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I had same prob. Every. single. day. Eating everything. I had a 4' chain link up. Now I have an 8' privacy fence, at least in the back. It has definitely helped. Not too much I can do about the front. A tall fence would be out of the question there. All I know to do there is plant as many things as possible that they don't particularly care for, although, I'm finding that the more I do that, the more they are eating the things they supposedly don't like. They've recently taken huge chunks out of my Dwarf Alberta Spruces... every one of them... like eating brillo and they just recently ate a rose bush I had out there that was nothing but stems and thorns . Spraying deterrent works for 1 or 2 nights, that's it. Irish spring does nothing here.
I'm no longer out rural and I have more here in town than I did in the forest. The city around here does need to cull some out. They are in everyones yard and walking up and down the street all night long (sometimes in the day) and there are a lot of ticks. Our houses butt up against the back of a mountain (and the mountain is still green!) . The only time the deer are a little scarce is when it's coyote mating season and they're all over the place.
I am thinking about trying one of these for out front -
Seems to me a lot of these complaints are coming from folks who built or purchased their property in what was clearly deer habitat, which certainly didn't have Alberta spruces or rose bushes (other than Cherokee roses) growing on it originally.
The deer were there first, and they're just doing their deer thing, trying to raise their young-uns and keep themselves alive. Too bad their natural predators were wiped out by people who wanted to live on deer land.
If there were a few more wolves around, there would not be so many deer. Coyotes are filling that hole in the ecosystem, as you note. Get rid of the coyotes, and your deer population will boom all over again. Let them be, add sturdier, higher fencing to your property - and you may be able to co-exist more satisfactorily.
Asking for a neighbor (seriously). Poor guy has been trying for 2 months now to keep the deer out. His is the only place that doesn't have a fence on all sides, only on one, which the does jump to get to their young 'uns. The babies are well hidden in a thick copse of Juniper trees there and the Moms keep them there during the day for safety. They are eating every plant and tree on his property.
He has tried just about everything, next step is shooting them (not guns, illegal, but crossbow) but he really doesn't want to.
Ideas?
This notion is likely to lead to the eventual death by starvation of the young fawns, who are not yet yearlings. Your neighbor might want to hold off a few more months, unless that vision doesn't bother him. It would certainly haunt me, and since you report that he really doesn't want to shoot the deer, it would probably haunt him as well.
A sturdy fence would be a far better solution. Maybe he could just fence in his plants and trees rather than fence out the deer. Can't blame the mamas for keeping their little ones in what they perceive as a safe place, all tucked away in the juniper thicket. If your neighbor is providing what amounts to a deer snack bar adjacent to the junipers - well, mamas are going to really go for that: deer Nirvana. So I'd advise fencing off the snack bar or relocating prize plants closer to the house, if fencing the entire area isn't possible.
Only two things work for keeping deer out: VERY tall fence, which generally is unsightly, or eliminating the deer. Anything else....dogs, lights, barbed wire, hair, stinky stuff, etc is just entertainment.
Seems to me a lot of these complaints are coming from folks who built or purchased their property in what was clearly deer habitat, which certainly didn't have Alberta spruces or rose bushes (other than Cherokee roses) growing on it originally.
The deer were there first, and they're just doing their deer thing, trying to raise their young-uns and keep themselves alive. Too bad their natural predators were wiped out by people who wanted to live on deer land.
If there were a few more wolves around, there would not be so many deer. Coyotes are filling that hole in the ecosystem, as you note. Get rid of the coyotes, and your deer population will boom all over again. Let them be, add sturdier, higher fencing to your property - and you may be able to co-exist more satisfactorily.
Not to mention that suburban yards and gardens are the deer equivalent of an all you can eat buffet.
If the lady owns the land, then they ARE "her" deer, aren't they?? Her land, her deer, her call.
Those who hunt deer on presumably posted land like this are called poachers, and are law-breakers. The landowner lets you hunt geese - be happy for that. If you want to hunt deer, get your own land or talk to someone else who will let you hunt on theirs, instead of complaining about someone who is entirely within her rights to request no deer hunting on her property.
Little bit of an over-reaction perhaps? Poster didn’t complain, just stated a fact. The deer are are not “her†deer, they belong to the state. And she has every right not to allow deer hunting on her property.
If the lady owns the land, then they ARE "her" deer, aren't they?? Her land, her deer, her call.
Those who hunt deer on presumably posted land like this are called poachers, and are law-breakers. The landowner lets you hunt geese - be happy for that. If you want to hunt deer, get your own land or talk to someone else who will let you hunt on theirs, instead of complaining about someone who is entirely within her rights to request no deer hunting on her property.
Certainly her call. But-the deer have gotten so bad that she's going to lose the lessor farmer because he can't profitably grow anything.
As far as "her" deer go, not legally no they aren't. I don't deer hunt myself so whether she allows me to or not doesn't matter. What does matter is her complaining that the lessor farmer is threatening to cancel his lease which cuts her, the owner's income, because of the aforementioned lack of profitability.
The fact that she won't allow a common and proven solution to the depredation issue will keep it from being leased to someone else.
A non-toxic, inexpensive solution is purchasing mountain lion urine and putting drops around the perimeter of the property. It's available through trapper supply outlets.
Forgive me if someone mentioned it but I believe the hot-wire is a great suggestion but I've also heard of motion-sensitive devices to scare away deer.
Had a friend with a 6 foot privacy fence who had the cops knock on the door. The neighbors complained that he was "keeping deer" in the backyard. They didn't think the deer could hop the fence.
Forgive me if someone mentioned it but I believe the hot-wire is a great suggestion but I've also heard of motion-sensitive devices to scare away deer.
My cousin set up a sprinkler with a motion detector. She has a ton of deer but they leave the garden alone. I'd go this route over other methods suggested.
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