Oh Dear, deer. A common sight in Camas is deer grazing in grassy meadows. This week, two of the beautiful creatures were eating breakfast in an empty lot near my home. It's something that is always a delightful surprise.
Mule deer, Black-tailed, and White-tailed deer are the three species of deer found in the area. The mule deer are the largest and adult bucks can weigh up to 250 pounds, adult does weigh between 120 to 170 pounds.
Deer are a familiar animal in the Pacific Northwest and they are often the largest wildlife that people encounter. Their beauty is appreciated and admired, but their fondness for garden and landscape plants can trying.
The Washington Department of Wildlife says deer often adapt to human activity and thereby become rather bold. There are some things you can do though, if the deer are testing your patience and destroying your crops.
1. Install Fencing
2. Mini Barriers. ( Fence or netting around specific plants or small areas)
3. Cattle Guards
4. Repellents.
Here's a recipe for a natural repellent from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
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An All-in-One Homemade Deer Repellent 1 cup milk, yogurt, buttermilk, or sour milk 2 tsp. Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper 20 drops essential oil of clove, cinnamon, or eucalyptus, found in small bottles at health food stores 1 tsp. cooking oil or dormant oil 1 tsp. liquid dish soap Top off the tank with water and pump it up. Shake the sprayer occasionally and mist onto dry foliage. One application will last for 2 to 4 weeks in dry weather. |
5. Scare tactics. ( A large dog, sprinkler systems tripped by motion, or auditory devices)
6. Landscape with deer resistant plants, shrubs and trees.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is available to work with commercial property owners who are having a conflict with deer. Oh Dear, deer in Camas, and other spots in Clark County, can try our patience at times. However, if we learn to co-exist in harmony with our local wildlife, the planet will be richer for it - and so will we.
Please enjoy this brief moment of Dear deer grazing in a meadow near my home in Camas. ( Note: no tripod used, so excuse a few little bumps.)
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