Living with deer: we've moved into their neighborhood. Now guess who's coming to dinner

Animals, Fall, 2002 by Brian Lavendel

When Pat Bjorgaard and her husband, Wayne, moved into their new home in a wooded subdivision outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she knew that she was going to have some wild neighbors. "Sometimes we'll drive home, and all of a sudden, two little fawns will go across the street. You have to slow down to let them cross into the woods," she says. The Bjorgaards like seeing deer from their home, which is situated on a hill.

For the Bjorgaards and their 11-year-old twins, living with wild neighbors is enjoyable. "We wanted our children to be close to nature and respect it," Par says. Fortunately, most of her neighbors also welcome deer in the neighborhood. "People who move to this area realize that there's nature here," she says.

The Bjorgaards are one of a rapidly growing number of families that are sharing their neighborhoods with deer. As suburban development sprawls into rural areas and wildlife is forced into smaller and smaller bits of natural habitat, deer are finding the lush lawns and gardens of suburbia to be an increasingly attractive option. Not every family is as wildlife friendly as the Bjorgaards.

That deer-human encounters are on the rise is no surprise to wildlife biologists. As former habitat has been converted into roads and housing, the deer numbers have surged. The U.S. white-tailed deer population has increased from less than 500,000 in the early 1900s to an estimated 24 million in 1999, according to Michael Coffey, a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service.

The resulting human-wildlife conflicts are widespread. In Maryland, deer have been blamed for $13.6 million in crop damage in 2001. Princeton, New Jersey, brought in sharpshooters to cull a booming herd. A 1995 study in the Wildlife Society Bulletin estimated that there are 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions in the United States every year, resulting in 200 human fatalities and approximately 1.4 million deer deaths.

Can growing populations of humans and deer live together? "As we continue to develop and encroach farther into wildlife habitat, we have a responsibility to come up with nonlethal solutions" comments Joan Dempsey, director of advocacy for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). She and other wildlife advocates are working to educate the public on how to live more harmoniously with deer.

"Some people relish the sight of a doe with fawns on their lawn, while others react with frustration at the thought of more browsed plants," observes Laura Simon, urban-wildlife director for the Fund for Animals. "Deer adapt amazingly well to our human-created environments. The short-cropped lawns and tasty flowers in our suburban landscapes provide exactly the kind of succulent food that deer seek out." Now it's time for humans to learn to live with the wildlife we are increasingly encroaching on, says Simon.

Animal-welfare advocates would like to see more residents follow the lead of families such as the Bjorgaards, who are willing to make some adjustments for their wild neighbors. Pat kept the deer in mind, for instance, when she decided on the shrubs and trees to plant around her home. "I didn't want to get into battle with the deer," says Bjorgaard, so she made sure to avoid exotics that deer find tasty and to plant species that were unattractive to deer.

Experts say that planting native species of shrubs and trees can reduce deer browse and that taking preventive measures against deer damage before it begins, especially in the spring, is key. As a first step in researching appropriate plants, homeowners can consult a local nursery or landscaping company. Experts add that trees can be protected from buck rubs by wrapping them with corrugated plastic sleeves or surrounding them with 2-inch wooden stakes four to five feet high.

When Bjorgaard's neighbors had deer visiting their vegetable garden too frequently, they dealt with the problem by installing a fence. "Deer-proof fencing is the most effective and long-term way to protect resources such as crops or landscape plants," according to the MSPCA's Living With Wildlife program.

In lieu of fencing, repellents can help deter deer from frequenting an area. Homemade repellents can be made by placing human hair, soap, or garlic in netting or a stocking and tying it to tree branches or fences. Commercial repellents can be sprayed directly onto plants (many cannot be used on food crops, however). Experts note that, with any kind of repellent, the key is to begin using it as soon as you see deer damage, and change or reapply the repellent often, especially after rain or when new growth appears.

Another technique that may repel deer is the use of scarecrows--especially ones that move. Motion-sensitive sprinklers, scare tape, balloons, mirrors, strips of tinfoil, and even wind chimes and radios can frighten deer from an area. Varying these devices and using them in combination with other strategies boost their effectiveness.

Surprisingly, at the turn of the century, "deer were an endangered species," reports Tom Rooney, a researcher at the University of Wisconsin, who studies the effects of deer on native plants. "Deer had been nearly extirpated from the state of Wisconsin and much of the eastern United States." In fact, the species was "nearly driven extinct."