Vancouver Home Owner Tips:

Deer Gone Bad - The Terminator in Bambi's skin?!

I was watching ABC News yesterday morning and a story about the population numbers of deer in America caught my attention; in the 1930's there were about 300,000 deer...today there are over 30 million!?  YIKES!  Here's the video:

Deer on ABC News

Our house in Vancouver backs to a county owned greenbelt/wetland area in Felida (about 6 miles of land that wildlife live on) behind our house.  There are homes all along this greenbelt area.  This past Winter I saw a heard of about 8 large males with HUGE racks crossing the street...walking...nice and slow...as if they knew cars would stop and they have the right away...sure enough we all did stop and watched them slowly walk across.  Not a week goes by without seeing at least one deer in our yard; generally it's a doe with a fawn, but this year, she's has twins!  The babies are adorable and so small too!

I love my roses...and so do the deer!  My favorites are my silvers (light lavender color; very fragrant) which the deer love, but not as much as John's Mr. Lincoln's (the Blood Red Hybrid Teas) and those must be like chocolate to the deer because we rarely ever see them beyond a bud!  We have found a few ways to save some of the roses and without harming the deer or using chemicals:

1.  Chili powder.  Mix it up into a paste with water and brush it on those buds BEFORE they open.  Ok so the deer don't figure it out the first time and have a snack, and generally only will nip those buds off the first time.  However last year, we had to brush those roses more than once. 

2.  Lavender.  The deer don't like it so I planted it around my silvers and main rose garden and most of those were untouched.  I also cut the lavender after it had faded and spread that around the base of Johns roses...guess the deer forgot to check there, because they ate the roses anyway!

Ok, so I will admit it, when I saw those cute little baby deer, I didn't even shoo them away from my flowers or rose buds (no chili powder on those ones)...and I was a bit relieved when they munched down...John's roses and left mine!  I did however, get a little bit annoyed when they ate all my purple flowers down to ground...oh well, at least they left the roots! But I forgot to grab my camera and get a picture of the twins!

If you have an tried a method of keeping animals away from your flowers, I would love to hear from you! 

Contact Kathryn Alexander and John Slocum, Alexander ~ Slocum Team Realtors®, RE/MAX equity group, inc. Licensed Real Estate Agents and Realtors® in the State of Washington at 888-525-5528 ext 81 to list your property for sale or, to purchase a property in Vancouver, Camas - Washougal, Felida, Salmon Creek and the rest of Clark County Washington.  We're your friendly referable RE/MAX Realtors® in Vancouver Washington!

To View all Vancouver WA Homes & Real Estate For Sale click here and then click on the Vancouver Home Search options of your choice!  Our Expertise is knowing Vancouver and Clark County Washington and will help you get your home properly on the market and Sold if you need to Sell your home.  We'll help You Buy Your Vancouver Home!

Disclaimer: The information provided is from various sources and deemed reliable but subject to change without notice. 

PS -- Are you in a Must-Sell situation for your home in Vancouver Washington or Camas Washington?  Make certain you hire an agent team that will get your home priced right, work with you to get it Prepped and Staged, and deliver world-class marketing to get it Sold.  We are delivering successful Express Sale Packages.  Call us today at 360-281-4150 to find out more about your Vancouver Express Home Sale options.