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Ok, Ok, LOL, I can't get away from these 4 legged vermin. They eat everything! I know they're cute and all, but c'mon, between insurance damage, lyme disease, decimating shrubbery, can't we come to some sort of control with these things?
I think that is a bit harsh. After all, they were here long before us!!
O.K., Mullman. I've got a weakness for cute Holsteins, so it's time to pull out the big guns .... courtesy of YouTube: YouTube - Bambi and Scruffy
Seriously, kbrkr, there is a problem with deer over-population in the Mecklenberg County area. I believe Meck and Wake counties rank at the top for the number of deer / vehicle accidents each year in the state.
Alot of the problem is simply that the habitat - and sources for natural food - are disappearing (being developed for homes and business) so quickly. Your plants then become part of the deers' menu. At the same time, it becomes more difficult to hunt deer in the urban areas, due to restrictions on hunting within xxx yards of a residential area.
There are products you can apply to plants and foliage to discourage deer from feeding on them. One of the companies advertises on the garden program on WBT on Saturday mornings, and the product is available at some local retailers. There are also plants that deer generally won't eat, unless there are no other food sources.
i have been told that deer will not travel very far from where they were born .
also they roam only within about a square-mile area for their daily feedings.
that is why they just adjust to people and don't move away when the area gets crowded and developed.
is this true?
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Not a deer problem, but a people problem - too many people moving out to new developments in the suburbs, Union County, SE Charlotte where the deer lived. You are worried about shrubbery????? How about some native plantings and living WITH nature instead of pouring wasted water, pesticides and chemicals on your lawn and beloved shrubbery?
Well, it is a two-edged sword w/ controlling and managing deer population.
Yes, their habitat has been devoured, but they continue to populate and grow larger in areas where they exist, as they have no natural predators to control the growth.
Yes, they eat vegetation, including stuff in my yard (front and back).
Yes, they cause car accidents and people get killed in these accidents.
Yes, they are vulnerable and often suffer greatly when there is a drought (such as we have had in the past several years).
No, Animal Control here will not relocate them and you can get thrown in the pokey if you shoot one of them in the city limits.
I had all my hostas decimated by deer when we first moved in, and these were very expensive plants that took a long time to dig the holes for and nurture/cultivate. I was disgusted. Then they stripped my foundation plants.
Last year they moved to the FRONT of my house and ate all the hanging baskets I had on shepherd's hooks.
I have adapted how I manage my plants. I try to choose stuff that they don't like to munch on.
I moved brush to the back of my property near the creek so they would have a place to gather peacefully, as there are fewer and fewer areas in our neighborhood where deer can sleep or give birth.
I did not cut the trees I had planned to cut (volunteers) near the creek so they could eat them. Same for many of the indigenous vines and "trash plants" that I had been working on clearing. Now, they happily munch at the back of my property and are not as likely to come up to the deck. They literally strip the young trees, wh/ is fine, as they were gonna be thinned anyway. However, I found where one had urinated on my bushes at the front of my property yesterday morning.
I have worked on figuring out how we can all peacefully exist on this city lot I call home!!! I no longer am bothering to try to spray stuff to keep them away.
Animal Control showed up at my house this past weekend, to ask if I would let them place a newborn fawn at the back of my property in the brush I have established back there. The officer said this was a fawn that could not even be more than a half day old and evidently momma was frightened off by fireworks the night before. So they placed the baby back there b/f lunch and to my utter amazement, about 5:30 pm, when we were all gathered on the back deck getting ready to eat, here comes a beautiful doe. How the heck she found her fawn - I really cannot fathom, as the fawn was left about half a mile away from my house. But Animal Control knew the deer hang out along our creek and evidently my neighbors directed them to my house as a safe harbor for the newborn.
I was very relieved when the doe arrived. Of course, I have very mixed feelings! We have lost literally thousands of dollars of plants on our property, b/c of several factors - the drought, some late frosts, and the deer. However, I have slowly replaced those plants I have lost w/ stuff that deer are less likely to be attracted to. I decided to be their protector rather than fight Mother Nature. They are here, they need to eat and have a safe place to hang out . . .
I wish Animal Control would relocate some of these herds b/c of safety factors. Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, car accidents all concern me. However, since they have no policy for relocation, I think the best thing to do is figure out how to live in some harmony w/ the deer.
If I had any doubt about whether or not I was doing the right thing w/ how I am trying to compromise w/ the deer who roam in our neighborhood . . . those concerns were dispelled the moment we all saw that beautiful doe glide quietly through the woods to reunite w/ her baby. It was a cold chills moment and I can assure you, I am totally dedicated to living in harmony with "my" deer.
I have never understood the term "deer problem". Yep we have lots of deer. Yep they cause accidents and eat our plants. But it's not like they are stalking us. Let them be, plants deer resistant plants if you must. Put moth balls around your property if you must (they avoid them). But geez.
And this is from a guy who has hit two deer with his truck. Truck 2, Deer 0.
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