OH, you just have to love our "deer" wildlife!

[steelnut]

First time ever in the spring, the deer got really hungry Wednesday night and ate my tulips, crocus and daffodils off right down to the ground!

I have to use the stinky spray all summer to keep them away and for years we've had an electric fence around the veggie garden. I couldn't believe what I saw they did in all of the flower beds. I love critters, but darn it!!! 

[Petee]

Sorry, they were in the mood for something different!

[lavender]

If they ate enough of those daffs they are going to get at the least a stomachache and maybe dead. Daffs are usually deer proof as they are poisonous.  Tulips and crocus are deer candy. We've had an elk in the yard. I'm expecting real trouble this summer. 

[steelnut]

9 minutes ago, lavender said:

If they ate enough of those daffs they are going to get at the least a stomachache and maybe dead. Daffs are usually deer proof as they are poisonous.  Tulips and crocus are deer candy. We've had an elk in the yard. I'm expecting real trouble this summer. 

They ate them all right down to the ground, I was just shocked. OMG, I don't want any elk here, fighting with the deer is bad enough. 

 

[lavender]

I don't want them either but I'm not sure what we can do about it. No fence is going to keep them out. There is a farm above us and they have permission to shoot them as they are out of the area where they were supposed to be confined. My guess is that strayed or not the Game Commission isn't  going to let us shoot them. 

[Petee]

The Game Commission keeps track of them, particularly when they are reported near I-80.  Can you imagine hitting one of them at 70 miles an hour?  When the Elk hunting season is done, they will have unsuccessful hunters go to the area to get rid of the roamers.

This is why I will be finishing my electric fence now that the weather is cooperating.  The dogs will stay in and the elk, bear and deer will be convinced to stay out!

[steelnut]

On 4/13/2018 at 10:43 PM, Petee said:

The Game Commission keeps track of them, particularly when they are reported near I-80.  Can you imagine hitting one of them at 70 miles an hour?  When the Elk hunting season is done, they will have unsuccessful hunters go to the area to get rid of the roamers.

This is why I will be finishing my electric fence now that the weather is cooperating.  The dogs will stay in and the elk, bear and deer will be convinced to stay out!

We've had an electric fence for 21 years now because of the deer. But, many times they have jumped it and got tangled in the wire. No harm to the deer, but damage to the garden. If elk were to come around, I honestly don't think any electric fence will stop them. We have bear too, but they've never bothered the garden. Hubby uses the trail cam a lot.

[Sanibel]

I checked my daffodils Saturday. The deer ate them all but 3 buds! 

[lavender]

You folks have some really desperate deer. According to Poison Control:

All parts of the daffodil contain a toxic chemical, lycorine. The part of the plant that contains the highest concentration of lycorine is the bulb. However, eating any part of the plant can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. These symptoms usually last about 3 hours. More severe problems such as low blood pressure, drowsiness, and damage to the liver have been reported in animals that ate very large amounts of the plant but have never been reported in humans.

The bulb also contains chemicals called oxalates, which are microscopic and needle-like. When swallowed, oxalates cause severe burning and irritation of the lips, tongue, and throat. They can also cause skin irritation.

[Petee]

Young deer are like young kids, they will eat anything till they learn that it gives them a belly ache.  Older deer will tend to avoid the stuff that they know gives them a hangover, but again, like adult humans, sometimes they lack the common sense factor in favor of a quick snack.

[steelnut]

21 hours ago, lavender said:

You folks have some really desperate deer. According to Poison Control:

All parts of the daffodil contain a toxic chemical, lycorine. The part of the plant that contains the highest concentration of lycorine is the bulb. However, eating any part of the plant can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. These symptoms usually last about 3 hours. More severe problems such as low blood pressure, drowsiness, and damage to the liver have been reported in animals that ate very large amounts of the plant but have never been reported in humans.

The bulb also contains chemicals called oxalates, which are microscopic and needle-like. When swallowed, oxalates cause severe burning and irritation of the lips, tongue, and throat. They can also cause skin irritation.

I know it's crazy! We've been here over 30 years and it's the first time that it's happened.

[Sunshyn]

We have Deer and Groundhogs. This will be the first year attempting a garden since we moved here. Any pointers on how to keep both out? We are thinking chicken wire fencing. Would that be enough?

[steelnut]

24 minutes ago, Sunshyn said:

We have Deer and Groundhogs. This will be the first year attempting a garden since we moved here. Any pointers on how to keep both out? We are thinking chicken wire fencing. Would that be enough?

