OMG! I'm surrounded!

[csziggy]

There is a herd of eight deer surrounding the house! Sorry, no pics. If I tried to take them from inside, my camera would just focus on the screens. If I went outside, they'd run away.

It seems to be seven mature does and an immature buck with tiny little nubs where his antlers will be next fall. This just reinforces that I will have to plant stuff that the deer will not eat. This is important since I am transplanting plants around the house that we moved before the addition and will soon be buying plants to fill in the beds.

I consulted with a landscaper and he recommended herbs in the upper terrace - Since the young buck was grazing along the edges of the lower terrace, I'm worried that edibles will just entice the deer up to the top.

BTW, the cats are completely unimpressed and are ignoring the deer.

[underpants]

1. Oh, deer!

[hlthe2b]

2. My last dog would ignore deer and elk, looking beyond them every time in hopes of

seeing a dog or two.

Even up in Estes, there would be a herd of elk literally 30 feet from us and she's looking 100 feet beyond at someone with a dog. LOL

I love deer (and elk). Sorry about the vegetation (coyote urine may well work), but as with the scores of wild rabbits around my house, it is their home too.

[SharonAnn]

15. My Pekingese would chase deer all day!

[csziggy]

17. I gave up on growing veggies decades ago

The garden I have planned is for birds and insects, mostly native plants. I do have non-native paperwhite narcissus that were growing on the farm when we bought it. That one little clump has grown to thousands. Same for the African Iris my Mom gave me - two pots worth have multiplies tremendously.

But there is an excellent native nursery business I've bought from for forty years and they will fix me up nicely, though it is their landscaper who wanted me to try herbs. I'll buy them for the first year, then if they don't do well or the deer eat them, I will replace them with something else next year. That's my rule for most plants - I will try them one year and if they don't survive or come back, I'll try something else. That's why natives are best for me.

So far we (actually my husband and our helper) have transplanted three firebush, and a bunch of coonties, a firespike (which the deer may eat, some of the paperwhites, some African iris, and a bucket of crinums. Wednesday they are supposed to transplant some sweetbush and maybe more paperwhites and iris. Like I said, we have thousands of iris and paperwhites. The advantage of the paperwhites is that they are blooming now, so give some winter blooms. I have a few daffodils but they don't naturalize well here and they bloom later, so I am not sure how many have survived.

[ailsagirl]

3. Cats ignoring deer-- no surprise there

[csziggy]

18. My old cat would stalk the deer

He thought they couldn't see him behind the grass, but didn't realize they saw him over the grass. The deer were not intimidated by the ten pound cat for some reason.

[wryter2000]

4. Daffodils

Deer won't eat daffodils. Forget roses. Deer love the blooms.

Otherwise, you might have to get deer fence to surround your veggie garden. I've heard you can buy lion manure from zoos, and that's supposed to scare deer away. I have no idea if it works.

[csziggy]

19. I have paperwhite narcissus - same family as daffodils

Many daffodils don't naturalize very well here, though I do have a few that have survived over the years. They bloom later so until then I won't know how many we have. African Iris do well here, the cream bloom ones do better than the white ones. Deer don't eat them, either. Not native but hardy - some places plant them in road medians and they will come back after being run over!

I can't grow roses - I'm allergic to their odor. One year I tried pansies. The deer ate all the blooms the first night they were in the ground. Next night they pulled up the rest of the plants, bit off the roots, and left they laying on the ground. I don't plant pansies anymore.

I'm trying to select native plants that are deer resistant - I have several gardening books written by a local author who gives good recommendations, though he does not just recommend natives.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Years ago we lived near a wooded area and would sometime see deer

running through the back yard. One day we saw a deer galloping through the back yard at high speed, white tail up, chased by two cats. I have to wonder what the cats were thinking - did they expect to catch the deer ("If we can pull this off we'll eat like kings!), or were they just having fun chasing a creature that was running away from them?

[Kali]

11. the two Chihuahua crosses theink they are going to take a deer down

quite hilarious to watch them

[csziggy]

20. Cats chasing deer are like dogs chasing cars

They are in it for the chase and have no idea what to do with it if they catch it.

