Nuisance Deer

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OP I'm in Alabama too and the only thing that seems to work for nuisance deer is bullets. My parents dealt with them for years in their small orchard. Literally destroyed 1000's of dollars worth of trees and fruit.

They tried everything they could think of. Well bullets worked I did the shooting for them, and I found the "lead" doe of the group and popped her, of course it killed me to have to let it lay there, but once another doe became the lead I popped her and then the deer seemed very scared after that. Didn't have much trouble after that. Then the very next year my parents moved and the next homeowner cut down every single tree they had....what a shame.

BTW you need some help eliminating them I'll be very capable and willing to help.
 
Since most of the solutions presented here are things you can do on pretty much a 'right now' basis I want to offer a solution you may want to consider, after you've done the 'right now' ones.
Seem like, during the deer season, figuring out how to get a lot of people together to hunt the deer as heavily and as hard as possible may help. Maybe that means hosting a hunt (if that's even a thing in your state) ore something like that.

As for leaving them where they drop on a nuisance permit that seems so backwards to me that I would be trying to get as much clarification on that as possible, even if you have to take it up your states DNR/DEC/F&G commissioner / head guy, because that just seems so wasteful and unethical to me so I'm hoping the guy you asked was misinformed.

Last thing I can think of is getting a dog or two and letting it wander the property during the day. Perhaps its presence there might be a deterrent?
 
I have the same problems with deer eating my trees. Pesky varmints. I live next to a housing development. The town used to give out nuisance permits, but no longer. Can't hunt them, can't shoot them. Might as pester them. Working on a solution, so thanks for all the advice. Winters are tough here, can't have them eating my trees. Yes they are protected. The deer just knock them over.
 
Jack Ryan said:
Use electric fence. Live traps for the coons, most likely they are the real culprits for most of the damage.
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Electric fence doesn’t work. It gets torn down by one either brave or dumb enough to get tangled up in then the rest have unrestricted access.

I let the coon hunting friends handle the coons. Whether they shoot them or not is of no concern of mine. Seems like I do hear a 22 pop in the middle of the night sometimes.
 
daniel craig said:
Since most of the solutions presented here are things you can do on pretty much a 'right now' basis I want to offer a solution you may want to consider, after you've done the 'right now' ones.
Seem like, during the deer season, figuring out how to get a lot of people together to hunt the deer as heavily and as hard as possible may help. Maybe that means hosting a hunt (if that's even a thing in your state) ore something like that.

As for leaving them where they drop on a nuisance permit that seems so backwards to me that I would be trying to get as much clarification on that as possible, even if you have to take it up your states DNR/DEC/F&G commissioner / head guy, because that just seems so wasteful and unethical to me so I'm hoping the guy you asked was misinformed.

Last thing I can think of is getting a dog or two and letting it wander the property during the day. Perhaps its presence there might be a deterrent?
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I have slowed down on the hunting as of late so I give the deer hunting rights to a friend with understanding they shoot everything they see. If it’s brown it’s down kinda thing. They got seven last season. Maybe that’s going to lighten the problem.
 
79F938C0-41FD-4768-9239-349972C6B9C3.jpeg

Here is something I came up with yesterday. I retired as an electrical lineman. This was a pole top rescue dummy. Someone had let him free fall about 40’. I put him back together and give him some new clothes. I’m going to trade hats with him every evening to keep him smelling like me. We’ll see if that works. If so I’ll try something similar at the big garden.
 
LOLBELL said:
I have slowed down on the hunting as of late so I give the deer hunting rights to a friend with understanding they shoot everything they see. If it’s brown it’s down kinda thing. They got seven last season. Maybe that’s going to lighten the problem.
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Maybe two people can get even more deer, got another friend?
 
daniel craig said:
Maybe two people can get even more deer, got another friend?
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I would imagine the problem to be nocturnal in nature. That’s generally what they do when pressure from hunting exists.

If he has them during the day coming in like the “wild” animals in Yellowstone park, he doesn’t stand a chance.

Might as well start selling tickets and buy peas with the proceeds.

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jmorris said:
I would imagine the problem to be nocturnal in nature. That’s generally what they do when pressure from hunting exists.

If he has them during the day coming in like the “wild” animals in Yellowstone park, he doesn’t stand a chance.

Might as well start selling tickets and buy peas with the proceeds.

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Good point
 
They definitely hit the garden at night. Leasing the property and buying vegetables would be a lot less work on me. I’ve got 135 acres. How much is land leasing for these days?
 
I live in deer country and use a product called Liquid Fence for my garden (25 x 50'). It's not practical for commercial agriculture but keeps deer out of my garden and we have a fair supply of deer in these parts. Coons are my biggest problem now. Trapping is not really effective because they are pretty smart.

I use about a gallon ($25) per year.
 
LOLBELL said:
They definitely hit the garden at night. Leasing the property and buying vegetables would be a lot less work on me. I’ve got 135 acres. How much is land leasing for these days?
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I know people that spend thousands of dollars a year to lease land for hunting deer, dove and other migratory birds. The same people that least to them, also lease the land for grazing for cattle, bailing hay or other crops. A “double dip” as they say but the hunters like the lure, the farmers like the critter control and the land owner likes both of their money.
 
