PHIL WIELAND: Tick, tick, tick — the sound of terror in Ogden Dunes

When it comes to bloodsucking pests, the deer tick is a lot smaller than your average Wall Street banker, and it doesn't want a government bailout.

Ogden Dunes is a town divided over deer ticks. Despite a minuscule population of about 1,100, it leads the state in cases of Lyme disease, which is transmitted by deer ticks. Of the 20 suspected or confirmed cases of Lyme disease in Porter County, which also leads the state, half are Ogden Dunians.

The bullets could start flying Wednesday in Serenity Park, the location of the planned cull of 40 deer. That's when the order halting the cull ends, which would make the planned Dec. 29 hearing for those protesting the permit before the Indiana Department of Natural Resources a moot point.

After last week's column about the deer cull, I learned deer are important to Dunites. The town website has a page dedicated to deer management and includes the results of a survey done earlier this year that showed most favor a deer management program, but most oppose managing them by killing them.

The question of what residents considered to be the main problem with deer was most interesting. The risk of disease finished fourth out of five main reasons, ranking behind traffic hazard, number of deer and, No. 1 (with a bullet?), destruction of landscaping.

First of all, "number of deer" IS the problem. The others all are the result of that. But, it is interesting to note losing some shrubbery is more important than the risk of getting Lyme disease despite the town's unusually high count of cases.

Comments I got via email and phone ranged from those who like the deer and put out salt licks for them to the guy who wants to turn a machine gun on them. Those favoring the cull say those opposed to it don't care about the health of children. Obviously, they are monsters.

A study showed reducing the deer population can reduce the tick risk by 90 percent. Another study showed reducing the deer population in small area, and Ogden Dunes is a small area, could lead to higher tick densities, or a "tick hot spot."

Ticks exist without the deer, but the female goes on a several-day deer blood binge before laying her eggs. Only the banned insecticide DDT is effective in controlling the ticks, which limits the options.

Interestingly, the white-tailed deer, the ticks' host of choice, were hunted to virtual extinction in Indiana a century or so ago. The IDNR reintroduced them in southern Indiana in the early or mid-1900s, and, over the years, they pretty much have repopulated the state.

IDNR deer biologist Bob Porch said the Dunian deer also might have migrated down from Michigan. Great. Another illegal immigrant problem.

The opinions are those of the writer. He can be reached at phil.wieland@nwi.com or (219) 548-4352.