Deer

I am doing a little research about the problems deer create in Massachusetts gardens. I would love to hear your comments/complaints etc...

No problem here :-)

Dan, you should find lots of folks willing to complain about deer. They eat all our plants and help spread Lyme's disease. Were you looking for something more specific?

Are you just researching MA?

Similar to Squirrels, I like deer (hmmm they taste similar, I wonder if that' why???) any ways I make sure I plant things that the deer like better than my landscaping as well as put out special feeders for the squirrels. That way everyone is happy.

A deer killed our dog, Joey, but it happened here on Long Island.

Oh Pirl, I'm sorry to hear that. :(

Why would they create different probs in MA than everywhere else??

We're a community that straddles route 1. We are pretty urban. There may be deer here in Saugus, but I haven't ever seen any in 23 years. We have opossum, woodchuck, racoon, snakes, squirrels, coyotes, skunks, canadian geese, and the occasional wild turkey {no, not the kind in a bottle} but I have never seen a deer. there is a reservation in the northwestern part of town across the highway. maybe they have some over there.
Martha

The MA deer call themselves de-ah?

Before they're hit by the cah.

I don't know about deer being a problem in Mass, they aren't here in Maine, but they are in N.J.
Here's a shot my DD took while visiting a friend in Jersey this Jan......she was just taking a walk down the street.

LOL, Dave and Pirl....
I have turkey, fox, grouse, pheasant , other different types of birds, bats, squirrel, chipmunk, skunk, oppossum, had 3 bears (mama and 2 cubs that were adorable, I think the hunters got them the first day of bear season :( ) - and Definately deer! I feed them ALL! There are probably more that I can't think of right now. We have more deer and turkey come through my yard in 1 day than I have seen in my entire life!! I love it! And so does my kids! When they are walking to their school bus stop and they see deer or turkey, they come running back to tell me because they know I never get tired of seeing them! When they start coming around in bulk I will try to get pictures. Right now they only come around a few at a time! Every morning and evening I see around 10 at a time. No bucks right now though. But in the late Fall I saw a huge buck! Here is a blurry picture of some turkeys from last year. Took it thru the window so it's not very good.

nice deer picture, Pixie!

pixie, no deer where you are? Lucky you. I have a thread in the Pest Forum requesting info on electric deer fence designs but no one's responding.
Even have moose in my back yard!

As for Massachusetts, I was living down there 3 years ago and we had them in Milton. They used to love the yews, kerria, and roses. They little rascals.

I remember vividly a cable program by the garden guy (the one with the big mustache) interviewing a friend about his deer problem. After going through a long litany of possible remedies (soap, hair, lion urine, etc. etc.), the friend said he had finally solved his problem and invited the host over for dinner to discuss it. "What are you serving," says the host. "Venison," was the reply.

Oh I have deer....they just aren't a bother. They don't get in my veggie garden, they don't eat my flowers so all is well! We have apple trees that they come to at night and eat, not a problem we have at least 5-7 trees, so they are welcome to all the fallen apples they want! I also put cabbage, corn cobs ect... out in the field so they have no need to come closer for food. The only time they come up close to the house is to get away from the coyote's, and when they do that food is not on their minds...survival is!!

HeeHee! Don, Guess what we are having for dinner tonight!!

Yeah,..............venison works but I think deer are parthenogenic. I'm still waiting for deer Bt.

There's a pest forum? Do they discuss squirrels?

How about flying squirrels? My uncle's attic is full of them! Before they moved in they were living in a couple of bird feeders and my uncle would feed them strawberries! Not so cute now though! Chewed holes into his attic and he's tried Hav-a-hart traps not working very well!!

Yup, Seandor, it's called Garden Pests and Diseases.

Has he tried an exterminator? We once needed one for squirrels who made a home in our attic........long ago.

Off to check the Garden Pest and Diseases forum :-) (don't like the squirrels - keep digging in my gardens!)

I have many squirrels around my area. But the funny thing is it seems only one really resides in my yard. Although we have many trees, I have only seen the one all year occupying my yard. (I've only lived here a year, last month).While others play joyfully around the outside. I feed the squirrel but he always gets to my bird feeders! I tried using black oil sunflower seeds because I heard they don't like it. Well my FULL bird feeder was empty in two days! And I have proof that he (or she) did it! I will send pics. Have to wait for batteries to charge though. And can you believe that somehow, the squirrel gets into my bedroom and stores nuts in the dresser drawers! Even at night I hear sounds of settling in for the night while he/she comes in to get out of the cold. Boy this squirrel has it made!

