They have to be very hungry. There must be way too many deer for the area. Is hunting not allowed? Put out corn? One of those feeders made for hunters. Cover your fruit and vegetables over the winter with tomato cages, the ones made out of cattle fencing or concrete reinforcing wire.

If you can do it, I saw a wire "greenhouse" with walls and roof on line a few years ago to keep deer out. I think it was in Arkansas, but I am not sure. It looked nice.

No shooting off guns - we are in an urban area. Think neighborhood with 15 feet of space between houses, not woodsy. I'd be in the hoosegow fast if I were to bring out a rifle and start going after them. And yes there are a lot of them - I pass one dead on the road every month or two, and see them in the morning on my way to work. Would netting work do you think?

I was think more of hunting where ever they are bedding, which has to be wooded and bow & arrow.. I doubt if netting would slow them down. It would have to be wire.

Google Deer proof green house. lots of ideas.

https://fancydecors.co/2017/12/31/best-deer-resistant-garden-ideas/

It's not a real fence, but an electric fence is not conspicuous, and is a good deterrent. The deer will encounter it, and learn to avoid it.

Deer netting will work on bushy plants. No support needed, just wrap up the bush. Tie it up with cable tie or twist ties. Row cover supports will hold it up off a row of low plantings.

Edited to add: The deer netting wrapped around the bushes is obviously only intended when the plant isn't growing and should be removed in spring when the deer have better choices.

You could try T-post or steel electrical conduit posts with fishing line around the whole garden. Or actual 8ft deer net fencing around the whole garden if its really bad.

Very true about not putting out food. That's asking for trouble. But be aware that urban wildlife are real tough guys. Fluttering fabric and scary figures don't faze them in the least. They're used to all that stuff. I suspect the same is true for deer repellent spray. They're used to all sorts of threatening smells and sights, walking around between houses. Trying to scare them probably won't work.

What is it about fences that aren't permitted? To keep out deer, just stringing a few high wires would do the job, and they would be practically invisible from a distance.

they are debating it currently ... and im not up to speed on it... but you can NOT bait deer in MI .... and i would think that means feeding them ... but im not sure about all that..

where are you.. big city name ??? .. im in adrian ... with all the farm land around me ... we have them.. but they arent this aggressive ....ann arbor recently had their cull ...

ken

Are you sure it is deer and not something like rabbits? Rabbits will eat a lot of stuff deer tend to not touch and that includes woody stuff as well...deer do not favor wood, only very tender new growth.

I live on an island with a captive population of deer that increases every year. No hunting of any kind allowed here but they do cull. You see them wandering around during the day just driving down the street and even at landscaped local businesses......the McDonald's parking lot at the busiest intersection in the area!! They are a constant presence in my garden. If you can't fence, then you need to cage or net anything you consider vulnerable. I also use a repellent spray, Plantskydd, that I find to be very effective.

"It's not a real fence, but an electric fence is not conspicuous, and is a good deterrent. The deer will encounter it, and learn to avoid it. "

I agree with Dan above as my solar ele fence works pretty well to deter deer but I also use a nearby bug zapper that helps to deter them at night as it zaps bugs the sounds scares them off too. Mine is out of ear shot for the neighbors though.

My sister lived in a gated community just north of Minneapolis for many years.

The deer got so bad you could be sitting on your couch and see them at the patio windows looking in. They had no fear of man and they would eat everything they liked.

Law enforcement finally got involved. They set up areas and their sharp shooters eliminated as many deer as they deemed fit.

If the ends of the stems are sharply cut, sometimes slightly angled, it's rabbits doing the work. Deer damage will result in ends of stems that are 'chewed' with a rough, uneven edge.

Shoot them with paintball guns if allowed. Instead of paintballs use frozen cranberries. Or a slingshot. You've got to put fear back into them somehow.

How is culling done without hunting?

if you love gardening and have that degree of deer pressure, save yourself years of heartache and figure out how to fence at least some part of your property. If 6 ft is allowed, then string wires for the added foot or two.

Culling usually refers to having special hunters selected to kill the deer, geese, etc. They don't just let anyone with a license hunt. Normally it is game wardens that do the culling.

ETA: I would hope that the meat is processed and given to the food banks.