[LSFL]

6. The course is clear.

Csziggy....you must get crop damage deer tags. Destroy the maraudering ruminants, convert the bulk of them into jerky, keep the brisket and tenderloin for yourself, make the rest into ground meat. Send everything you do not want to me. This is out of your cats' purvey. You must do what is necessary and provide me with jerky and chili meat for the foreseeable future. Your cats demand it!

[csziggy]

26. For about thirty years after we bought this place we did not hunt the deer.

Or let anyone else hunt - though we did have poachers.

About twelve years ago a family took over managing the farm and they carefully select deer to cull from the herd. It's working since the deer are larger and healthier, but they only take one or two deer a year. The place they take them to be butchered makes sausage out of the meat but I don't ask for any of it - their sausage is too hot for me to eat.

[LSFL]

37. If you get the chance

See if you can have them make hot dogs for you. They are very good.
I appreciate that you recognize the need for culling. There is not as much forage out there as people think.

[csziggy]

38. I just let them keep the meat

It's not a big deal for me and my husband.

We used to back up to thousands of acres of plantation land, so the deer were free roaming and much healthier. About 30 years ago the plantation traded 1500 acres behind us for a larger tract in a neighboring county and the 1500 acres was subdivided and developed. It's less than 5 acres per lot for the most part but we forced a conservation easement that backs along the wetlands on our property.

We have 30 acres of low woodlands, 30 acres of upland pasture with mixed trees. Part of the subdivision was not suitable for houses so one guy bought 50 acres and keeps it in woodlands. With the conservation easement, the deer - and the black bear - have a bit over a hundred acres to roam, plus the yards in the subdivision. On the other side of the subdivision there are still thousands of acres of plantation in mixed woodlands the wildlife can roam so it is pretty ideal for them.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

7. Cute!

I encountered several young fawns with their mother while I was hiking through some woods years ago.

I'm a quiet walker, but I was surprised that I had walked upon them so closely in a small clearing.

I crouched down and pretended to eat something from my cupped hands, then extending my hands towards them. (I had no nefarious plans, of course. Just curious how they'd react.)

The fawns started to approach me, but their momma stomped her hooves on the ground and they stopped. Then she lead them away slowly through some brush as I remained in place.

[csziggy]

28. Not long after we first bought this farm I heard screams down in a lower pasture

A doe had a fawn in the pasture and had jumped the fence into the woods. The fawn could not yet jump the fence and was running around screaming for it's mother. I carefully worked my way around the fawn, opened the gate into the woods, then walked to the other side of the fawn and herded it towards the opening. The doe figured it out, jumped back over the fence, and hustled the fawn into the woods through the gate.

Since then, we build our fences up off the ground - we buy four foot tall woven wire, but hang the tops at five feet. The deer can either jump it or duck under it, same for the turkeys. It doesn't keep the dogs or coyotes or foxes out but the dogs are supposed to be leashed and the neighbors hunt the coyotes that knock over their garbage cans. I don't mind the foxes since they are too small to take down most of the wildlife. My mares used to go after any of the canines with intent to kill, though, so that helped keep down the coyote and stray dog populations.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

30. Aww!

That was nice of you! Thanks for sharing!

By the way, one of the fawns kept looking back at me like it was thinking, "Damn! I wanted to try whatever that thing was eating!" Lol.

[UpInArms]

8. Lantana

Deer generally do not eat it

[csziggy]

29. Yes, lantana is poisonous

I have some but I make sure to get the hybrids that do not produce fruit. Too bad since the fruit are popular for wildlife but I don't need it taking over my pastures and poisoning the horses!

[Buzz cook]

9. Curry plants

Afaik deer avoid them. Depending on your climate they shouldn't need much help after the first year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helichrysum_italicum

[csziggy]

31. I don't think they are native to North Florida

I'm mostly sticking to native plants. Plus the Wikipedia entry mentions a strong fragrance - I react to most flower fragrances, mostly sweet type odors such as roses and lavender so avoid those.

