Hello, fellow nature lovers! Today let’s dive into the fascinating world of our quiet neighbors – deer. You might have spotted them in your yard or nearby woods, exuding an aura of serenity and grace. But what exactly should you do if you find these lovely creatures prancing around your backyard? How can they impact your home environment? Let’s explore together!
Who Are These Uninvited Guests?
Deer are one of those animals that are always welcomed yet uninvited guests in our yards. There are numerous species of deer, but the most common ones found in North American yards include the white-tailed deer and mule deer.
These creatures are a sight to behold, with their large doe eyes and powerful legs designed for quick sprints and high jumps. Despite their innocent look, they can sometimes cause quite a ruckus in your yard as they go about searching for food.
Why Are They Here?
Now, before we get into any hard feelings towards these animals invading our private space, it’s essential to understand why they’re here in the first place.
Urbanization has significantly diminished their natural habitats. As forests shrink and become fragmented due to human activities like construction or farming, deer populations often move closer to human residences.
Additionally, suburban yards offer an abundant source of food for these herbivorous creatures. From lush grasslands to delicious flower beds and vegetable gardens — everything acts as a magnet for hungry deer.
Deer Are Looking For Food In Your Yard
If you live in a region where there are deer, you can expect them to be frequent visitors to your yard, especially if it’s rich with enticing edibles. Deer are herbivores and their diet mainly consists of plant matter. In your yard, they might feed on lush green grass, fruits from trees such as apples or pears and maybe even the vegetables from your garden like beans or peas. Their menu also includes various shrubs and leaves of different trees. During winter when other food supplies get scarce, they might resort to eating tree bark.
See our list of foods deer eat to learn which foods they like and don’t like.
The Impact on Your Yard
While it’s charming to see a family of deer making themselves comfortable in your garden while you sip on your morning coffee, things can quickly take an ugly turn when they begin chomping down on your carefully planted flowers or vegetables!
Your landscaping trees also aren’t safe from harm; bucks often rub their antlers against tree trunks during mating season causing damage. And then there’s the risk associated with tick-born diseases such as Lyme disease which can be transmitted by ticks living on these deer.
On top of all this is the potential threat some male deer (bucks) may pose during rutting season – which is essentially their mating season – where they might act aggressively if felt threatened.
Deer-Proofing Your Backyard
To protect your yard from becoming a free-for-all buffet for wandering deer herds:
- Fencing: One effective way is setting up fences tall enough that a typical deer wouldn’t jump over it (around eight feet). However, local regulations may limit fence heights.
- Plant choices: Opting for plants less appealing to deer like lavender or marigolds might deter them somewhat.
- Repellents: Both commercial and homemade repellents — ranging from garlic clips hung around plant boundaries to sprays made from eggs and water — have been reported as effective.
- Scare Tactics: Devices that emit sounds or motion-activated sprinklers could startle the deer away but remember that adaptable creatures may soon get used to them.
- Predator Urine: Purchasing predator urine such as coyotes’ can mark out territories scaring off not just dears but other unwanted critters too.
It’s important though not to forget that coexistence is key here since we humans were actually responsible for infringing upon their natural territory first.
Appreciating Their Beauty
Despite all these challenges presented by having deer around your home area; nothing beats being able to sit back with a hot cuppa’ joe watching these beautiful creatures interact with each other especially during fawning season!
Being able to witness such intimate aspects of nature right at our doorstep without having step foot outside truly is something worth cherishing despite a few hiccups along way!
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