I’m interested to know how the rest of the state hunting and animal activity is this year for you all. The deer here in south central KY have, for the most part, vanished. Very few deer are being seen in this area. Trail cams show very little deer. I knew something had happened to the deer but I wasn’t sure what. Now that the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife has put out blue tongue warnings (BTV), as well as (EHDV) and (HD) warnings, it all adds up.
The squirrel hunting has been very tough this year as well in this area. Few if any hickory nuts to be found. They have been falling prematurely ever since spring. White oak acorn crops are scattered and thin, for the most part. Plenty of chestnut oak acorns but I have never see anything eating those. I would reckon the deer and squirrels would eat them if they can’t find an else but that remains to be seen by me.
According to the F&G, (HD) is caused by gnats, which have been terrible this year. Gnats have been so bad this year that I have used a Thermacell, as well as wearing safety glasses. Also the gnats have been much larger than usual. I had 3 get into my eyes in a very short time. Two of which in my right eye, that I had thought I had rubbed out. It burned so badly that it ended my squirrel hunt due to blurry vision in my shooting eye. After I got home and looked into a mirror, I found two large gnats still in there. It took a Q-Tip to remove them. I was surprised by the size of them.
According to the F&G, early and frequent rains then followed by dryness provides a prolific breeding scenario for gnats. They bite and infect the deer and most of them die. However, some are spared.
I’m certain the silly weather we had here all year is the reason for the lack of nut crops. As of the last couple of weeks, I have been seeing squirrels feeding on beech nuts, maple seeds, white oak acorns and walnuts, all but beech nuts are fairly thin at best. However, the walnuts have also been dropping prematurely for months. Few are actually ripe in this area. After many squirrel hunts this year, to the best of my knowledge, I have killed only 3 squirrels out of hickory trees.
As of the last week, squirrels are finally being seen on the ground. Most of which are packing some sort of nuts. I expect this to increase.
All year, even during the spring season here, squirrels have been on the go in search of food. They spend little time in each tree before running to another tree. This scenario might be okay for those that prefer to hunt with shotguns but it certainly makes it difficult for those of us that use some type of rifles. The squirrels simply will not sit still this year due to being in search of food.
So yeah, please post the scenario in your area this year. I am curious to know.
The squirrel hunting has been very tough this year as well in this area. Few if any hickory nuts to be found. They have been falling prematurely ever since spring. White oak acorn crops are scattered and thin, for the most part. Plenty of chestnut oak acorns but I have never see anything eating those. I would reckon the deer and squirrels would eat them if they can’t find an else but that remains to be seen by me.
According to the F&G, (HD) is caused by gnats, which have been terrible this year. Gnats have been so bad this year that I have used a Thermacell, as well as wearing safety glasses. Also the gnats have been much larger than usual. I had 3 get into my eyes in a very short time. Two of which in my right eye, that I had thought I had rubbed out. It burned so badly that it ended my squirrel hunt due to blurry vision in my shooting eye. After I got home and looked into a mirror, I found two large gnats still in there. It took a Q-Tip to remove them. I was surprised by the size of them.
According to the F&G, early and frequent rains then followed by dryness provides a prolific breeding scenario for gnats. They bite and infect the deer and most of them die. However, some are spared.
I’m certain the silly weather we had here all year is the reason for the lack of nut crops. As of the last couple of weeks, I have been seeing squirrels feeding on beech nuts, maple seeds, white oak acorns and walnuts, all but beech nuts are fairly thin at best. However, the walnuts have also been dropping prematurely for months. Few are actually ripe in this area. After many squirrel hunts this year, to the best of my knowledge, I have killed only 3 squirrels out of hickory trees.
As of the last week, squirrels are finally being seen on the ground. Most of which are packing some sort of nuts. I expect this to increase.
All year, even during the spring season here, squirrels have been on the go in search of food. They spend little time in each tree before running to another tree. This scenario might be okay for those that prefer to hunt with shotguns but it certainly makes it difficult for those of us that use some type of rifles. The squirrels simply will not sit still this year due to being in search of food.
So yeah, please post the scenario in your area this year. I am curious to know.
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