I think he was just trying to get rid of them himself but with the amount of damage they have done I think it's time to call in the professionals!
I've never had squirrels damage my garden but one year had a mouse that would chew tomatoes just as they were perfect for picking! Had his dental imprints on my beautiful tomats!

can you put some type of metal in the holes where they get in?? That is probably what the pros will do.

They were getting in under the eaves(all wood) and then he put up some kind of a metal shield under there. They ended up chewing more holes and still got in. Guess they think it's the Hilton! Part of the problem is all the tall trees around his house. I think I read somewhere if the trees are a certain distance away you won't have this problem.

can the trees be trimmed out of the way?

he has lots of pines(good 75' tall) and a beautiful beech tree. I've mentioned the trees before but he'd rather battle the flying squirrels!

here is a pic of the happy squirrel. Altho not a good one (note to self--must stop taking pics through the screened window!)

hmmm, well I guess you really can't have the best of both worlds in that situation......?
Here's a better pic of the squirrel that I took in the Fall.
By the way--Sorry, Dan, Didn't mean to make your thread about squirrels! Anyone with any advice about the deer problem?

Dan, I don't know if you're just interested in MA, but I live across the border in NH, alongside a big wetlands area (so, no development AND more important, no hunting due to proximity of dveloped land). I can look out my front door on any given early (say, 4am) morning and see 4-5 deer in my yard looking for breakfast. As in, 5 feet from my front door. I go out at night to bring out trash and may find a deer right next to the house just looking at me.

They eat like crazy. This year, I got a variety of repellent products from the NH fish and game to try. I found that the "bovine blood" product worked reasonably well - as in, they seemed to eat in my neighbors' yards instead.

I guess my focus at this point is to only plant stuff that deer do not like, since it's clear that their numbers will only grow.

Good approach ckk, unless you can surround your property with an 8 foot fence. I have found a combo of Milorganite and Liquid Fence spray (re-applied to all new growth regularly) work REASONABLY well. Great source for plants is

http://deerresistantplants.com/

Been buying from him for years now.

Victor

One tip though, only buy a couple of specimens until you find out if the deer in your area truly don't like what's planted! I made the mistake of putting in 34 Thuja "Green Giant" which are supposed to be deer resistant. Anyone for 34 twigs!! Real Cheap! Fortunately though I had ordered additional ones and planted them in a different location where the deer can't get.
I am definetly checking out your link though, Victor. I refuse to be defeated!!

Dan - the de-ah out he-ah are driving me crazy. I can see their white tails bounding off often during the day. I like to watch them, but I hate what they do to my gardens and I hate the ticks - we have tons of deer ticks as well as dog ticks, on us as well as the dogs and cats. My S.O. got a deer tick with the Lyme disease bullet-eye rash a couple of years ago and had to walk around with an I.V. in his arm. I collect daylilies, and the deer go chomp off the most expensive ones. They barrel right through the light-weight deer netting I have to get the peas and even eat tomato plants. They've decimated my baby fruit trees. I don't have quite as much trouble when our local pack of coyotes is right in our backyard. I don't enjoy having our front yard looking like Stalag 13 either with all the fencing. Can't afford the good fencing. We have 12 acres of treed land and saltmarsh, so they hang out here. With all the building around here, they are becoming more dense, they are getting squeezed out.

We're right near Cape Cod. Don't mean to whine but if you want deer complaints - here you go!

Julia

P.S. while you guys are discussing squirrels, one climbed in the house via the chimney a few weeks ago - left doors open but it knocked down some house plants and seedlings and chewed up the newspaper before it found the door LOL.
Julia

My DH traps the squirrels and deports them to a large park - but I do not think it is far enough away - less than 7 blocks as the crow flies. In the last 3 weeks he has deported 16. - 13 in one week.

sandy, they never touched my (one) Green Giant for some reason. Arborvitae - you bet!

When I first moved back to Maine, I had been in my new home for less than 2 months when I saw the most unusual, humorous, and terrifying site know to gardeners.

I was washing dishes at the sink (which is, I guess, where they're normally washed) and I saw not one, not two, but three deer all under the same 40 ft tall cedar, on their hind legs, straining up to eat the lowest branches. In order to maintain their balance, they had to do this odd sort of dance as if circling a may pole.

It was macabre.................

Dan,
My community hosts estimated deer populations of 40-50 per square mile in an environment that can really only support a healthy herd of 15-20 per square mile. This year prompted by increases in Lymes disease and tularemia we added a full week to the hunting season. It is far from unusual to see deer grazing in mid day, Tim Boland of Polly Hill Arboretum has been quoted saying that the deer population poses the largest threat to our native plant populations. kt