How Is Your Deer Population ?

[glennsteely]

Are you having a problem with deer up there? Last night I had one run out in front of my truck in a residential neighborhood. Here in New Jersey we are overpopulated, (people and wildlife) and the building is really taking its toll, sending creatures that want no more to do with us than we want with them, right into our backyards. It was always cool to see them out back at the Lake, but there is something funny about seeing one standing next to a grill and swingset......or in your headlights, in the rain, coming into the street at full speed, from behind a bmw parked in someones driveway.......

[madrasahs]

Funny you should ask.

Just Wednesday night at 8 PM, I was creeping along (30 in a 30 -- with a pickup truck on my bumper), when I rounded a corner and a limping deer appeared in my headlights! He was right in the middle of the road. I was nearly rear-ended by the pickup. :eek:

Flatlanders complain about NH's "low" speed limits, but I'm seeing the wisdom in them.

(Once, though, I encountered a wild boar while going to lunch in downtown Miami, Florida!)

A honk on the horn sent the deer limping into the woods.

(They don't seem to notice the car/headlights, but critters always run from the horn).

[dpg]

I just dunno, I have not had much luck hunting the past years in N.H. Leaving next Friday for the Adirondacks, now THERE'S a deer population. ;)

[glennsteely]

Right now we are in the middle of unlimited doe.......Bow hunting only. The deer here are large and well fed. They eat corn all summer and into fall, then it off to the races with soybeans. They are everywhere. I dont hunt, but I dont think anything is wrong with it, I just wish the state would pay as much attention to overpopulated areas and seasons, years, ect. as they do in conservation of the deer population in lean years. They are quick to call a stop or limit to hunting them, but not nearly as fast to call an open hunt for an overpopulated area. I guess it is the same old song, some politicians kid has to end up in traction from hitting a 165 pound doe right before Thanksgiving dinner in order for it to be important. Does car insurance pay for your car, and medical bills resulting from an accident with a deer ?

[ddemers]

We have no shrubs left!!!!!

[Gilligan]

With a high population of deer what does that mean for deer ticks? I thought the ticks died off in cold weather. Is that true? How about if they are living on a nice warm deer bod.

Birds fly south for the winter but the deer stay here. Better replace those shrubs so the deer have something to eat this winter.

I can't wait for the glowing deer that was introduce in another thread.

[LilacHill]

We have had no shortage of deer in the yard. They are bedding down behind the old shack out back. I really LOVE it when the dogs find their, um, deposits and roll happily in them. Gross.

[pmj]

On Friday I was heading to work south on Rte 28 from the Alton traffic circle (or oval in actuality) when a doe, followed by a fawn ran right across my path. I was able to stop safely when the daddy in full rack attempted to cross but changed his mind and waited for me to pass. I had never seen a buck...it was pretty cool, however just a few seconds earlier and it may not have been such a pretty site :(

pmj

[glennsteely]

Yes, not a pretty site, they really cause damage to a car......A buddy of mine at work lost his sister in a crash with a large buck in extreme south Jersey......

[Rose]

I've pulled two deer ticks off my Golden since we had our first killing frost. I've found it's best to be prudent through November.

[Grant]

You want to see a deer problem? Come on down to PA, and I'll show you. We have the worst deer issues in the nation -- bar none. I see a minimum of eight to ten deer a day during my commute through suburban Philadelphia -- and often upwards of 20 or more -- ALL DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO ROADS. Down here, they are as common as squirrels, and HUNDREDS live within the city limits of Philadelphia. And now that we are at the peak of the annual rut, they are hormone-charged, and even more oblivious than usual to the dangers posed by roads.

The problem is entirely man-made, and solutions are man-inhibited. Suburban sprawl has cornered the deer populations in small and small patches of woods and into the larger state parks. With the changing demographics in the townships comes the inevitable changes in hunting regulations (people in McMansions don't want hunters killing Bambi in their back yards, but they also don't want Bambi and his 300 relatives munchin on their ornamental shrubs, either!).

