Porter County hunters may face fewer prey this deer season as a hemorrhagic disease has been striking the animals here in elevated numbers that have been a long time coming.
“Usually these flare-ups occur once every five to seven years,” said Indiana State Deer Biologist Joe Caudell. “In y’all’s area there hasn’t been a big flare-up like this, I think, in over 10 years.”
Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is always present in the deer population but can spike when drought-like conditions ironically create micro ponds during periods of rain which attract the midges, known as “no-see-ums” or gnats, that carry the disease. The disease is spread when the midges bite an infected deer and then bite other deer.
Micro ponds from something as small as the footprint of a wild animal filled with rainwater allow the insects to breed more successfully. And because deer drink more frequently in a drought year, they come into increased contact with the midges.
Caudell says the state becomes aware of surges through the Indiana Department of Natural Resources online reporting form. Clinical signs of the disease include not eating; weakness; loss of fear of humans; circling; and other neurological signs.
Deer that have died from EHD may have a swollen tongue, eyelids, neck, or head. Caudell said the disease can circulate anytime during the summer. His office became aware of a surge in Wabash County at the end of June.
Since officials found out about the surge there so early they likely will be able to lower the bag limit for hunters in Wabash County. An application has been made to lower the bag limit here in Porter County, but may not go into effect until next year’s season.
The DNR won’t know how severe the die-off was until it conducts its fly-overs in the winter after the new year. This will be the second year for fly-overs which allow the state to visually count deer.
“Luckily we flew parts of Porter County last year,” Caudell said. Those pre-EHD counts, combined with this year’s harvest numbers, and the 2025 assessment flight counts will allow officials to determine what the true population loss was.
There is no risk to humans for those who can bag a deer this season. Caudell says the disease kills quickly so hunters are unlikely to have shots at sick deer and the educated hunter knows only to harvest healthy-looking deer. Some deer can live with chronic cases of the disease and survive.
Reports on social media state that odor from rotting carcasses has been an issue for some area residents. Caudell said 90 to 95% of decomposition should be complete in the next two to three weeks because of the high temperatures. Once the first frost hits the adult midges will die off, ending the disease process for this year.
Mother Nature has a way of mitigating the damage. Fewer deer after a die-off means more food for those that remain.
“More vegetation makes healthier does and they can produce more milk,” Caudell explained. He said it’s not uncommon to see more twins and triplets born to does in the spring following a die-off.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.