LOLBELL said:
We’ll see if that works. If so I’ll try something similar at the big garden.
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Best of luck. Odds are it will only work for a short amount of time, even if it's moving with the wind and you refresh the human scent on it. Once deer find a food source, anything other than a high fence or a live creature is not going to keep them away. While those LP cannons work on migratory game birds, around here, they too were quickly ignored by deer coming to ag fields. Deer, like rats, have become accustomed to humans and relate us to food. Problem is that fawns are taught, food and human habitation go together, so after a few generations(coupla years only), they don't have fear of us anymore, in areas we normally are at. The woods is different. Like once you feed your dog table scraps while still sitting at the table, you never get them to stop begging.....ever.

Used to be deer were basically nocturnal, other than the breeding season, or unless they were at the point of starvation. Not anymore......
 
That’s been the way of everything else I have tried. Works good for a couple of weeks then goes by the wayside. So far “Big Dummy”, as my grandson calls him, is working. Just at dusk a couple of days ago a mature doe stuck her head out of the wooded area, stamped a foot, showed her white flag and hasn’t been seen since.
 
LOLBELL said:
I don’t know if this is the right place to go with this or not. I have a problem with deer getting in my vegetable garden and corn patch and destroying it. In the past I wasn’t to the point of doing something drastic to eliminate the problem.

With fertilizer costing $25 per 50lbs and everyone calling for food shortages I’m close to desperate. I have tried human hair, everything you can buy at the CO-OP, a radio, flashing lights, leaving a tractor or truck in the field, a scarecrow, and an electric fence. I had a dog that kept them out of the small garden at the house until old age got her.

Peas and corn and some other stuff is about 4 miles from my home on another property I own so the dog didn’t help there. I have gone to the Game Wardens with the problem and was told I could get a permit to shoot them but I had to leave them lay where they fell. Wasted meat, smell, and coyotes. I told them I don’t think that’s a good idea. Their reply was to build a high fence. Cost of that is about $50,000 to get all the acreage that I plant fenced. That’s with me and the sons doing the building.

Any suggestions? I don’t think I should have to pay to have a fence built to be able to feed my family on property I have owned for 25 years, nor should I have to stink up the place leaving carcasses lying everywhere and inviting coyotes and buzzards to move in.

I try to be an ethical hunter but my patience is wearing thin. I have always obeyed the law but feeding my family is the top priority.
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I in the same boat. Remember when they reintroduce the deer in the 1970s here. Now growing a garden and fruit trees are impossible.
Reminds me of a KFC restaurant owner I knew, he told me when he was young he wished he could have chicken every day. Then he winked and said be careful what you wish for.
Have tried several of the methods mentioned. Only one that seems to work is venison production.
 
kelljp said:
I in the same boat. Remember when they reintroduce the deer in the 1970s here. Now growing a garden and fruit trees are impossible.
Reminds me of a KFC restaurant owner I knew, he told me when he was young he wished he could have chicken every day. Then he winked and said be careful what you wish for.
Have tried several of the methods mentioned. Only one that seems to work is venison production.
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As of right now they are staying out. I add something new about twice a week. Started out with the dummy, added tin pie plates on t-posts then hanging my shirt and hat out every evening. Next I’ll get the daughter-in-law to bring home hair from work.

I wish deer were as superstitious as crows. Killed a couple of them with the 22-250 and hung the remains up in the corn and had no more trouble with them.
 
LOLBELL said:
I wish deer were as superstitious as crows. Killed a couple of them with the 22-250 and hung the remains up in the corn and had no more trouble with them.
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Hanging a dead magpie on the garden fence keeps other magpies out of the garden too. I don't know whether or not I'd like a dead deer hanging on the garden fence though, and I'm pretty sure the Idaho Department of Fish and Game would want to know how it got there. :uhoh: ;)
BTW, our daughter in Missoula has had a constant problem with deer eating everything in her garden, and even some of the flowers in her window boxes. It seems like she told me she puts soap shavings in her window boxes to keep the deer away. Of course that would only work in a very small area (like a window box) and not for a large food plot where you grow food to feed your family.
 
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daniel craig said:
Last thing I can think of is getting a dog or two and letting it wander the property during the day. Perhaps its presence there might be a deterrent?
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I'm not sure that will work. One of my hunting partners had a dog pen with 2 beagles 30 feet from his garden. He never got a pea out of it. Those beagles would run the hair off of a deer when they were out of the pen, but the deer weren't worried about them. You could walk 200 yards from the house and have a deer race. Then go back 4 hours later and have another race. I think that the deer liked it.
 