Culling is done only by licensed wildlife personnel. It is done to restrict populations to fit within existing environmental conditions. Very different from hunting although the outcome is similar.

' ETA: I would hope that the meat is processed and given to the food banks. '

From what I understand, much of it is donated to organizations that feed the homeless etc.

I know some hunters that donated some of the 15 deer they harvested in Montanna to a Veterans group that was putting on a dinner for Veterans in the area. Nice feeling knowing nothing goes to waste.

Just to reconnect with the question from the OP, the suggestion here is that the OP needs to go to the city and ask them to do culling. I have to assume that if the city doesn't already do culling, we're talking about years of planning and organizing. And let's be clear. Culling just reduces the population. It doesn't prevent mischief by the remaining ones. The question was how to prevent deer from doing that mischief.

You need to start a campaign with a variety of solutions. Culling and revising the fencing regulations. In the meanwhile you need to fence to whatever height is allowed. Push the envelope. If 4 foot fencing is allowed add that 4 feet to the top of your raised bed. If the limit is lower; devise a solution that includes fencing to the limit and a cover over the top of your plants.

There are also those who build natural fencing by growing plants that will create a barrier to the animals you want to eliminate. As I remember Osage Orange is one of the plants used. Thorny plants might be used, but in your situation I'd worry about children getting hurt. Also I would guess that if you have these fencing bans you probably also have bans against electric fencing and barbed wire.

Which reminds me. I saw a garden with an electric fence around the garden that was only 2 or 3 inches off the ground. Apparently the larger animals dragged their feet or hoofs across it and the smaller animals bumped it going under or over the wire. It was installed in railroad ties that were level with the ground. The garden was also not raised. From looking at the garden as far as I could tell it worked perfectly.

I have similar deer problems here that you have. I have found that a small garden can get away with only a 5 foot fence. Also my neighbor has a short wooden fence with some plastic fencing above that. What makes her garden safe tho is the deer can't see well into the garden and the garden is full of raised beds. So the little they see is obstructions to them jumping safely. I've had 11x14 foot and 12x16 foot gardens that were deer proof because they weren't comfortable jumping into a small area. I also had to add 28 inch fencing at the bottom to keep out rabbits. My new garden is big enough that I have 12 foot cut tree posts holding up 3 strands of wire above the two fences. I supplement that by arranging tomato cages and by growing pole beans on tripods to give the deer more reason to avoid jumping into my garden.

If you're trying to repel squirrels and rabbits, and other small things, a dense fence is needed, with no holes. That's the kind of fence that LOOKS like a solid fence. But for deer, the electric fence you need is probably only a few wires strung horizontally. While you probably ought to put some flags on it to warn away people, it's almost entirely transparent. That is, it doesn't LOOK like a fence. Need to consider your regulations carefully. But if you want to cover it with wood, or wire mesh, it's going to look like a fence. An electric fence of this sort is vastly cheaper than a solid fence, and is a lot easier to get into than a cage or throw-over net.

Thanks to everyone so far. Ken, I am in the general Grand Rapids area. I do have rabbits as well as deer and all the local wildlife is far too confident to be scared away. City creatures are another whole thing. I credit the deer with the damage because several bushes went from about 3-4 feet tall to 6 inches and rabbits are not tall enough. I suppose it’s possible that deer started it and rabbits finished it. I am thinking that an electric fence might do well to address the issue.

Exactly right about city creatures being a whole other thing with regard to being scared. I have a regular battle with urban squirrels, and the advice I always get is "flippy flappy colorful banners!", "smelly powders!", "noise makers!", "a statue of an owl or a coyote!" Hahahahahahaha. That's what the urban squirrels say, as they stick their little tongues out. These guys are incredibly street-wise. My solution to them is catch and release, which can't easily be done with deer, unfortunately.

City creatures are another whole thing.

==>>> once at hosta college.. a professor type gave an hour speech about the 2 different species of deer ... urban and rural ...

i wonder of your county ag office in GR might not be able to help ....

ken

In a span of ten years in Ohio, I've seen deer go from quite rare to see near city houses to now feeling perfectly comfortable hanging around in small front lawns in daylight. They have learned that it safer to not run away in panic, avoiding roads.