This model of our deer deterrent has been on the job for more than a week now. A single cell D battery propels the circular motion of the round metal shell sending it clinking against the dangling metal tubing. Definitely no deer have been nibbling on our hostas! The motor & battery are mounted underneath a protective cover that is attached to a wood bracket & mounted to a regular fence post.

New Deterrent

Have you ever been driving down the road and see one of these signs and then all of sudden thought – “How do ‘they’ decide to put a DEER CROSSING SIGN here & just who decides??!” Believe it or not deer and or elk crossing signs are actually placed in specific locations deemed as high risk by the State DOT & DNR agencies. Data is collected from many sources including detailed notes from callers who have had a deer strike. Additionally, the DOT receives information from local law enforcement regarding every collision responded to due to wildlife.
Unfortunately, since deer are rarely ever seen near a signed area, drivers tend to increasingly ignore the warnings. Contrary to popular belief, these warning signs, once installed at a location, have a pre-determined removal or renewal date. They are not a permanent fixture. Notice and take heed, percentages are more likely where you see the warnings posted!

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

Photo Pinisula News Review

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

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!

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.

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

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.
The more we understand deer the more able we are to divert their browsing patterns away from our gardens and lawns.

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

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