All of us in Jacksonville can relate to this wonderful short story by Ed Rose:
There are three deer on my front lawn sleeping in the shade of the redwood tree.
They’re probably resting up for their upcoming attack on my rose bushes.
Last spring in an attempt to deter their foraging,
I bought something at the store called (Liquid Fence?).
It was supposed to keep them away.
It wasn’t cheap, but if there is a way to bottle “stink”
they achieved the pinnacle of success. PHEW!
It really stunk!!!!
Photo by Paula Block
I dutifully sprayed it on all my rose bushes being very careful not to get any on me.
The next day one of the deer was munching away on my roses.
I wonder what the other members of the herd are saying about him.
“Whew! Stay away from Rudolph. His breath really stinks.”
Anyway, after six years, I have given up. There will be no more spray nor fences. (They broke down the last fence to get to my tomatoes.) I won’t even run outside brandishing a golf club and screaming like a maniac when they invade my property. If you live in Jacksonville, you learn to live with the deer. It just took me a while to accept it.
I plant other things in my yard for the deer to eat. By the time they get to my roses they have a full belly. They are nice to look at, but a pain when it comes to trying to have a nice looking garden/yard.
I enjoy the deer, but we have to admit they are seriously out of control. Not only do they eat and destroy my yard, the numbers are becoming overwhelming. I counted 10 the other day walking through my yard. Also, some are aggressive. One attacked my dog, and I’ve seen some stomp their feet while glaring at my 2 year old boy. These are becoming ‘domesticated deer’. So let’s find a solution to this problem. How about a re-location plan? Let’s get together and put up some suggestions.