GARDENING - Entrepreneurs dream up repellents to stop Bambi from eating suburbs

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Entrepreneurs dream up repellents to stop Bambi from eating suburbs

©2001, The Wall Street Journal /MSNBC, by Cynthia Crossen Aug. 21 — Now that your fantasies of becoming a dot-com millionaire have faded, consider the deer.

DEPENDING ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW, deer are either graceful woodland creatures or rats on stilts. In recent years they have inspired scores of entrepreneurs to tackle the problem of keeping them out of America’s gardens, farms, orchards, public parks and nurseries.

A device called Deer Gard Pro, for example, uses a recording of a pack of vicious barking dogs played through two speakers, creating the illusion that the animals are running through the area. A Maine company called LegUp Enterprises sells the urine of predators — fox, coyote, wolf — to be sprinkled as a deterrent. And while no one in the deer-repellent industry claims 100% success, some report double-digit profits and skyrocketing sales.

In the past century, America’s deer population has soared at least 30-fold, to more than 15 million from 500,000. The deer’s traditional predators — human hunters and wild animals — have thinned in number while home builders have steadily encroached on the deer’s habitats. The result is a never-ending war between the extremely adaptable animal and the humans who tenderly nurture delicious, nutritious plants.

Dennis Mathiasen, a computer-network administrator who lives outside Utica, N.Y., says he has a resident herd of about a dozen deer that have mangled almost everything he has planted. This year, he surrounded his entire house and garden with 500 feet of nylon netting. “The deer around here are so tame that when I want to chase them away, I literally have to charge them,” he says. “They run for a few feet and then turn around and look at me like, ‘What was that all about?’ ”

In West Kingston, R.I., Howland Green, a landscape designer, was installing $30,000 gardens and watching them disappear overnight. “The damage got so bad that my customers started saying, ‘Why bother planting a garden? The deer are just going to eat it,’ ” says Mr. Green. “They were costing me a fortune, and I had to do something about it.”

Mr. Green began a five-year quest for a deer repellent that was effective, long-lasting and organic. His biggest challenge was the animal’s adaptability, second only, in different people’s opinions, to dogs or rats. If hungry enough, deer can tolerate just about any taste or smell, however foul. (It’s illegal to poison deer, although starving deer have been known to eat poisonous plants.)

Mr. Green started mixing an existing repellent called Deer Away, which is made of putrefied egg-white solids, with other bitter, hot or malodorous ingredients: chili peppers, garlic juice, chlorine and a solution called Bitterguard that is used to keep children from biting their fingernails.

Another challenge for the deer-repellent entrepreneur is finding residential testing sites that can be used over a period of years. Fortunately, Mr. Green had the use of his customers’ gardens. “I can’t tell you how many customers’ plants were trashed while I trial-and-errored this,” he says.

Indeed, in his first year of experimenting, Mr. Green says, “I thought I had invented this fantastic thing.” The next year, “the deer started eating the stuff the day we sprayed.” Hundreds of vats of chemicals later, Mr. Green pronounced his North American Deer and Rabbit Proofing a success — or as much a success as anyone in the deer business claims. “No matter how strong it is, deer will eventually get used to the taste,” he says.

Under Mr. Green’s program, a landscape is sprayed three times a year — in the fall, winter and early spring — each time with a different formula. The products are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, indicating the agency deems them safe. Although Mr. Green’s mixtures are available at some retail outlets, they are primarily sold through a network of professional sprayers. Business is booming. He estimates that his network already has some 8,000 customers without any advertising except a Web site.

In fact, Mr. Green says he learned that one member of his network in Connecticut was charging customers $750 per spraying — 10 times the usual rate. He confronted the sprayer, who replied, “But my customers are willing to pay it.”

Still, many people won’t use liquid deer repellents. Some have found them ineffective. Others feel it’s a bother to reapply them after rain, or don’t like the idea of anything other than water touching their plants. For these people, “fence or share” is the motto. In many communities, however, fences high enough to prevent deer from jumping over — at least eight feet — are frowned upon, if not illegal.

So other deer-fighting solutions have appeared. There are propane cannons that are programmed to fire at irregular intervals. There are nurseries specializing in deer-resistant plants, such as the small one in Clare, Mich., run by Dave Jensen, a marketing consultant. “I started it out of frustration,” says Mr. Jensen. “I’d be looking through nursery catalogs and realizing I couldn’t order 90% of the plants because the deer would just eat them.”

