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Post by nana on Jul 24, 2020 11:21:02 GMT -5
I recently heard about the fact that deer have poor depth perception and are easily flustered by two fences, about 3-4 feet apart. They don’t even have to be that high, or heavy duty. They can jump high over one thing, but don’t want to risk a broad jump, or risk jumping into the space between and not being able to have enough room to jump back out. Has anyone had any experience with this? It sounds almost too good to be true!
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Post by mach12 on Jul 24, 2020 12:38:22 GMT -5
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Post by vaporvac on Jul 24, 2020 14:55:00 GMT -5
I'll write more later, but it does work Nana. I report on all the methods I've tried and their varying success then.
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Post by nana on Jul 25, 2020 7:22:54 GMT -5
Mach12, I looked at that motion detector sprinkler, and while I think it would be effective, I also think my cats would conspire together to kill me if I got one!
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Post by vaporvac on Jul 25, 2020 22:32:10 GMT -5
Ha!!! Yes, I've use that too and it does work except with the babies who scoot right underneath.")
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Post by dwayner2 on Jul 25, 2020 23:14:28 GMT -5
Nana, this is similar to what your describing. My neighbor set it up 7 years ago around his garden and says they have never crossed it, and we have a LOT of Whitetail deer in my area. It’s for deterring GRAZING Deer, not spooked deer trying to escape something. You run 1 hot elect wire 18” off the ground first. Then move back 3’ towards your yard/garden and put another fence with only 2 wires, one 10” off the ground and another wire 24” from the ground. It says they’re distance or depth perception leaves them confused so they don’t cross the 3-wire barrier. Below is a site that describes the setup. PS- I’ve read that the sprinklers with motion detection sometimes work great at first but then they get used to them and just trot right thru the sprinkler. But, if it works, it works! www.uaex.edu/publications/FSA9111.pdf
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Post by dwayner2 on Jul 25, 2020 23:30:21 GMT -5
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Post by vaporvac on Jul 26, 2020 10:16:37 GMT -5
Those are good links. Yes, the scarecrow works, but the problem is it needs to be in an area with a narrow entrance. I used it to stop them coming on my upper level until I put a fence there. Around the perimeter I've tried various things many of which will work for grazing, as dwayner mentions, but not when they are scrambling to escape. They'll plow through anything then. If it's one fence it must be at least 7' tall unless it has a hedge of some sort in front of it that they can't see beyond. The fishing line fence was a total bust for the perimeter and small areas, but that could just be because my deer were used to foaling on the lower level and were/are VERY determined to get on my property. Double fencing has worked 100%, but do not think that there is any area where it won't be necessary until you have shrubbery there. Mine have plowed through the metal fencing breaking the wooden supports in the process where I thought they wouldn't have enough space to jump. They just came in at an angle. One interesting method I haven't tried, but would like to since my double fence is such an eyesore, is the angled fence. I'll try to find my bookmark for it. It sort of combines the concept of the depth perception with a single angled fence. Sprays work, but with so much rain it's a huge time commitment even for just one bed. I made my own for a while. A good dog is probably the best repellent.
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Post by nana on Jul 26, 2020 11:11:50 GMT -5
A good dog or a hunter with a good rifle. What irritates me and my daughter the most is we live in an area where every square foot in the wild is literally covered right now with deer food, yet they will come right into our yards and prance around nipping off the lily buds, denuding the hostas and whatever else we were waiting to see bloom and grow. I might forgive them if they were suffering from hunger. Last year they came up to the raised bed right by my house and pulled up almost all my carrots. They didn’t even EAT the carrots, just yanked a mouthful of greens off the top and whoops, the carrots came with. They were probably saying to each other Gee, that wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Let me try some more.
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Post by vaporvac on Jul 26, 2020 11:16:34 GMT -5
You're hilarious, nana. I originally had pity on mine as their prior home was developed for housing and all semblance of wild removed. They focus on my roses, which I call deer crack, especially the buds and emerging succulent foliage.