We've had a problem in Fairmount Park down here for years. Finally, after much hand-wringing and legal wrangling, the decision was made to stage a "controlled hunt," in which marksmen were hired to thin the herd (which was estimated to be MANY times larger than the park could sustain). Of course, the PETA crowd shows up, and attempts to thwart the hunt. They do it everywhere around here. Idiots -- they'd rather see the deer get picked off by SUVs or starve due to lack of vegetation.

We also have a HUGE deer tick problem down here (and, hence, a lyme disease problem as well). Found one in my truck the other day after running my dog in the park (another park LOADED with white tails -- I think we saw ten to twelve on our 3-mile run).

Historic Valley Forge park, about a half hour from here, has herds that are beyond description. You can drive through the park at rush hour and see -- no kidding -- hundreds of grazing deer. Groups of 20-30-40-50 EVERYWHERE...every day. And there is NO WAY to control the population. Can't hunt them...can't relocate them. Unreal.

And don't get me started on our Canada Goose problem. Let's just say that if you ever seen one in Winnipesaukee, chase it off, scare it, whatever. I would say "kill the damn thing immediately," but that would not be PC. Nearly all of our local lakes and reservoirs down here in SE PA have been rendered un-swimmable by goose dookie. They thrive on business campuses, golf courses, parks, farms -- everywhere! Again, they are ubiquitous and prolific -- reproducing at alarming rates, and there is no "legal" way to control them.

Sorry for the long rant.

[glennsteely]

Grant, I have been waiting for a response like that. I am suprised that more people arent p.o.'d about the number of deer in our area. I saw a pack of about 10 this morning on Almonessin road in Deptford on the way to work. I got a call at ten o'clock last night that my neice hit one on rt. 206 in Shamong twp. It is insane. My brother and I bought a house in the Poconos last fall, Arrowhead lakes, and rt. 80 up there is a killing zone. On our way to Home Depot in Stroudsburg last year, I am telling you, we saw 50 dead deer on the highway in 15 miles of driving. Just about every weekend we are going north, and see them all the way up, the whole trip. From the start of the northeast extention to our front door. Even in our developement, in the Poconos, it is not uncommon to see 10 or 12 in our front yard, 3 or 4 times a day ! I am very suprised about the growing number of them in New Jersey. When I was a kid, it was a treat to see a deer while riding in a car, now, my two year old points them out to me. "Look Dada, DEEEEEEER!" It is scary.

[madrasahs]

We have had no shortage of deer in the yard. They are bedding down behind the old shack out back. I really LOVE it when the dogs find their, um, deposits and roll happily in them. Gross.

All of my freshly-washed dogs liked to roll on stinky dead earthworms (no deer around). I puzzled over this for a long time until I thought about the survival benefit.

All domestic dogs descended from a long line of wolf-like predators. Why would the predator want to smell like deer poop?

Prey animals (deer, gazelles) have marginal eyesight, but make up for it with excellent hearing and smell. (They swivel their ears and work their noses when "things aren't right").

If the predator was slowly stalking its prey, smelling like deer poop would be a distinct advantage in survival -- especially in shifting wind circumstances. This behavior of dogs must be hard-wired in them from The Ages.

Now I wonder what manufacturers of deer-scent really put in those bottles of scent that deer hunters buy for themselves?

[T.H.E. Binz]

You don't know how lucky you are in the Lakes Region (except for Long Island) - deer are considered one step above rats here in southeast Pennsylvania. My township is conducting a special hunt in a few weeks in which the state game regulators are waiving all the rules - you can get permission to shoot in your backyard or your neighbor's backyard (well, not really, there are some limitations)

You won't find anyone who hasn't hit a deer with their car around here. The insurance companies are even conducting sterilization research projects in an effort to reduce the deer population. You can forgot having a vegetable garden or shrubbery unless you erect a nine-foot fence.

We have tried all the home remedies like diesel fuel on wood, dogs, commercial repellent - if it's a harsh winter these critters will eat just about anything!