Posted on 08/14/2022 5:07:03 AM PDT by GaltAdonis
Sunday morning 6:50AM -
Started my day by making a cup of coffee.
The blinds were slightly open - I could see out.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye -
Not A deer - BUT TWO young does happily munching my tomato plants.
DANG-IT!
In my current locale I am not going to open fire on them
and risk the neighbors calling law enforcement -
discharging a gun HERE is sort of illegal.
"BUT OFFICER, IT WAS SELF DEFENSE! The deer were threatening me!!"
No, no - not going to go there...
So I go out the door and yell: "HEY! GET OUT!!!"
One deer ran away immediately.
The other cocked it head to the side (with a tomato in mouth)
and stared at me.
I begin advancing, while yelling and waving my arms -
the deer drops the tomato, retreats 30 feet, stops at
the edge of the woods - and stares at me.
I advanced again - and the deer runs off to join the other one it the woods.
So - short of firearms/explosives/poisons/20-foot tall fences -
HOW CAN I REPEL THESE INFERNAL BEASTS?
Ideas anybody?
But when properly motivated I bet they could easily JUMP OVER it.
Or else you should feel yourself lucky to be contending with dwarf deer.
I know I do!
Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red and yellow, black and white
They are precious in his sight.
Jesus loves the little children of the world!
People have noooo idea. Kings will shut their mouths at him.
My neighbors used coyote urine that they mail ordered.
Another used garlic and cigarette ashes mixed into a paste and hung on strips of fabric near the deers’ favorite target in his yard — an arbor vitae shrub.
I’ve also read that deer don’t like Irish Spring soap, and that people put chunks of it in net bags tied to stakes near target plants, like around the garden.
I have used strips of very fragrant dryer sheets tied to several twigs of a shrub. Looks ridiculous, though, and you have to keep replacing all of these “fragrance” remedies after a rain.
Marigolds planted around the borders of garden plots help a lot — they don’t like the marigold smell; however, if they get hungry enough, they will eat anything. I’ve had them pull up entire crysanthemum and geranium plants, and also uproot wire garden fencing that was merely pressed into the ground (not stapled to posts sunk in concrete), apparently with their teeth.
Your extension service may be able to give you a list of plants they like the most and the least in your zone. I didn’t know when I first moved here, and ended up transferring quite a number of border plants to my relatives’ house, because they ate my hostas and liriopes to the ground. My English holly bush was a total goner, as well as my hydrangea. I’ve replaced some of them with low-growing juniper, Japanese holly and a berry-bearing shrub with spiked stems whose name escapes me right now.
By the way, they are stupid as heck. I have one of those airhorn alarms, and they don’t even bat an eye. I’m having to wear ear plugs, and they’re just standing and looking at me.
Be careful not to get too close, though, because they have hooves as well as teeth, and heads made for butting, and can hurt you badly.
The main danger is that they carry deer ticks, which can give you Lyme disease, a terrible chronic condition if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Deer ticks are very tiny and can crawl right up your shorts without you noticing, so cover up or use insect repellent while gardening if you are in a deer-infested area.
Correct. You don't want to get kicked.
I've heard of people who have been.
Years ago I was so angry at a young buck that was eating
my bean plants that I contemplated taking 'more aggressive'
action and swatting the thing on it's ass to get it to go away.
I mean - it was ignoring me as I stood ten feet away yelling at it.
But I thought - 'This guy could kick me - and that could be bad'.
So I thought better of it - and let it eat the bean plants.
Which he did - stems and all - right down flush with the ground.
.
"What bean plants? There never were any here. You must have been hallucinating..."
.
Pink, pinto and black bean plants about two feet tall - all gone in under 20 minutes.
Better to get behind something like a wheelbarrow and turn a hose spray on them. If you hose them hard to sting, you might also get attacked.
I have a fence around my garden, and the surrounding countryside is a veritable smorgasbord of num-nums for deer.
The garden is in my yard, 100’-ish from the house. I don’t think the proximity has any effect on the deer. They don’t mind a bit coming in the yard to steal fruit off of my orchard trees or get a drink out of the pond or munch Mrs. Augie’s hostas.
I think it’s more a matter of how hard they want to work for a meal. Why jump a fence when you don’t have to?
That's a broad stroke that may or may not apply in states where you don't live.
In my home state of Misery, a property owner is 100% within their rights to dispose of nuisance wildlife as they see fit - obviously there are restrictions regarding the discharge of firearms in municipal areas that need to be considered. Our state Dept. of Conservation only ask that the landowner inform them of the removal activity.
With the blessing of the state wildlife overlords I have removed 16 raccoons from circulation over the past three years. I had a neighbor who would run a trapline along my creek in the winter months, but pelt prices cratered a few years ago, to the point that they weren't even paying for the vehicle fuel to run all of his lines, so he quit and the plague began.
Between myself and the neighbors we're able to keep the deer herd at reasonable numbers so I have no need to pop them out of season. If that changes I'll do what I need to do to protect my property.
If it’s legal to take game in your area or State, then it’s not Poaching, now is it?
Raccoons are considered vermin. Coyotes, and Skunks too, for examples.
Those can be killed by property owners in Michigan also.
Deer, Elk, Bear, are strictly controlled game animals.
I’m willing to bet a property owner even in Missouri isn’t allowed to shoot a deer Willy Nilly on their land.
They also repel skunks, porcupine, turkey and *bayh.*
I made no mention of shooting deer Willy Nilly. I clearly stated that in the state of Misery nuisance wildlife can be dealt with as the landowner sees fit, and that the Dept of Conservation must be notified of each nuisance animal that is removed.
Raccoons are considered furbearers here, and are protected with seasons and limits regulating the numbers and methods of harvest.
Can I kill a deer on my own property in Virginia?
Kill Permits
As provided by Virginia State Statute §29.1-529. Killing of deer damaging fruit trees, crops, livestock or personal property or creating a hazard to aircraft or motor vehicles, the VDGIF is authorized to permit owners or lessees of land to kill deer where deer cause commercial or personal property damage.
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