Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Indiana also boast high deer densities.

Numerous studies have shown the abundance and distribution of deer ticks are correlated with deer densities.

Reducing deer densities to 10 deer per square mile was adequate to reduce by more than 90% the risk of humans contracting Lyme disease in Mumford Cove.

"The greater the deer densities in an area, the greater the tick densities."

What makes North Haven's deer situation different from most is that the village is small (2.7 square miles) and hemmed in, so the deer density is greater than in most places.

Significant factors also include: urban population and deer density.

"That to me is the most legitimate reason to look for sound, sustainable ways to reduce deer density."

This information can be used to assess deer density and its effect on understory growth in general.

One study determined that the ideal deer density in northeastern Illinois, based on T. grandiflorum as an indicator of overall understory health, is 4 to 6 animals per square kilometer.

In practice, deer densities as high as 30 deer per square kilometers are known to occur in restricted or fractured habitat where natural control mechanisms (that is, predators like wolves) are lacking.