[MuseRider]

10. Wonderful!

I love seeing them. I rarely get them too close to the house in any numbers but we have 2 big dogs that bark at them. Last week I was out at the horse barn and looked up and at the far end of my N pasture I saw movement. It was nothing more than little black marks bouncing. I stood there and watched as they became 6 does and one not so little buck chasing them. They ran on past and I watched until they got all the way to the South end of my South pasture. It was really fun to watch.

We built 7 foot fencing around our gardens, it was the only way.

Lucky you with such a nice view of them.

[flamin lib]

12. "I will have to plant stuff that the deer will not eat."

When you discover what that is, let me know . . .

[happybird]

14. +1

[csziggy]

34. Here natives that deer don't eat are pretty numerous

Firebush, which hummingbirds and bees love, sweetbush, the same. Crinum, viburnum, wax myrtle, cone flowers, black eyed Susan, mahonia, lantana (though most of the ones seen now are native to the Caribbean and the Florida lantana is endangered), century plant (agave), and Spanish bayonet (though they may only be kept away by the spikes).

Non-native plants that are deer resistant: crepe myrtle, yaupon and hollies, gingers (edible, or ornamental such as Butterfly ginger and pinecone ginger), agapanthus, African Iris, and narcissus (daffodils and papwerwhites).

If you want some African Iris, paperwhites, or gingers (not the edible kind) and want to drive to Tallahassee to pick them up, let me know. Those are my most successful pants.

[happybird]

13. They came up on my deck last summer to eat my veggie plants

Up the stairs! Granted, it was only a few stairs, but...!!
I do enjoy watching them in the yard and enjoyed watching the babies grow.

ETA: Almost forgot, probably because of reliving the loss of my highly anticipated summer of muchos glorious tomatoes, but they also ate most of the new landscaping I put in: euonymus, shasta daisies, coneflowers, beebalm, liriope, coreopsis ... basically, everything but the catmint, barberry, and the butterfly bush. Next year, I’m going to plant stuff along the tree line to hopefully keep them fed away from my plants.

[Frustratedlady]

22. I'm surprised they ate your coneflowers. I have a bunch of them, but they've never messed with them

One flower I've found that they leave totally alone are marigolds. i buy several types and apparently they don't like the smell (neither do I). They don't even let roses open...eat the buds. They also left moss rose alone. Forget cannas. They eat the blooms in a couple whomps.

There is a spray concentrate that really works well. It is a rabbit and deer repellant, but it stinks. Once they get a whiff, they don't seem to check them again, so I spray them early in the season...particularly, hosta.

The rabbits are my biggest pain. I don't know how many clematis vines they've decimated. I think that if I could get them going through one year, I'd be OK, but they visit them morning, noon and night. Even if I put mesh fencing around, they seem to nibble what they can.

I have 7 does that come into my yard each night to eat the birdseed and corn/apples. They are always on schedule. Last night, they pawed my flowerbeds through the snow and ate roots or something. I knocked on the window, they looked at me and continued on. I guess they realize I'm not about to run outside and chase them off.

I'm already thinking of what flowers I'm going to plant this spring. Can't wait.

[happybird]

24. Does the spray smell like bad bacon?

My Mom gave me some spray, which seemed to work, and it smelled so bad. The only problems were rain and having to reapply it on multiple, largish areas and having the windows open. Even after letting it dry and then opening the windows, if a breeze picked up, my house smelled like rotten, smoky bacon.

Your deer sound like mine: bold as brass. They don’t even move when I pull in the driveway. I swear I can almost hear them saying “Whassup?” then they go back to eating. No concern, no fear.

I’m looking very forward to planting season as well!

[Frustratedlady]

33. It's hard to describe. A little rotten egg smell...(we sound like we're spraying breakfast!).

My daughter first used it and complained about having to take a shower once she was done spraying. She has a pair of old tennies that she uses only for that purpose. I've put grocery bags around my feet and throw the bags away when done. It does kind of linger in your nose (might be imagination) and you certainly don't want to use it on a breezy day. I think they put everything that stinks into it.

It's cold out or I'd run out to the garage and get the exact name. All I can remember is Deer and Rabbit repellant. The concentrate costs around $40, but it makes a few sprayers full. I think it is a white plastic bottle. I bought mine at Lowe's.

