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AjayiMVP t1_iv6188m wrote

Reply to comment by SafetyNoodle in People talk about ticks all the time, but nobody talks about these evil little monsters. My son and I were swarmed by them in the state game lands. They carry Lyme as well! by drunkmonkey176

That’s a bunch of horseshit that makes no sense.

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SafetyNoodle t1_iv61opx wrote

They're mostly flightless and they much prefer deer. It makes a lot of sense. Many parasites are very host specific and won't stray from that unless there is a super easy opportunity or a mistaken identity. From the article...

> Deer keds are usually found on deer, elk and moose, but occasionally bite humans and domestic mammals. [...]

> Deer hunters are most likely to come into contact with deer keds, as they process deer they kill.

> "Deer keds can run up your arm while you're field dressing a deer and bite you,” said Michael Skvarla, extension educator and director of the Insect Identification Lab in the Department of Entomology at Penn State.

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AjayiMVP t1_iv62eyt wrote

Yeah, still horseshit. They have wings and do fly. When they find their host they drop their wings. You might be more likely to get bit field dressing a deer but that isn’t exclusive. I find a few on me almost every time I go out in Oct/Nov and do get bit. I haven’t field dressed a deer in years.

EDIT: The post I responded to was Nina edited by OP. It originally said something very different.

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dolanbp t1_iv6d805 wrote

Yes, but they are single-host ectoparasites. They tend to land on, feed on, and finish their life cycle on one host. They aren't like ticks that will go from host to host. They also aren't generally found on other animals (rodents primarily) that act as a "resevoir" for Lyme and and other diseases. Lyme and other pathogens found in deer keds were likely picked up from the host deer, and since deer keds don't generally move from host to host they are highly unlikely to transmit it to humans. That means the ones you find on you likely haven't fed on a host yet that could have Lyme or other diseases. There seems to be no evidence they pass Lyme or other disease to humans.

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