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Post by dwayner2 on Jul 26, 2020 21:13:37 GMT -5
I read somewhere that only 17% of a Deer’s diet is grass. They try to forage on as much a variety as they can find. My neighbor said recently that the Spring season is bad because the babies are out trying everything they can AND the dry Summers around here because your yard is the only thing green due to us watering. I’m with Vaporvac... a bag of corn as bait, couple of beers and a 30-30 rifle! 🤨👍
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Post by pooka on Jul 27, 2020 1:39:07 GMT -5
There was a TV show a few years ago that was about the only reality show I could stomach. It was called "Chasing Tail". It was about a group of urban bow hunters who would get written permission to hunt deer in a wealthy Connecticut suburb. Some places allow bow hunting within city limits. Especially areas that are overpopulated with game. Since deer don't have any natural predators in the wild in most areas of America largely, hunters are the only check on the population.
There's a park on the banks of the Wabash 25 miles northwest of me called Harmonie State Park. Some years ago it had become so over run with deer, it became a favored place to park, & watch the near tame herds roam around. There were so many, they'd mow the ground bare, & browsed the trees up as high as they could reach. They were stressed from malnutrition. They finally brought in professional hunters to cull the numbers down to a manageable size. People howled their disapproval. How could we murder these sweet adorable pets. So many don't seem to understand the idea that we must manage things like deer, or their numbers explode & overgraze the area, including your gardens, plus they'll kill you on the roadways they cross in their wanderings.
I've not seen any in my neighborhood, but I know they are at least close by. There's a creek just a couple blocks north of me that I know they follow the green areas along it's banks. My cousin an avid hunter has talked about hunting the area, but has never got a chance.
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Post by Chuckie on Jul 27, 2020 5:53:30 GMT -5
There was a TV show a few years ago that was about the only reality show I could stomach. It was called "Chasing Tail". It was about a group of urban bow hunters who would get written permission to hunt deer in a wealthy Connecticut suburb. Some places allow bow hunting within city limits. Especially areas that are overpopulated with game. Since deer don't have any natural predators in the wild in most areas of America largely, hunters are the only check on the population. There's a park on the banks of the Wabash 25 miles northwest of me called Harmonie State Park. Some years ago it had become so over run with deer, it became a favored place to park, & watch the near tame herds roam around. There were so many, they'd mow the ground bare, & browsed the trees up as high as they could reach. They were stressed from malnutrition. They finally brought in professional hunters to cull the numbers down to a manageable size. People howled their disapproval. How could we murder these sweet adorable pets. So many don't seem to understand the idea that we must manage things like deer, or their numbers explode & overgraze the area, including your gardens, plus they'll kill you on the roadways they cross in their wanderings. I've not seen any in my neighborhood, but I know they are at least close by. There's a creek just a couple blocks north of me that I know they follow the green areas along it's banks. My cousin an avid hunter has talked about hunting the area, but has never got a chance. I read SOMEWHERE a few years ago that there are MORE DEER in the United States than when the FIRST 'white men' stepped foot on the continent many centuries ago, and I believe it!!! I remember it was a B-I-G deal when I was a kid and actually "saw" a deer!! Show-n-tell material to be sure, same with GEESE!! Now QUITE the opposite!! And like a LOT of other things nowadays, the changes to Mother Nature are of our own doing--or should I say UNdoing!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by dwayner2 on Jul 27, 2020 7:54:38 GMT -5
I heard something similar years back about a some national battlefield park. The deer were so over populated because no hunting was allowed and the population was inbred and starving for food. So, the government finally paid someone to either hunt them or maybe catch and release elsewhere. Many people don’t understand that much of the money hunters pay for their license goes to manage and monitor our wildlife and improve their populations and survival.
Our family has always hunted for food, NEVER for sport. Killing an animal for its horns or just to have it mounted on your wall might be OK but NOT if they throw away the meat or endanger the population of the animal. I for one am against game ranches where they breed deer for the largest rack, kill off the does if too many and then darn near tie a trophy buck to a tree so a rich A-hole can come pay $5000 to shoot it and brag “Look what I shot!”. That my friends is not hunting! 😡
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Post by pooka on Jul 27, 2020 11:22:28 GMT -5
The 240 acre Wesselman Woods, right here within the city had a controlled hunt last year to reduce the deer. It's an ongoing thing. Many years ago, there were reported sightings of an albino white tail spotted in the woods. That's a sure sign of inbreeding. They ordered a controlled hunt back then too. Controlled deer hunt in Wesselman Woods approved by boardUnfortunately, deer hunting ranches are a way to monetize our wildlife. They cater to hunters too lazy or well heeled to hunt the old fashioned way. There will always be some who want a guaranteed trophy, & have the money to get it.
