Flies on a doe - Ask Extension
Hello, I caught this doe on my game camera and she’s covered with flies. I’ve never seen this before. Do you know what’s going on with her and w...
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Flies on a doe #937263
Asked June 29, 2026, 7:15 PM EDT
Hello, I caught this doe on my game camera and she’s covered with flies. I’ve never seen this before. Do you know what’s going on with her and what kind of flies they are? I tried to upload a 10 second video but the system won’t accept it so I did a still instead. I can email you the video when you answer if you’d like. Thank you.
Hocking County Ohio
Expert Response
Hi Jennifer!
It's always concerning to see an animal with so many flies on it, as we sympathize with that annoyance.
Unfortunatley, this is nature doing its thing. While I can't accurately identify the fly species in this picture, some of them are likely deer flies. Deer flies breed during the summer with most adult active June and July. Females require a blood meal in order the develop eggs (much like mosquitos). Also like mosquitos, they perfer wet/moist areas to lay their eggs, such as foliage overhanging wet areas (ponds, swamps, wooded wetlands and streams).
In hot temperatures, deer visit wet areas for water and are attractive to the flies. Research suggests that deerflies area generally a nusiance and source of stress to deer rather than a severe population-level threat to healthy deer. Diseases such as EHD, habitat degredation, tough winters, and hunting generally have much larger effects on deer population dynamics than deer flies themselves.
Hope this helps to ease your concern. Thanks for reaching out!
Marne
OSU Extension
Program Director, Wildlfe
<personal data hidden>
It's always concerning to see an animal with so many flies on it, as we sympathize with that annoyance.
Unfortunatley, this is nature doing its thing. While I can't accurately identify the fly species in this picture, some of them are likely deer flies. Deer flies breed during the summer with most adult active June and July. Females require a blood meal in order the develop eggs (much like mosquitos). Also like mosquitos, they perfer wet/moist areas to lay their eggs, such as foliage overhanging wet areas (ponds, swamps, wooded wetlands and streams).
In hot temperatures, deer visit wet areas for water and are attractive to the flies. Research suggests that deerflies area generally a nusiance and source of stress to deer rather than a severe population-level threat to healthy deer. Diseases such as EHD, habitat degredation, tough winters, and hunting generally have much larger effects on deer population dynamics than deer flies themselves.
Hope this helps to ease your concern. Thanks for reaching out!
Marne
OSU Extension
Program Director, Wildlfe
<personal data hidden>
