's warm they hit the dirt and drop their eggs increasing the number of ticks. With climate change this becomes a bigger problem.

Fire suppression likely also plays a role in high tick loading.

Treating them isn't likely a viable solution.

And in 5...4...3...2...1....

[Cordillera]

the idea of burns is to get rid of the eggs but also the brush. if the ticks survive the late winter, the emerge in the fall and crawl up the willows or other brush and drop onto the moose in the fall. and tick populations are pretty intense in an area once established. So maybe they can be "sterilized".

On the research/collaring;, yes they collared cows so if cows are dying of ticks they will probably find out. the problems is that a calf can't be easily or safely collared and its the calves that are most vulnerable to ticks because they have small body mass.

[Bear Chaser]

GoatGuy have there been studies done to indicate if mineral block supplementation helps the moose repel ticks?
I have heard some people say that sulphur blocks make the moose smell and taste bad to ticks so they don't stick.
If this has been proven it may not be feasible on a large scale but may help some localized pockets and be worth trying by landowners.

[Seeadler]

Fire suppression is a big part of the problem, when conifers are at their highest, game is at its lowest.