Captcurt said:
I'm not sure that will work. One of my hunting partners had a dog pen with 2 beagles 30 feet from his garden. He never got a pea out of it. Those beagles would run the hair off of a deer when they were out of the pen, but the deer weren't worried about them. You could walk 200 yards from the house and have a deer race. Then go back 4 hours later and have another race. I think that the deer liked it.
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Yep, the neighborhood dogs don't bother the deer at all in the part of Missoula where our daughter lives. For that matter, the dogs don't even bother the occasional neighborhood blackbear all that much. :confused:
 
LolBell.

You need to further pursue the depredation permit.
1. Locate a benevolent organization that will accept the deer. Some orphanages, or out-reach groups will take them. Might even check with Sheriff or county jail. Someone likely will take the deer. Make prior arrangements.
2 Arrange a meeting with YOUR issuing agent. Typically, it’s a biologist, not the local game warden. Although after attaining the permit, you’ll want to contact the officers to let them know when you plan to shoot deer. Likely a requirement on the permit.
3. Comply EXACTLY with the stipulations on your permit!
One night I was involved in a case involving a permit holder. Permit was only good for specified period. Not after deer season started. He had 3 persons not listed on the permit hunting with spotlights from a vehicle, from a public road, 3 miles from his property with a stolen gun, (more than one gun), and one person was a convicted felon on parole!
Needless to say, they got a road trip and tour of the County jail.

4. Be polite! Not argumentative, smart aleck, not know-it-all.

5. Don’t take no for an answer, though. Simply take the matter up with a supervisor. It may take contacting either a Board of Natural Resources member, or your State Representative. Dealing with such citizens issues are what they are paid to do.
Once you’re known and are persistent, determined, and conscientious , you’ll likely get what you need. It wouldn’t hurt to contact your county agent, too.

I wish I could help you further, but all my contacts in Alabama have retired and/or moved on. I got my Wildlife Mgt degree at Auburn, Universitiy. I knew the Commisioner of DNR,Chief of Game and Fish, and Marine Police at one time.
Try again! The local game wardens get a lot of “nuisance inquiries” from folks wanting a permit to “poach”. I had to “brush off” a lot of insincere inquiries through the years.
Good luck!
 
You need a fence on your garden. FWIW 2" wire will keep deer out but a full size rabbit can still slip through it when it pushes. Tighter wire ir 2" of chicken wire around the bototm only solves them. 4' fence will keep deer out, as long as there is plenty of other available browse for them. No farm fields and no tasty bushes and they will hop that fence. Then they need to be uncertain of the landing on the other side. Cattle panel racks and growing racks can discourage jumping, if you have enough. Or a taller fence. Wineries around here have 10' tensile wire fences. The same kind they use for horses or cattle but on 10' posts out of the ground. Deer must want those grape leaves bad.

My neighbors field is in Rye and will be in soy beans soon. The deer will leave me alone. Early season corn they will be bothering me until it is late season corn.
 
archeryrob said:
Cattle panel racks and growing racks can discourage jumping
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If they are not discouraged enough, it will at least add to the chances of getting entangled and I suppose that in and of itself isn’t a “trap”.

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And if you don’t want to then break the law by shooting it or let it suffer until it expires you can have visitors that day. Note the fold in the chicken wire at the bottom. I find if best to have that on the outside, so the (small) animal is already on top of the wire it’s trying to get under.

3A5F02BB-B712-4512-9481-0BC9B3962035.jpeg
 
LOLBELL said:
Any suggestions? I don’t think I should have to pay to have a fence built to be able to feed my family on property I have owned for 25 years, nor should I have to stink up the place leaving carcasses lying everywhere and inviting coyotes and buzzards to move in.
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I don't think I should have to buy (rent, basically) a security system for my home of over 25 years and pay for deadbolt locks and a fence for the back yard to keep out thieves, but what you and I think we should have to do isn't really in the cards. Protection of your property, be it from people or wildlife, involves action and cost on our parts. That is just reality.

Now that you have tried a lot of wackadoo ideas, either build the fence to protect your property or get your nuisance hunting permit. Or get a dog or dogs to chase them away. You aren't going to modify their behavior (each and every one of them) with subtle changes to the environment. Deer can get used to just about anything that isn't actively trying to pursue or hurt them.

With that said, even if you shoot them, you will really only modify the behavior of a few of them. Others will come because you don't have a fence and deer don't have group knowledge. You will always have to be killing them so long as you are growing a bait that attracts them. That is the way things like food plots work.

If you get you nuisance permit, does your state allow for night vision/thermal gear in order to hunt at night, particularly for depredating pests? If so, that is going to be what you need because of their joint crespuscular and noncturnal nature. If you are limited to daylight shooting, they will just come at night. Of course, you will have to be up at night, guarding the fields from the deer. Good thing you are retired because now you have a night watchman job if you go that route.

Or you can get a dog. Teach it the limits of your property. They will work just about around the clock to protect what they think is their territory. Except in the rare cases you dog may catch and kill a deer, there will be no carcasses to attract buzzards and coyotes, no stink of rotting carcasses.
 
I think raising a couple of dogs on the property and making it their home would be the best bet. Even the dogs that I’ve had that weren’t hunters would chase a deer off if it got too close.
 
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