I can only speak for our experience. We have to have an electric fence or it's no veggie garden. I diligently spray the flower beds with Liquid Fence constantly in order to enjoy the flowers. The only problem is if it rains then you have to make sure to get them sprayed again right away. Or when it rains days in a row, it's not good....and it stinks SO bad. We went away for four days two years ago in the middle of summer and had our son spray the flower beds and he was throwing up while doing it, lol!

[lavender]

Shoot the groundhogs or get a dog that hates them. Invite all of the hunters you can find to join you during deer season. 

Deer can jump at least 7 feet. Anything less and I've seen them go over it from a standing start. Groundhogs will dig under a fence that isn't buried. They also climb. Saw one up a tree once and thought I was hallucinating. There is only one permanent solution. 

[Sunshyn]

37 minutes ago, lavender said:

Shoot the groundhogs or get a dog that hates them. Invite all of the hunters you can find to join you during deer season. 

Deer can jump at least 7 feet. Anything less and I've seen them go over it from a standing start. Groundhogs will dig under a fence that isn't buried. They also climb. Saw one up a tree once and thought I was hallucinating. There is only one permanent solution. 

I would love to shoot them. However I live in Reynoldsville Borough. Like almost downtown. But close enough to the woods that I get the wildlife. Is it legal to shoot the groundhogs? I know I can't shoot the deer in my yard, they like to eat out of the neighbors 6 birdfeeders. That's why they are around

[lavender]

You will have to check on whether you are allowed to fire a gun close to the city. As for the game laws I'm fairly sure that you need to have a hunting license to shoot groundhogs. Maybe one of the hunters on here could further enlighten you. On anything further I'm taking the 5th. 

[Petee]

You can find the groundhog hole and make them evacuate it by making a mixture of raw liver, (the bloodier the better) eggs and milk.  Put it in a sealable jar, loosen the lid slightly and set it in the sun for a few days to rot.  

You can pour some of it down a groundhog hole (be sure to get all entrances) and they will not re-enter.  You can also use that same mixture to put small lids of it around your garden.  The more the merrier.  Put it under a piece of small fencing so no one steps in it, and you can cover it while you're working in the garden so you can't smell it.  Send your hubby out at night to mark his territory right outside of the garden.  If the animals think something has died there, they will be less likely to hang out long enough to eat.

[Bon]

Why raw liver? Can any other meat be used, like hamburger that has gone bad?? 

[Petee]

I suppose you could use any meat, but I wanted to go with the grossest smelling evil I could dream up.  It was maddening to go to the round bed at Charlie's Alternators and find that the rat had even undermined the bathtub!  We tried everything including the smoke bombs but nothing worked till I read about making the burrow uninhabitable with some sort of an expensive spray.   I made my own and it worked great!

[steelnut]

Update on the deer this spring eating daffodils. I had an early morning hair appointment and I was telling the ladies how they ate my crocus, tulips and daffs. Another customer heard me and said that she and all of her neighbors had the same thing happen. How weird?  

[Sunshyn]

Came home yesterday to find the ground hogs are starting to dig under the garage. They try this every year, I don't know why. So I went to find where their den is and located all the holes. Next will be to make up a stinky brew to try to get them to go elsewhere 

[Petee]

They are making holes to raise their young.  I wouldn't wait long to dump the stench!

[lavender]

20 hours ago, steelnut said:

Update on the deer this spring eating daffodils. I had an early morning hair appointment and I was telling the ladies how they ate my crocus, tulips and daffs. Another customer heard me and said that she and all of her neighbors had the same thing happen. How weird?  

Me too. Someone else told me the same thing. I don't know what is going on. I can speculate that since we have had such a late spring they are desperate for something green having subsisted on browse all winter. Animals eat by instinct mostly. They eat my irises and daylilies off every spring. They don't bother them the rest of the year except for eating the flower buds off the daylilies. I guess they are eating the few green things out there despite the stomach ache that results. They also will eat rhododendrons if they get desperate enough in the winter. 

[Petee]

The deer are looking for browse which is primarily twigs and weeds but will diversify as different seasons and their metabolic needs change.  I think they instinctively avoid grass because of the prions.  Like the birds, for which spring is a hunger season, it may well be for the deer also, and that may be why they choose to eat daffodils when it's not in their normal diet.

http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/land-management/whitetail-101-what-do-deer-eat/