[quesera]

Both small mammal and large mammal hosts are required in the deer tick lifecycle.

White-footed mice are the most common host for the small mammal portion (but there are many options), and deer are the most common host for the large mammal portion.

Deer are easier to count and control than mice/voles/moles/chipmunks/etc.

So controlling deer populations is more likely to be successful in breaking the deer tick lifecycle.

So sayeth a publication from researchers at the University of Connecticut, at least.

I'm sympathetic with the almost-pet Bambi-loving crowd. But Lyme is real and not at all cuddly. Bring back the wolves!

[giantg2]

Coyotes have been introduced in the east in the past. They generally don't kill healthy adult deer (maybe), but they do kill a decent number of fawns. They aren't enough to fully control the population, especially in the suburbs.

The advantage of going after the mice is that they can use crispr to give them immunity. It could be used on deer, but would probably have more push back. Tick tubes have already been shown to be effective at the small mammal level.

It will likely require a combination to control.

[quesera]

Yep, coyotes are not pack hunters in the way that wolves are.

Interestingly, the coyotes in the US East are apparently hybrid "coywolves". They are larger than western coyotes, but still not big enough to take down an adult deer, and they still do not hunt in packs.

If you have a large area to cover, Tick Tubes(tm) can get expensive. You can make your own pretty easily for about 1/20th of the price: toilet paper rolls, cotton balls, and Permethrin diluted to ~3%.

[giantg2]

"Yep, coyotes are not pack hunters in the way that wolves are."

"...but still not big enough to take down an adult deer, and they still do not hunt in packs."

Coyotes will hunt in packs or alone. They generally go for fawns, but they do occasionally take adult deer (there's even video of it).

https://www.pgc.pa.gov/Education/WildlifeNotesIndex/Pages/EC...

https://www.trappermag.com/article-index/deer-predation-coyo...

[quesera]

There is no comparison between the organizational coherence of coyotes (or coywolves) and full wolves.

Wolves are bigger, stronger, and cooperative in larger packs. Coyotes are more opportunistic and ad hoc, and easily scared off.

The net is that wolves have far more success with large prey.

Feral (or wandering) domesticated dogs will sometimes hunt together too, but their coordination is limited. Wolves are impressive creatures.