Managing White-Tailed Deer on Your Property

In addition to sharing their stately beauty, white-tailed deer can bring many benefits to your property. Increasing populations of salamanders, snakes, and invertebrates, which results from a higher population of deer, can help the ecosystem. Deer droppings can also enrich the soil.

However, large populations of deer can cause problems. Overgrazing can hurt your garden and plant life, and it can also damage the balance of life on your property.

The best way to enhance the positives of deer on your property is to manage them well. Let’s look at how to share our space with these neighbors.

Tips for Managing Deer

• Try hunting, as long as it’s safe and legal.

• Set up eight-foot mesh deer fencing.

• For gardens, try electric fencing. You can also use fabric and hoops or netting over ornamentals. If you have few plants, cage them. Invisible fish line can work, too.

• Regularly apply commercial repellents. Home repellent possibilities include soap shavings, predator urine, bone meal, fermented egg yolks, and hot pepper spray (in liquid form).

• Use plants deer don’t like.

• Scare deer away by hanging metal pie tins and using recordings of barking dogs (or the real thing). You can also use more-expensive options such as light systems, ultrasonic noisemakers, and water cannons.

• Care well for your garden and property; deer eat stressed plants.

Using a variety of methods to protect your property will ensure you and the deer get along smoothly.