09/13/2026
There is no foolproof way to prevent EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease) in wild deer. A completely controlled environment, such as a managed deer farm, provides the greatest opportunity to reduce exposure and control the factors that contribute to disease.
But in the wild, it is different.
It takes everyone doing their part.
Weather conditions, particularly drought, can play a major role in EHD outbreaks by creating favorable breeding conditions for the biting midges that transmit the virus.
As land managers, there are things we can do to give our deer the best opportunity to remain healthy:
💧 Provide clean, reliable water sources.
🌿 Maintain healthy habitat.
🦌 Provide quality supplemental feed and minerals containing nutrients that support overall health and immune function.
🪰 Take steps that may help deter the midges and reduce exposure where possible.
But here is the difficult reality: we cannot control where a wild deer travels.
You may have 100 acres with quality minerals, nutritious feed, clean water, and even well-maintained cement water sources. You may do everything possible to create a healthy environment for your herd.
But that deer may cross the property line onto your neighbor’s land, where conditions are completely different.
That is why managing wild deer health is truly a COMMUNITY effort.
It is heartbreaking to see deer affected by EHD especially knowing how many land managers and hunters have worked throughout the entire year to provide quality nutrition, habitat, water, and management in an effort to keep their deer healthy.
At the end of the day, we do what we can with what we have been given.
We can provide the best nutrition.
We can provide clean water.
We can improve habitat.
We can manage our properties responsibly.
We can work together as a community.
And then we have to leave the rest in God’s hands.
Our prayer is that the extra nutrients these deer have consumed day after day, month after month, have helped build their strength and will help them pull through this EHD outbreak.
Praying for the deer, the land managers, and the hunters who care so deeply about our whitetail herds.
Do your part. Help where you can. And trust God with what we cannot control.
