For most people, especially in Michigan, deer are a game animal to be hunted for recreation or venison. Most do not think of deer as a nuisance wildlife pest; that is, until some deer get into the yard and start destroying crops, landscaping, orchards and gardens. A hungry herd of deer can be incredibly destructive and aggravating, as anyone who has ever had them in their yard can attest. Deer will sometimes devastate entire neighborhoods by devouring evergreens, hostas and many other forms of ornamental vegetation.

    Before European settlement, deer were very plentiful in Michigan until they were hunted almost to extinction in the south by 1870 but continued to breed prolifically in the north, especially in the Upper Peninsula, where logging opened up vast tracts of land for grazing. Market hunting (mass deer hunting by companies who shipped the meat out east) was very common in the northen part of the state until it was outlawed in 1900 due to drastic population shrinkage. Deer hunting became illegal in 1/3 of Michigan counties for several decades as a means of bringing the population back up. The deer population seems to have rebounded by 1930, around the time the first deer-auto collisions were reported in the state. By 1937, there were over 1.1 million deer in the state and officials were talking about a "deer problem." It was evident that a scientific method of balancing the deer population was needed, and the state began experimenting with different methods of management, centering on tightening or loosening hunting rules all throughout the 70's and 80's. The population has generally stabilized since then but continues to rise and fall within a smaller margin. Since 1993, it has hovered around between 1.7 to 2.1 million.

Deer Damage

    Aside from deer-auto collisions, most deer damage comes from herds of deer feeding on vegetation on a homeowner's property. Deer prefer to eat clover, juniper, hostas,  flowers,  rye, wheat and alfalfa; however, in a harsh winter or when larger populations have made food supplies scarce, deer will eat just about anything, including crops, bark, ornamental shrubbery and landscaping plants. It is not uncommon for some homeowners to find their entire yard stripped bare in a single season. Besides their feeding, the other most common form of deer damage is due to auto accidents. The USDA estimates that the total loss from deer activity each year is around $1 billion, taking into account auto collisions and damage from feeding. Though there are some types of plants that deer tend to shy away from, If hungry enough, deer will feed on almost anything. We recently dealt with a deer problem in Ann Arbor, MI., in which a small herd was devastating yards in a local neighborhood - and it was in a relatively urbanized area as well!

     Like water fowl, deer are protected by many regulations that need to be taken into account when attempting to exclude deer from a given area. There are three ways to keep nuisance deer out of your yard or neighborhood: sensory deterrents, barriers and population reduction. 

Sensory deterrents

    Do a quick Internet search for deer deterrents will bring up a whole host of homemade remedies: habanero peppers, Dial soap bars broken in half, stuffed in nylons and hung from trees, scented dryer sheets cut in strips and scattered about the yard, cayenne peppers, rotten eggs, milk, human hair, even solutions made with blood. This list sounds more like the ingredients to a witch's brew rather than means of effective deer deterrence, although many people swear by them (and just as many swear at them). There are also various chemical concotions on the market that people have used with varying degrees of success. It may be possible to deter or frighten away individual deer, but it is very difficult to remove or frighten away a whole population, especially if food is scarce. Creature Control recommends control methods that are better attested and have more predictable outcomes.

Barriers

    One of the most common forms of deer deterrnt is to erect a deer barrier (netting, tubing, fencing). Vexar tubes are biodegradable tubes that can be placed around the trunks of smaller trees to protect them during their formative stages by preventing the deer from feeding on the bark. Typically they degrade after five years, at which time the tree is presumably strong enough to withstand some feeding without causing death. Deer netting is meant to go over small shrubs and bushes in order to keep deer from feeding on them.

    The surest form of barrier is deer fencing, which is the only sure way to control deer damage. The typical deer-proof fence is 8 feet high and made of woven wire; sometimes these fences are electrified, delivering a shock of 3,500 to 4,000 volts. Single wire electric fences are also effective.

    The obvious downside to deer fencing is its unsightliness; few homeowners like the idea of their entire yard, or even parts of it, being fenced in with an 8 foot fence, especially an electrified one. Fences are made in such a way as to blend them in with the envrionment, but it is very difficult to hide an 8 foot fence. Since deer will often feed very near to the home, fencing will typically need to be placed around the immediate vicinity of the home.

Population Control

    In many cases, especially if deer netting is too expensive or whole neighborhoods are involved, the simplest and most effective solution may be to trim the population. In many cases, the DNR allows special permits to be granted for shooting or tranquilizing nuisance deer. Each situation is unique and evaluated on a case by case basis in conjunction with residents, neighborhodd associations, local government, Creature Control and the Department of Natural Resources.

    Deer management is a very individualized task with no easy solution. If you are having problems with nuisance deer, please contact Creature Control today at 1-800-441-1519 to talk to a wildlife control specialist about the most effective and economical means of controlling deer in your area.

CALL CREATURE CONTROL FOR NUISANCE DEER 1-800-441-1519