04I found this article very interesting as the time is drawing near for "mama deer" to birth. adapted from Living With Wildlife in the Northwest fawn are usually born in April and May propelling our deer population even higher. We need to understand the cycles of deer, matings, habits and birthing to better deter deer from our properties and plants. Several years ago I found a baby fawn and I too thought that it had been abandoned by it's mother. Now, after reading this article, I understand that my Daddy was right in telling me to get it back to where I found it sooner than later! Remember it is always good to check with your local wildlife association if you have any questions or concerns.
We are working on a new deer deterrent that is powered by a single D cell battery. The battery power has been tested and will last up to 6 weeks of continuous use. Our new deterrent works to deter deer due to the deer's fear of motion. Ideally it will be mounted to a 5 or 6' garden stake that can be easily pushed into the ground and moved about for a change up in location. This is also important so that the deer do not get "used" to the same actions or sounds. Look here for more on this exciting revoluton in the next few days! Home Made Deer Deterrent
If you have a small area garden you are trying to keep deer from decimating you might try planting certain plants and trees that are deemed deer resistant. This practice is called "camouflage gardening". This concept, of course, would not be a great idea if you have several acres or many different areas you garden. I had not noticed, but my sister pointed out when we were at Lowes this past weekend, the plants they cite as Deer Resistant are actually tagged. When you are looking for border plants try to always seek out these that are at least "touted" to be more deer resistant! What Deer Eat
What other plants are more deer resistant? There is a long listing shown on the Lowes plant site. You will be amazed at how just watching what you plant and the strategic placment of these plants will favorably impact your gardens. Regardless of what plants we use to help defer our deer population, several sources of deterrents are required to foil the attempts of deer against our gardens! Check out Ohio Landscaping site The deer population in your neighbor and in and around you garden becomes "hardened" to genrally any methods we employ to deter them. This is why it is so important to utilize several differnt methods of deer deterrents simultaeneously. Deer are more resistant to the following plants so be sure to consider these as select your new plantings to minimize deer browzing: Spruces, pines, forsythia, spirea, lilace, lantanta, yarrow, hollyhock, coreopsis, iris and foxglove show some resistance to deer. I just bought a big flat of marigolds - deer really hate them! I love them around the garden - so that is a win win! I will also plant marigolds from seed.
What Deer Eat
As today is Friday the 13th, I found myself thinking aobut the roles deer have had in literature, mythology and Native American Astrology. Interestingly, the deer symbol is the Native American zodiac equivalent of Gemini (May 21- June 20). It is said that one of the attributes is that deer have a 'sixth sense' about how things should be, and instantaneously know when something is 'out of place.'
This wariness on the part of deer is what make it more skittish around our Deer
Deterrent
!
As we learned in high school literature, Greek Mythology tells us that Actaeon fell to the fatal wrath of Artemis after he was turned into a Stag (large male deer)and then his own hounds struck and tore him apart in a frenzy.
Needless to say, deer have countless roles in mythology and current day life.
Today is a rainy spring day and it made me think of some of the photos we were able to get last spring. Deer love to come out and play when the rain is light. The photo on this post is one taken by my sister Nancy with her Canon using only her zoom lens. These are the many deer we are able to see from the vantage points of our homes. We are surrounded by fields and woods, a wonderful habitat for deer. Even though they have the woods, they still find their way to our gardens if we are not using our Home Made Deer Deterrent
Weekends (especially Sundays) and are big days for Flea Marketing in the Tri-State area. Since the weather was so agreeable this past Sunday I took in a local market brimming with anxious buyers, vendors and their wares. Even at the flea market I was in the midst of deer artifacts and memorabilia.
Deer are probably the most common wild mammal to inhabit the North American continent, almost a tame animal. Did you know harvested value of a single deer according to a widely known Hasselton & Hesselton report back in 1982, was $1250.00?? As far back as 1974 over 2 million white tail deer were harvested by over 8 million hunters. There are numerous web sites with data more current data detailing that just in the State of Ohio harvest counts we up 6% in the years between 2002 and 2004. This pattern of increased "deer-conomy" has continued an upward trend. Technology in guns, cameras, and other tracking devices have only multiplied an already growing The hundreds of millions in positive economic value created by created by deer include licensing fees, meat, and hunter expenditures such as equipment, food, transportation. Simultaneously our culture has moved "back to the earth" and is creating another economy in our gardening and landscaping activities. At the end of the day, whether you are a big time farmer in the agriculture business, or a homesteader trying to make a living from what you grow, it is important to assess the amount of time and money you invest in damage control in proportion to the damages you incur. This is but one of the many reasons why our New Deterrent Cost Effective - low investment with high return potential Mobility - Easy to install and relocate around the property It works! - Proven to deter deer's ravages upon your garden! I have been talking with some of my neighbors and am looking forward to interviewing a local farmer within the next few days. I am specifically interested in hearing about the changes he has seen over the years in the deer population and deer activity.
We will also discuss how deer may impact his plantings and decisions on his farm. Stay tuned to learn more on tomorrow's post!
What Deer Eat
Still to come are my personal interview notes with local farmers in Ohio area, but meanwhile, feast on this . . . Farmers want more say on local and regional strategy when it comes to deer management. Recently in Pennsylvania a farmer brought petition to the local district meeting requesting council members speak up for local farmers. This farmer was quoted in an article published in the Peninsula News Review stating that it has now come to point of financial hardship for many farmers in their area. It was presented that there are rural deer problems and there are urban deer problems and that the two need to be looked at differently. Small scale farming and urban gardening are definitely the right venues for New Deterrent
|
|