[mopinko]

16. they say motion detector sprinklers work.

i'm in the city. they dont bother me. but they are nearby. there is a cemetery about a mile away that is full of them. and coyotes.
the coyotes, i do get sniffing around. city coyotes are bad ass mofos. they arent even scared of my big dogs.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

21. I thought one of them was rabid...

... when I saw it running down my street in the early morning a few weeks ago, illuminated by the street lights since it was still dark outside.

I said, "Hey, you!" (not too loud because of sleeping neighbors), and it stopped. Then it started approaching me in a crouching predatory manner. WTF?! I shut the door because I figured it had rabies or something.

I later opened the door again, with the porch light turned on that time. Then I saw the very realistic-looking statue of a little dog just a few feet in front of my door! Ahh! That explained it!

I later told the old neighbor woman, who had put the statue out there, my coyote story. I expected her to at least chuckle about it, but she seemed upset instead. Then she asked, "Are you telling me that story because it's a statue of one of my dogs that was mauled to death by a coyote?!"

I told her that I'd NEVER heard that story, which was the truth. Then she seemed less upset and told me her dog story, when she'd lived on a farm.

Lol, I just can't win sometimes.

[mopinko]

23. i had 2 of them sniffing around my back gate a while back.

i have chickens. my dog was out there barking his head off. 120#. half the other dogs on the block were joining in.
a neighbor tried to scare them off, yelling and waving his arms. they were there for about 15 min. finally slunk off. i now call them chi-otes. bad ass mofos.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

25. I've encountered them a few times while hiking...

... and they always scurried away.

I didn't have any little animals with me, though.

By the way, I edited my previous post about a zillion times after typing on this tiny smartphone keyboard. Lol.

[mopinko]

27. i hate typing on my phone.

despise it.

[csziggy]

35. We've gotten way too much rain to add more water to the yard.

Couple of weeks ago we got about 6" in two days - it almost washed out part of my stone retaining wall!

[NNadir]

32. I remember after my wife and I moved to New Jersey from California and bought our house.

I called her to the window of our kitchen to show her the 13 deer that were in our yard, thinking how beautiful they were.

Now, more than two decades later when I see them I mutter, "Shit! Giant rats!"

[csziggy]

36. The deer owned this part of the farm before we built our house here

We lived in a double wide higher up the hill about 100 feet away - the deer weren't as attracted to the yard then but they grazed this field all the time. They would spend the day under the big oak tree above where the house is not - the limbs grew down to the ground so they had a private bedroom there.

We had to cut back one of the limbs that extended towards the house, so they don't have that protection any more but the tree is part of their daily routine as it has been for at least forty years.

I think our best bet is to do more outdoor activities and that will keep the deer away.

[NNadir]

39. I've advocated for the reintroduction of wolves and panthers to NJ, but it hasn't been too...

...popular an idea.

I'm a vegetarian, but I've learned to appreciate that hunting is the best option for dealing with the incredible over population of deer in NJ.

They are definitely having a huge impact in our forests, and some of our land preserves are opening them to hunting to allow seedling trees to survive.

[Fla Dem]

40. I'm sure they are annoying and distructive and I sympathize with you, but OTOH,

Last edited Tue Jan 19, 2021, 12:23 PM - Edit history (1)

how wonderful to have such beautiful, wild creatures come right up to your house.

[csziggy]

41. The most annoying part is that I cannot leave my bird feeders out in the evenings

Or even early mornings. If I don't bring in the bird feeders, the deer will empty them in minutes. And they don't frighten away when they are eating - I had bird feeders five feet from the house and they would come up and eat from the feeders that close. If I opened a window and yell at them, they got so used to it, they would ignore me.

I learned that if I walked outside with a long object in my hands - a broom stick or something like that - they would take off. I think it looked too much like a rifle for their comfort.

They are beautiful and I would not want to ban them from my yard for anything. They owned this spot long before I built the house here. And the bird feeder thing is good since it forces me to get exercise twice a day, putting up the bird feeders in the morning and down at night. Well, it will once my broken toe has healed.