Deer on LI - What towns in LI have you seen deer? (contractor, living in)

[qlty]

You can tell if a deer is native to Long Island it will have a Tax tag on its tail

[hotkarl]

It's amazing how far west they're migrating. North and South shore sightings in Nassau. I haven't heard about any residential sightings on the South shore in Nassau but I know they're all over down by the beaches.

[OhBeeHave]

Stony Brook -- north and south of 25A. Old Field, Strongs Neck, Setauket-East Setauket, Port Jefferson Station. The guys in Wunderbar deli have seen a mangled body or two in the roadway out front.

[WiseWords]

Originally Posted by procfreq

. I pretty much spent the last 2 years going from doctor to doctor chasing OBVIOUS symptoms of Lyme, and not one of them even mentioned it as a possibility--and certainly none ever tested me for it--until just last November. It was a neurologist who finally made the suggestion. Sure, I was pretty uninformed too, but I'm not a doctor. I'd like to think our doctors are more aware of this, but my experience has shown me otherwise.

What were your symptoms? Amazing that so many doctors are unaware in LI of all places.

[Kbinspections]

Kings Park is now full of deer.......population has exploded over the past 3 years.

[procfreq]

What were your symptoms? Amazing that so many doctors are unaware in LI of all places.

Here's a very good educational link about NE area ticks and tick borne disease (U of RI):

TickEncounter Resource Center - Welcome

In my case, I've pretty much felt like I had a light case of the flu (achy, feverish, tired) for a couple years. I've had a lot of joint pain/swelling issues--been to my PCP on 4 separate occasions for problems with various major joints. Joint issues are transient and migratory. Although I have *never* had an issues with migraines before, I started having them at least 3x/week starting last March. My toes in both feet have been numb for years (my PCP totally dismissed this as anything), and I had Bell's palsy type facial paralysis TWICE last summer. These are all classic Lyme symptoms.

I also now realize I *did* have a Lyme rash; however, it wasn't "bulls eye" like everyone tells you it should be, so I completely dismissed it as a hyper reaction to mosquito bites. I now know that the Lyme EM rash is NOT always bulls eye, and is often just solid red. Any large diameter, expanding (mine were >5 inches across) red rash that lasts for many days should be viewed as suspect. And no, the rash doesn't necessarily appear at the same location as the bite. I even remember joking with my husband, "Ha! I probably have Lyme disease now," but then never pursued it because of the whole not-bulls eye thing and because I never actually found a tick. I feel like such an idiot. I could have spared myself so much trouble if I'd just gotten treatment earlier. Lyme is easily and quickly treated if caught immediately.

[smcm1232]

Originally Posted by procfreq

Northport on Ocean Ave??? Gah! I'm on a densely wooded lot in Northport, but I have NEVER seen a deer.

Nonetheless, I'm currently recovering from late stage disseminated LYME DISEASE. Yeah, good times. Going through this the past couple years has been a small nightmare; I'm only just now starting to feel vaguely human again after my first full month of antibiotics. Despite the incredible rate of Lyme on the island and our extremely high risk for this, you'd be shocked to know how uninformed many local physicians are about it. I pretty much spent the last 2 years going from doctor to doctor chasing OBVIOUS symptoms of Lyme, and not one of them even mentioned it as a possibility--and certainly none ever tested me for it--until just last November. It was a neurologist who finally made the suggestion. Sure, I was pretty uninformed too, but I'm not a doctor. I'd like to think our doctors are more aware of this, but my experience has shown me otherwise.

I know the deer population around here is exploding and, if my exterminator is correct and my basement is any indication, the rodent population is booming right along with it. My mind boggles at the risk this all presents to us in terms of Lyme disease incidence. I can't encourage LI residents enough to know what to look for and to take the proper precautions to prevent tick bites. I spend a lot of time in the woods, but I'm REALLY smart about it--I wear long pants/sleeves and boots, and all of my clothing is sprayed with a clothing only permethrin. I check for ticks and shower after gardening. I still got it.

Some food for thought:

Why Your Dog Can Get Vaccinated Against Lyme Disease And You Can’t | WBUR

This seems to be an older post but there doesn't seem to be much on the subject of deer on Long Island. I know Fire Island used to have a large deer population and they sometimes in the summer had some visual ticks. But deer are not the source of most infestations. It is usually the smaller rodents, Mice, rats, chipmunks, Squirrels, etc...And they hitch a ride on long blades of grass to anything they can adhere to. But I have found after some research that diatomaceous earth will actually kill them. Just be sure to get food grade if you put it near pets and gardens. I have lived upstate NY too and never had a problem with ticks and deer and the population of deer seemed to be much more prevalent. Maybe because there is no more room on LI. But deer help balance things. If we keep removing things that inconvenience us then the undesirable things like the ticks will have no where else to go but us and our pets.

[hotkarl]

Rodents contribute far more to the spread of ticks and tick disease. It's a fact. Not a popular one though.

It's much easier to just plow over a squirrel with your car. You don't have to slow down or be inconvenienced in any way. Just mow 'em down.
Can't do that with deer though. God forbid you gotta drive a little slower and be more aware in known deer areas.

[ShirlMastic Beach]

The federal government just started a killing spree on deer in Mastic Beach and Fire Island. We got hundreds of them.

[beachcomber11]

Today's newsday they're killing them on fire island in the dark of night. Good Job to individual number 1's federal service.