Bloomington homeowners, gardeners not defenseless against deer predationWe got quite a response from readers when we asked them for nonlethal solutions to predation of gardens and foliage by deer that discover succulent city dining. Some are calls for patience and harmony, others offer practical suggestions, including commercial products that we pass along without endorsement. We did not include products or services submitted by commercial lawn care companies, figuring you can find those on your own.
Saving the hostas!I live in a beautiful country setting and last year I watched in amazement when all of my new hostas were eaten by some beautiful does. They also munch away at all my evergreens in the winter.
I tried “Havahart deer away” product, which I bought at Lowe’s, and then proceeded to their Web site and bought a concentrate of the product. It has been fabulous. Not one deer comes near my flowers or hostas anymore.
I spray after a rain, and I saw only one hosta that had been munched by a deer. After that they quit.
Go to Havahart.com for more advice.
Marge from ellettsville
Tips by the dozen
Thank you for asking. I love the deer and the wildlife, even when they are “inconvenient” at times.
I lose some lilies, tulips and other plants each summer to various critters, but the deer aren’t the only culprits. The squirrels and chipmunks and rabbits are equally culpable. I also have dealt with raccoons, skunks, possums, etc.
Killing deer is a “band-aid.” The deer are here to stay. We’ve encroached on their habitats. Urban deer are a fact of life all over the country.
Hunting deer is cruel, as often animals are maimed and end up suffering tremendously. People need to be more educated about how to deal with urban deer and other wildlife.
Tips for living with deer:
1. Plant deer-resistant plants. If you have room, add things deer can eat without your minding (native plants are perfect). Keep your hostas and lilies safe behind fencing. There are tons of plants deer don’t like, so why not choose some of those? Examples are lavender, foxglove, salvia, etc.
2. Try Liquid Fence or Deer Vic or Deer Off. These are tried and true repellents. Deer hate them. You can also make your own concoctions out of egg and garlic. It’s an old-time solution. Never use cayenne or pepper — it gets in animals’ eyes, and animals have been known to rip their eyes out as a result.
3. For vegetable gardens, try bird netting (which deer are scared of) or deer fencing, which is great and easy to install. You can incorporate it into your landscaping.
4. Owning a dog helps, though it’s not the only reason to get a dog!
5. Be willing to lose some plants to wildlife each year. Squirrels dig up bulbs (and transplant them!). So just plant extra.
6. Keep the tasty things like Asian lilies, etc., near the house where you come and go a lot, or behind fencing.
7. Some gardeners have had luck planting chives around borders.
8. I haven’t tried this, but I have friends who swear by placing in garden beds human hair, urine and bloodmeal.
9. A neighbor swears by Irish Spring — yes, the soap — she shaves it and hangs it in little net bags around her garden.
10. I drive the speed limit in town and the few encounters I’ve had with deer in the street haven’t posed a problem.
11. Don’t take it personally that deer eat your plants. Animals have no sense of private property, and the deer aren’t doing this to hurt your feelings.
12. Wildlife can be beautiful to watch and learn about. It is easy to peacefully co-exist with deer. It’s really about attitude.
Hope this helps!
Alyce Miller
Avoid tasty treats
Here’s a pretty comprehensive list of deerproof plants:
http://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/ Suzann Mitten Owen
Approach with humanity
We have been following the deer debate quite closely as this is an issue that falls under the Humane Associations mission and interests.
You may want to let people know they can find information about humanely deterring deer and living in harmony with wildlife at our Web site:
www.monroehumane.org/news/article.php?id=340 Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance is helping to provide information and humane solutions.
Thanks so much!
Sarah Hayes
CEO, Monroe County Humane Association
Gone fishin’
When I lived in rural Brown County, I changed deer paths by stringing strong fishing line at several heights around the perimeter of the yard, fastened to trees and fence posts. The deer can’t see what’s pressing on their body, so they back away.
I watched it happen at dusk each night, and a deer never got caught up in the line. They walked parallel, tried again and again, creating a new path around the yard. It’s a humane solution and invisible from a distance.
Brooke McCluskey
A plea for the deer
Yesterday, I looked through my patio door and saw a fawn so tiny it could barely stand on its wobbly legs. It just stood wavering until its mother appeared, and it went for the milk.
Why can’t we just enjoy the wildlife in our yards? They’re only in our lives because we have destroyed their habitat.
All of us, no matter where we live in the city, live where wildlife habitat used to exist. Even if we love our gardens and flowers, can’t we accept that a share of our pansies, tulips and phlox go help keep the animals alive? Would we rather watch them starve to death?
In a city with poor air quality, PCBs, congested roads, a history of torturing cats, and a few recalcitrant pet owners who refuse to keep their dogs on a leash, it’s amazing that the deer manage to survive at all.
Is death and destruction our only response? Let’s celebrate the life around us.
Maryellen Beider
Hunting not only way
Below are some thoughts and ideas. I hope you will write more about this issue, and promote solutions other than more hunting. Thanks!
1. Remember that it is we humans who have destroyed the deer’s natural habitat, and that’s why they are now in your yard. Compassionately working with nature rather than against it is the intelligent and responsible thing to do.
2. Try using a repellent like Liquid Fence. It works well. To minimize your exposure to the smell, spray once a week on Sunday evening after you’ve enjoyed your yard all weekend. The odor is gone by the time you get home from work on Monday, but it the deer stay away all week.
3. Use native plants that are not attractive to deer for naturalized landscaping. Since deer feeding habits vary by region, consult local nurseries and landscapers for information about what to plant.
4. County residents are plagued by trespassing hunters enough already! And hunting is still legal in areas that were once wilderness but are now residential. This endangers lives, and residents must stay indoors during hunting season to avoid being wounded or killed.
Terri Gould
Be willing to share
I have just finished erecting a chicken wire fence to keep the deer out of my blueberries and strawberries, AND I have added cover cloth on the top to keep the birds out — but I haven’t found a way to exclude the chipmunks! So I am still sharing the fruit with them.
I also share my sour cherries, mulberries and raspberries with the birds and other critters in my Wildlife Habitat! That is why I certified my yard, so that I could share. I also don’t use pesticides so I get to share with the six-leggeds also!
Europeans, of which I am one, came to a land that was an Eden, full of beautiful plants and animals. The Native peoples who lived here when the Europeans came lived in harmony with these others. They ate them, yes, but they didn’t begrudge them their lives.
Now we want all the land to be OURS — and NO sharing. Some people, who have had beavers in their lake, captured them and tried to relocate them! Where do we want these others to go? Monroe county is building up rapidly — there is no place where we can relocate these others.
Are we to be like Europe — with no wild animals OR will we have zoos so our children can visit them to see what we once had, living wild and free, in this marvelous, beautiful once-wild country.
There are ways to keep the deer from the plants you love: There is liquid deer fence, which can be purchased at Worm’s Way; there is chicken wire, which I have also used around other plants I want to protect. There are plants they don’t care to eat, such as Echinacea, mints, fuzzy-leaved plants (Bloomington Parks and Recreation is offering a class specifically about this issue!); and there are natives, such as New England Aster, Milkweed, Grey-headed Coneflower, that ARE eaten — but, because they have evolved with the deer, don’t die. Instead, they bush out and get more beautiful.
I know where MY deer were born. I recognize the doe because she has a limp and I recognize her two yearlings — one is a male and now has budding antlers! I know their history and recognize them when they come to my yard.
I don’t like it when they eat my roses but I have found a way to protect some plants and share others. We are building in once wild places — we must find a way to share the Earth with others who were here long before we came.
Lucille Bertuccio
