Thanks for the reminder, I’ve been slacking off the last couple of weeks. It’s such a good idea to keep the deer trained away from all the pretties!

I have a common lilac I’ve been trying to grow over the past three years, but the deer keep eating the branches (it’s in my backyard and I often forget to spray it). At this rate, it’ll never grow and it sure as heck won’t have any blooms next spring.

Once the lawn is mowed for the last time, I'll be putting up fencing barriers to keep the deer out of the larger but still vulnerable little trees--Cornus kousa, redbuds, etc.

Buck deer get an itch to rub their antlers early, on smaller trees and shrubs about this time of year.

It starts out for the removal of the velvet from their antlers in early Fall, generally where they spend their daytime hours in the wooded areas.

Then later, it turns into a territorial procedure, when the bucks sniff around and mark the areas where the does congregate to feed at night, and we know where those area are. ;-)

I heard that wolf urine is an effective scent, but it’s so hard to collect. I’ve dithered this fall to put guards on the small woody plants. To make matters worse, I tore my Achilles today, so I doubt it will get done this fall. The damage could be extensive, but maybe I’ll get lucky.

I was out of town for a bit, got home and noticed two broken branches on a young-ish tree that was just starting to fill back out from prior deer damage. On closer inspection, I noticed bark rubbed off the main trunk where these two branches were broken -- $*#&!@ deer must have rubbed their antlers there and broken off the branches in the process. The kicker is I protected this tree with wrap-around drainpipe -- the beasts found a small open spot right above the pipe.

There is something about this particular tree, they just will not leave it alone -- I don't know what it is, there's the same species tree next to it that is never bothered, I can't figure it out.

Hunting season is right around the corner, can hunt on the state land close to my house, I hope a lot of deer are bagged this year....

Deer population, always pretty extensive, exploded this year. Last fall was a great mast year and I just saw twin fawns just out of spots. Unsustainable.

The only way to control deer populations is to close buck season and allow multiple does to be taken. They won't do it because everyone is after that rack.

State DNR's strive to keep the deer populations artificially high in numbers. That's why we have so many around.

Some pressure from hunting groups but the fact that no one will hunt year after year unless they're seeing deer every time they go out into the woods.

No hunters, means no one buying deer licenses, end result no $$$ to fund DNR and all their shenanigans. Don't kid yourself, it's a huge industry.

It's a multifaceted problem. The public has a hand in this as well. A large park system by me occasionally culls the herd. They post notice because they have to close the park and never fails they get threats -- the numerous DEATH THREATS park officials received in a recent year resulted in them calling off the cull. What is wrong with people? Do they not understand that death by starvation or wasting disease is a worse death than a quick shot by a sharpshooter? Do they not understand that the meat can be donated to feed the hungry (in my state, anyway). These idiots probably have no comprehension that their grass-fed beef and boneless skinless chicken breasts was once A REAL LIVE ANIMAL! Can't grill it 'till you kill it...

It's certainly a huge industry here.

The biggest problem with high deer populations. is the advent of CWD.

We have zones/counties where it's a known problem.

The DNR should be decreasing deer numbers, not increasing them.

It's all about the money. :-/

I don't think CWD has been found in WV yet, but I'm pretty sure it has been in VA. Periodically, there's a die off of deer from what is known as Blue Tongue--some type of hemorrhagic disease.

I've heard of 'blue tongue' disease when we were out in western S. Dakota.

Kills the bucks when antlers are still in velvet, the ranchers told us.

We found a skull with velveted antlers in the canyons. it spreads during hard winters when deer congregate around where hay is stored outside, according to the ranchers.

I haven't heard of any of that around in my area.

eta: I just looked it up. EHD or bluetongue is a transmitted virus from a biting insect.

The upper midwest hasn't had that problem, yet....

Laceyvail, you're saying they nibbled before you sprayed, right? I've found liquid fence to do quite a good job with keeping the deer off certain shrubs/plants.

I'm going to throw something out there that I've never read, but my mom and I have both experienced this in our gardens after many, many years of pretty rough deer pressure. They stop going after the shrubs after a few years of growth. Sure, I have a handful that they'll go after year after year, but I have had them nibble rhodies, heptacodium, viburnum, hydrangea, dogwood, and many other shrubs and small trees, and then as all of those get further along in years (usually about 3-4) they stop going after them entirely. I'm not sure if there's some chemical that changes as shrubs/trees mature or what. They can certainly still reach them, but don't choose them anymore. I can only say what both of our experiences have been. Not sure if others have noticed the same. Perennials all bets are off! And forget about tulips! Jerks! LOL!

Yes, once most trees/shrubs get to a certain size, deer leave them alone. And I do use Liquid Fence, but I want to add a warning. In late spring, as my second year planted redbud was really kicking in, deer nibbled some new growth. I sprayed, and sprayed again. And it's very clear that the LF damaged those growing tips enough that they leafed out and died THREE times before the effect wore off and the new growth lived and began to grow. It was many weeks. That side is now nearly 2 feet shorter that the untouched growth. I've never had that problem before. I wonder if they've been tinkering with the formula.

And the beasts went back to do more damage on that same tree AAARGH! I trimmed off the broken branches and stuffed them in the drainpipe so that they stuck up into the canopy somewhat, thinking that would be enough to dissuade them from rubbing. Nope. The beasts simply pushed the brush out of the way and rubbed away at another branch.

The mystery to me is why they just WILL NOT leave this particular tree alone. There are other unprotected trees they could rub yet they sought out the 6" or so of unprotected bark above a fat drainpipe to rub, then went back to the same tree and pushed brush out of the way. The poor thing is still recovering from damage they inflicted in prior years... :0(

Well, I suppose it's some consolation that they didn't rub all of them. And it's possible that if you get that one completely protected, they'll just move to another one.

Sheesh, now I'll start having nightmares about deer finding ways to ruin my 'protected' trees. :-|