Deer are getting to be a pain

[deere755]

in the rear around here. I don't want to offend anyone but as far as I am concerned we could kill all the deer around here and I would not miss them. They destroy our trees, shrubs, and crops. I rented a small piece of land surrounded by woods this spring and I would say that the crop is a total loss as they have eaten all the soybeans in the field. This was the second planting. I rented this too late this spring to take out any kind of Federal crop insurance so I guess I am just out. I am not sure if federal crop insurance would even cover this type of damage. Car versus deer accidents are more frequent around here then ever according to a deputy friend of mine. I don't understand why our state is so stingy with deer permits. When driving into this field last night we counted 20 deer in a 20 acre field. They have detroyed several little trees in my yard, my neighbor was complaining about them eating his shrubs. I don't want to see all of them dead that is just my anger but they do need thinned out. Does anyone else agree or are they not a problem in your area. I am all for wildlife and conservation but I feel I have a right to protect my investment also.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

There is big money in trophy deer hunting and your state is ranked high on a lot of hunter's list, these hunter's bring in millions of dollars into the state, and with out of state hunting license's and tags all of which go to the state it really is a big business, this maybe one of the reasons that they don't want to do anything. Down here in Florida we get permits from the state to harvest some of the deer when they are damaging our crops. Lead is a sure fire cure to deer problems.

 

[Willl]

You need Richards SILs dog "Fannie".

 

[wolc123]

Deer can be a blessing or a curse sometimes. I have learned to live with them since they became infested around my place. As the population began to explode back in the 80's, it got harder and harder to produce enough feed on our limited tillable acreage to feed our cattle. We got rid of the cattle and now get most of our protien from venison. I learned the hard way what type of crops deer prefer, and now I turn that against them by drawing them in and taking them out. My state (NY) has loosened up on the permits a lot, and made the transfer of antlerless permits legal, so now I can harvest as many deer as I have freezer space. My wife loves that corn fed venison and wont even consider cooking beef anymore mainly due to the fact that venison is far better for your heart. Growing crops for deer is infinitely more fun than growing them for cattle because all the bad stuff goes away. You never have to fight the weather to get the harvest in because the deer do it themselves. No vets, frozen water in the winter, manure or any of the other crap one needs to deal with while raising cattle. Deer are also far more efficient eaters, requiring much less acreage to feed. No need to work the land as hard, fertilizer, fuel and herbicide expenses are minimized. I actually love the deer now, especially the back-straps done medium rare on the grill.

 

[dodge man]

I know what you mean. I'm not sure where you are from in Il, but I live just outside of Macomb, and they can be a pain. I would consider a motorcycle, but wouldn't feel safe driving one at night. In many ways, this part of Illinois is perfect for deer. There are open fields with alot of crops and grasses, but there are also alot of gullys with trees so they have a place to hide during the day.

I would say Illinois is not stingy with deer permits, you just have to get signed up several months ahead of time. They don't really bother me except hitting them with cars. I have hit three since we have lived in the country. Like someone else mentioned, its big buisness. We have alot of out of state people come into our area to hunt. There is chronic waste disese in Northern Illinois, but so far it hasn't spread to our area. If it does work its way down south, that will thin out the herd. Until then, I just drive a little slower at night and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[deere755]

The states big business is costing my business money. I am a cash grain farmer. Corn and soybeans are our main source of income. I just wish we could meet in the middle on this. I am not a deer hunter but if I owned the land I would welcome all the hunters I could find to hunt it.

 

[PILOON]

Well I don't farm but the deer sure make a mess of my wife's garden.
They seem to think hostas are desert as the have simply ravaged all of ours.

Just the other day I looked out of the window next to my computer and there was Bambi's mother looking at me in the window while her 2 bambi's were chewing the last of our hostas.
Don't know what next they will chomp on but it might just be a 12 guage slug.

 

[polo1665]

I wonder what attracts deer to certain areas (yards, fields, etc) more than others. There are a ton of deer around my house, I see them everyday. Woods are full of deer trails, but absolutely no damage to any plants around the house or my garden. I'm happy about it, but don't understand. The turkey and skunks ravage flower beds around my house, but the deer leave it alone.

Mark

 

[Chuck52]

I have to fence any tree I want to keep, at least until it gets big enough the deer can't turn it into a shrub. And then I still have to fence the trunk against buck rubs. My garden is fenced. My berry patch is fenced. DW's flowers have to be something the deer don't want in order to survive. I planted 25 black walnut and 25 pecan seedlings in an old hay field. That field is again a hay field because the deer even ate the walnuts. I chase deer off when I see them, but of course they tend to be active when I tend to be less so. I had a $5K repair bill last December after a collision with a deer. We could probably also get a thread going about raccoons. I still love the country, but what I remember about country living in East Tennessee when I was a kid was that the varmints (and here I mean the cute ones too) were much more scarce than here and now in Missouri. I don't recall anyone having to fence a garden, let alone a tree.

Chuck

 

[dmccarty]

The deer in my area are at infestation levels. The city folk moving into the area think they are cute and don't like hunting. My nearby town is finally going to allow bow hunting to get rid of the deer. I have seen small herds of deer running around the center of the town. One deer jumped through a plate glass window into a store front. My wife got an eight point buck last December. But it was with the Honda. Not a scratch on the exterior. She literally ran over the deer after it bounced off the a car in front of my wife. The deer did almost $1,000 in damage.

But the PETA people still worry about the poor deer. They think that the deer where here first and we need to "respect" the deer. But mankind has opened up the landscape in a manner that increases the deer herd. Deer like to live at the edge of the forest. The movement of houses on five-ten acre lots has opened the forest up which the deer prefer.

Tid bit. Raleigh, NC is in Wake county. Around 1900 most, like 95%, of the county was either farm field or town/city. There was no place for deer. Then the farms went away and by the 80-90's a large portion of the county was forest which will support some deer. I would guess now quite a bit of the forest is gone because of development. But if the development is 5-10 acre lots bambi likes it.

My wife has gone from Bambi lover to hater. She is tired of the deer eating deer salad, aka, Hostas. Much less her other plants. She has come storming into the house demanding the rifle.

I hope to do my part this year and remove some deer.

Later,
Dan