I sat and watched a doe and her fawns in my backyard for a long time this morning. They wandered up to within 20 ft of the back door. My daughter went out to the car and heard a coughing noise...turned around and there were lots of deer standing just a little ways from her(no she isn't terribly observant..lol). I have to stop several times on the way to town usually because of deer. Believe it or not this county in Missouri had the largest deer harvest in the state last year! It is just totally blowing my mind how many deer and other critters I'm seeing up here. The only way to see deer in Tx(except during the rut) is with a spotlight. I'm seeing them all over the place in the middle of the day here. Kinda makes me think that I haven't got a snowballs chance in a really warm spot to have much of a garden. Anyone know a way to keep them out of an orchard? I plan to start an orchard in the spring and I just know the deer are going to love it. Help!

-- Amanda in Mo (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), July 30, 2001

Answers

I think that your fences need to be a least ten feet high to keep deer out.

-- Skip in Western WA (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), July 30, 2001.

Electric fence , you can use a solar charger.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), July 30, 2001.

The deer have certainly done a number on my garden here but so far haven't touched my trees. I hope they find enough other food that they won't bother my "orchard" but just in case I will be watching to see if anyone has good ideas for keeping them away. My dogs don't seem to be doing a good job of it!

-- Deena in Ga (dsmj55@aol.com), July 30, 2001.

Believe it or not, one of the states which has the largest concentration of deer herds is New Jersey! When we lived there it was quite common to dodge deer in downtown Princeton in the middle of the day! I understand that deer can jump easily over any regular fence, but cannot if the fence is "tilted" inward..many farmers in NJ built their fences 8 feet high with a two foot lean towards the pasture/garden...the deer will not jump this kind of fence because it extends out too far..this type of fence obviously doesn't work if you are also trying to keep livestock in..it's also a nuisance to weed under it..in Pennsylvania, the corn farmers use what they call "cannons"..a loudspeaker battery-charged device which emits a booming sound every four minutes...We used to watch the deer pause every four minutes while they were munching the guy's corn..others have said that dog hair tied to the fence at two foot intervals will prevent deer from crossing the fence, others say "nope it doesn't"....the only truly successful method that I have seen is to grow a "deer crop" outside the fence..some of our Amish friends did that..they planted 12 rows of corn outside the fenced-in garden area...the deer ate "their" corn and left the rest alone..too bad the raccoons didn't play fair though...God bless.

-- lesley (martchas@bellsouth.net), July 30, 2001.

We have lots of deer this year too. Almost every evening there are at least 8 in the horse pasture. They'll come up by the house to eat apples off the trees but only at night.

Hubby and I saw a huge 8-10 point buck in velvet a few days ago. He was beautiful.

Stacy in NY

-- Stacy Rohan (KincoraFarm@aol.com), July 31, 2001.

We have a lot of deer around here, too. And they are not at all shy. I've seen deer tracks in the garden, and the funny thing is they don't seem to have touched my corn, but the tops have been eaten off a few of my tomato plants. Never would have thought they'd go for that, but I suppose it was them. We also have some little Christmas trees planted on the other side of the house. Several of those have been eaten way down by the deer--I suppose over the winter. I've been considering putting up a scarecrow in the garden to try to deter the deer, but they are so unimpressed by human presence, I'm not sure it would help.

-- mary (marylgarcia@aol.com), July 31, 2001.

Somewhere, maybe in Countryside, I read that CD disks, tied in the trees or fences, scare animals away; I guess the flash intimidates them. A good use for CD's you have outgrown.

If you are not a hunter, human urine is also a strong deterrent, I understand that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) organization uses that tactic to spoil hunters chances. This definitely works, I have hunted for a long time, and have personally seen the difference between hunting stands where people have gone and haven't gone.

Hope this information helps.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), July 31, 2001.

We see deer almost every day, without even looking for them. One doe raises twins or triplets every year just beyond our front yard and we have seen her walk past the house within about 10 feet, followed by her 3. Doesn't seem to be afraid at all. We don't have dogs, only one old outside cat. Quit spraying, mowing, pruning, picking orchard 4 or 5 years ago. The deer LOVE the fruit from the approx 800 apple trees, but can never eat it all. Two years ago we cooked in copper kettle over wood fire and canned 94 pints of apple butter. Our church congregation had been invited out the next day after church for carry-in dinner and apple cidar sqeezin. Everyone had all the cidar they wanted to drink and many took some home. As how to deter the deer--I don't have a clue.

-- ruth in se illinois (bobtravous@email.com), August 02, 2001.

I put my chicken coop around my garden. The coop is about 5-6 feet wide and is 4 feet tall. In order to get into my garden, the deer would have to jump an in-and-out, going into the chicken coop, then into the garden. I haven't had any deer in the garden since I did that. I guess it's too much like work! I suppose if your deer density were really high you'd want 6 foot fences instead of 4 foot.

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), August 05, 2001.

In the sugar bush between my house and my mother's house, we have a doe that is raising triplets this year. She's always in the hayfield or gleaning crabapples off the trees. Just beautiful in the morning light or the evening's golden glow when I go to my mothers like I do twice a day. Makes me feel warm inside, like all is right. Guess I'm sentimental.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), August 06, 2001.

Hi, My name is Peter Aquilina and I own a small but growing company called Deer DeFence llc. I have studied this problem for five years and I have the answer to the question; "What do WE do about the Deer?" A DEER FENCE is the only way to control deer. And a deer fence is only a deer fence if the deer cannot get a fix on how high the fence is. And, the fence must be strong enough to withstand a 400 lb. BUCK hitting the fence at full speed! And be easy to install and affordable! Check-out my website: www.deerdefence.com

-- Peter C. Aquilina (deerdefence@yahoo.com), January 24, 2003.