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Post by nana on Jul 28, 2020 11:47:31 GMT -5
Disapproval of hunting is inversely proportional to the amount of contact one has with actual deer, I find. I grew up in New York City, and my experience with deer was through watching Bambi, therefore hunters were the bad guys. When I was a kid spending summers at my family’s camp in Vermont, the land around the lake was still mostly open farmland, and a deer sighting was like Chuckie said—a B-I-G deal. Small family farms had only begun their long slow decline back then, but that accelerated, and as more fields started getting overgrown with shrubs and second growth forest, it created that perfect edge habitat that deer seem to love. Couple that with fewer hunters and easier winters and you get what we have now, a glut of deer who aren’t afraid of people except for a few weeks in the fall. A lot of the does I’ve seen this year had twin fawns with them. Oh brother, more mouths to feed! Nowadays, I would happily invite hunters to sit on my back deck and shoot at the deer in comfort, maybe even making them trays of snacks and mugs of hot cocoa.
They are pretty, though. Just not in my garden!
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Post by vaporvac on Jul 28, 2020 12:30:01 GMT -5
That's what always foaled in my yard... twins! I thought I was seeing double, but it's apparently a "thing" during times of plenty. I'm glad my yard was contributing to their well-being. NOT!!! Of course, they couldn't eat anything useful that I was trying to eradicate. Now there's the horrible disease introduced so I imagine their numbers will fall, but then hunters can't eat the venison.
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Post by nana on Jul 29, 2020 17:27:09 GMT -5
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Post by vaporvac on Jul 30, 2020 16:07:28 GMT -5
I'm bookmarking that one! Brilliant!:0 You should try the goosefoot. We grew up eating it... delicious!!! Now my stupid ground hog eats it first. : ((
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Post by dwayner2 on Jul 31, 2020 0:08:39 GMT -5
Chuckie said Deer don’t eat Asparagus either because it makes their urine stink....and us humans as well.
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Post by mach12 on Jul 31, 2020 12:22:17 GMT -5
I thought I posted about hunting in Germany but don't see a post on it so must have changed my mind - as in, I was given a honey-do or something along those lines.
I have a friend in Bamberg who is originally from Anniston, AL and he hunts in Germany. He has a restaurant there and is famous for his venison dishes. He always said he just cooked it the way he learned growing up.
To hunt in Germany, at least in that part of Bavaria, you have to take all kinds of expensive classes from gun training to safe food handling. And have at least three different kinds of insurance. The herds are managed by an appointed individual and when you go out hunting he points to the deer and tells you which ones you can shoot. The meat has been purchased, so all the hunter gets is the trophy. In Buddy's case, he has purchased the meat and is harvesting what he purchased and does all of his own butchering, which is one of the things he says makes his venison as good as it is. For most regular hunters it's so expensive that it's pretty much a rich man's sport. I went out "hunting" with Buddy a few times and it seemed pretty pointless other than that he was harvesting the meat for his business. I used to be an avid hunter until WA State was discovered and the population went crazy and there started being more hunters being shot than game animals. I did several combat tours and felt safer than when I was out hunting - and I'm pretty sure I wasn't allowed to shoot back.
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Post by nana on Aug 2, 2020 10:33:46 GMT -5
I'm bookmarking that one! Brilliant!:0 You should try the goosefoot. We grew up eating it... delicious!!! Now my stupid ground hog eats it first. : (( I have tried the goosefoot, because I love getting things for free, but to me it’s just kind of blah. I can jazz it up with garlic and other seasonings, but then I may as well be eating the spinach or Swiss chard that I’m growing in the beds I’m weeding the goosefoot out of! It’s like the purslane that grows in those big mats. People rave about how wonderful it is, but to me it just tastes like green something, no particular flavor. A friend of mine got really big into foraging this spring (her pandemic pastime, you might say!) and she’s eaten everything from the common things like ramps and fiddleheads to milkweed and daylily buds. To each his own!
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