Three Important Tips For Hunters In New York State

The weather looks pretty decent for Saturday and the opening day of the firearm season for those who love to hunt whitetail deer in Western New York. Last year, portions of New York State were buried under around a foot of snow. It will be mostly rain, if any precipitation this weekend.

Deer hunters across New York State have been in the woods since early October as the archery, you firearms and crossbow seasons have all been underway. From what we can tell, it has been a good season and there are plenty of mature deer around.

At sunrise this Saturday, the action begins and the Department of Environmental Conservation in New York State has a few reminders for those who are heading out. There is also a reminder to those who don't hunt but enjoy the outdoors and the woods this time of the year.

The archery season has been good this year and if you are considering taking up archery or need a refresher, there are also some helpful tips for you.

I can't wait to get to the woods this weekend. I have been hunting for years and this weekend will be my 30th opener for the firearms season. It will be even more special as I get to take my oldest son to the woods with me for the first time on an opening day. If you are going out, good luck and be safe!

New York Hunters Beware Of These

If you are hunting, there is something that I found on the buck that I harvested this past weekend that I wasn't aware existed but thought you should know. We have all been warned about ticks when we are in the outdoors and most deer hunters are aware that ticks are on deer that we take. However, when I showed these pictures to a friend, who is also a veterinarian, he told me it was actually a different type of parasite.

These were on the buck's legs and back.

These are not ticks.

My friend tells me that these are actually a European Deer Ked!

Lipoptena species, also named the deer ked or deer fly, are commonly encountered in temperate areas of Europe, northern China, and North America. Although wild animals seem to be the preferred hosts of these parasitic arthropods, it is increasingly being noted that humans are also directly threatened by their bites.

I had never heard of such a thing and, like you, the first thing I wondered was if they are bad for humans? It appears that it may cause an itchy and sometimes painful reaction.

The inflammatory reaction resolved over five days, but hyperpigmented papules persisted for three months. In only the biggest site of the deer ked bite, a small field with a clear fluid vesicle was noticed. The Lipoptena cervi bites caused the formation of vesicles on the skin, which transformed into small erosions after splitting