What to Do About Deer

People unintentionally set the stage for conflicts with deer. We also hold the power to stop conflicts humanely. Wildlife habitat is increasingly engulfed by suburban sprawl, and white-tailed deer have not only adapted, but thrive in our altered landscapes. Short-cropped lawns and tasty flowers provide exactly the kind of food deer prefer. People often assume there are “too many deer” when they experience a conflict, yet the reality is that deer problems are not necessarily a function of their numbers. If there is only one deer in a community, she will still find her way to any and all tulip gardens, because deer love tulips.

Killing deer as a “solution” to conflicts with them is, at best, a short-term, inhumane, and ineffective approach. For communities, the best approach is to institute a comprehensive plan addressing each of the root causes of deer conflicts. The most promising way forward for most homeowners is a combination of techniques to modify landscapes so that deer will be less attracted to them.

• Tolerance is a good thing.
• Adjust what and where you plant.
• Good fences make good deer neighbors.
• Use netting, chicken wire, and hardware cloth.
• Apply a combination of repellents.
• Use scare tactics and devices.

Visit The Humane Society of the United States for details on these and other non-lethal strategies. With a little ingenuity and diligence, you will find that it really is possible to live near deer--and have your flowers and vegetables too.

How to Avoid Deer-Vehicle Collisions
While deer-vehicle collisions are best avoided, it is important to keep in mind that deer-vehicle collisions have not increased in Ann Arbor in over 10 years, and none of the collisions that have occurred have been fatal. Driver behavior, road design, and road conditions are all factors that influence the number of deer-vehicle collisions. Drivers can slow down, watch carefully, and be extra cautious at dusk and dawn and in the fall. Better signage will alert drivers to areas with frequent deer crossings. Fencing and clearing brush along roadsides deter deer and make them more visible when present.

Important Things to Know About Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is a serious, but treatable, health issue that is transmitted by the black-legged tick. Deer are one of many hosts that carry this tick. Other animals include mice, chipmunks, raccoons, squirrels, and many songbirds. It is important not to demonize deer and blame them for a tick that is carried across many species.

Killing deer will not reduce the risk of Lyme disease. There is no consistent correlation between the incidence of Lyme disease and deer population numbers. Lyme disease-carrying ticks (and other ticks) are found even in urban areas where no deer are present. Until an effective vaccine is developed for this disease, the most important thing people can do is practice diligence in wearing protective clothing, applying Deet insect repellent on socks and pant legs before venturing outdoors, and finding and removing any ticks on their bodies before infection can occur.
Research has shown that opossums eat thousands of ticks (of all varieties) and help keep tick numbers down, so consider yourself lucky if any live near you!

Deer Are Becoming Scapegoats for Larger Ecological Problems
Forests of today in no way represent historical conditions in this region, nor will they ever again, thanks to human influences. Forests are affected by many things: acid rain, insect damage, disease, forest fragmentation, pollutants, loss of soil fertility, animal browsing, invasive and other competing plant species, parasitic organisms, climatic and weather extremes, over-development... and deer.

Forests are ever-changing and there is no denying that deer influence our forests. However, the bottom line is that single-species management has never been a viable way to manage a multifaceted problem.

Deer Fertility Control
The Humane Society of the United States and other organizations have successfully used immuno-contraceptives and sterilization to reduce deer populations in areas where lethal management is not an option or is unpopular. Volunteers help offset costs and make fertility control a viable option. Fertility control reduces the numbers of births and leads to a decline in populations as older deer die off. By using a combination of methods that include reducing deer food sources and improving road and driver safety, the City of Ann Arbor can effectively manage and reduce deer-human conflicts without resorting to killing deer.