In Santa Margarita, Calif., Bert Wilson, who owns the Las Pilitas nursery, connected a motion detector in his compound to an intercom in his bedroom so he was awakened when deer got close. Then, he says, he would run out into his garden in his underwear screeching at the deer to get away. But the deer were so bold, he says, that sometimes they “wouldn’t run from a 12-gauge shotgun pointed right at them.”

Joan Sisolak, a Brookfield, Wis., gardener, soaked cotton balls in fox urine and put them around her rose bushes. She and her husband also erected an elaborate system of poles and mesh. “It’s a pain,” she says. “You have to remove them to weed or fertilize, and it looks like a concentration camp.”

Like some other towns with deer problems, Brookfield has decided to hire a sharpshooter to thin the herd by at least 250. But most people with deer problems will continue to fight them individually. Mr. Green, who is enjoying his second year of profitability, isn’t worried about competition. “If someone comes up with a better product than mine,” he says, “I’ll use it.”

Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

Answers

They are beautiful creatures, but I know our metroparks are overpopulated with them and they run into peoples homes,or plate glas, poor things...any way the big stink here is on certain weeks sharpshooters "take out" 300 deer at a time. so sad, and it's sad that they have no food , no land anymore...so I have to not think about it, ...it breaks my heart. When we ride through the parks on the horses, we see deer all over the place.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001

We were having problems for years living in our rural community. Even with the annual hunting the numbers would continue to explode again every fall.

Three years ago I installed a different type of electric fence. I watched how the deers would smell their way around my property nose first and got an interesting idea. First I used Post-ups for the support and purchased colonial deck ballisters to match the house. I spaced these every twentyfive feet around the perimeter of the back of the house where my fruit trees, grapes and garden are located. I then used three lines of 16awg wire (almost invisible) for the insulated fence wire. Finally, I ordered from Jade Mountain (www.jademountain.com) a solar powered low impedance electric fence unit.

The first night when we went to bed my wife and I had the window open and we heard the most incredible ruckus from a very frustrated buck. We were laughing hysterically for about two nights. Each day I went out and fixed where the buck had done damage to the fence. Finally after about a week the deer stopped trying to enter our rear property and bypassed our house via our side woodlands.

I believe the moral to this story is that deer will leap over a fence that they see as an obstacle. If they can't see the fence they are unable to judge the obstacle in front of them hence they sniff at the wires and sparky does the rest.

Sadly I now have a groundhog problem. They know where the wires are and just crawl under. I have had every peach tree decimated by them this year. My other problem is that the wife thinks they are cute (and they are), but six now hippo size hogs have got to go. I'm up for any recipe suggestions.

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2001


This might help:

Woodchucks--Habits and Control

The woodchuck, or groundhog (also known as the whistle pig), is a member of the squirrel family. It has a compact, hefty body, short, strong legs with long, curved claws on the forefeet for digging and a short tail. It is heavily furred and dark brown in color, weighs from five to ten pounds and is 16 to 20 inches long. Although they are slow runners, woodchucks are alert and can quickly move into their dens when alarmed.

Life History and Habits

Woodchucks hibernate during the winter, becoming active in late February and March. Mating occurs in March and a single litter of two to four young is produced annually. The young are weaned by late June or early July, and soon thereafter strike out on their own--usually occupying old, abandoned dens. The numerous new burrows which appear during the late summer are dug by older chucks. Woodchucks are active during the daylight hours, and their range is 50 to 100 feet from their dens.

The den and burrows are extensive and may be used for several years. Burrows may be as deep as five feet and up to 60 feet in length. Woodchucks seem to prefer to construct burrows on or near farm land where crops grow. They frequently may be found in woodlands or in abandoned farm lands and occasionally in urban areas where the combination of food and cover provides a satisfactory habitat.

Woodchucks are voracious feeders. In the early morning and evening periods of the summer, woodchucks actively feed on succulent, green vegetation. They are storing body fat in preparation for hibernation during late fall, usually near the end of October or early November.

Woodchucks feed primarily on vegetables, trees, grasses and legumes. Their favorite foods include various beans, cole crops, carrot tops, clover, squash and peas. Their gnawing and clawing can kill young fruit trees. Gnawing occurs on the main stems of trees and lower branches close to the burrows and is easily distinguished from vole gnawing by the large size of the incisor teeth marks (1/4 to 3/8 inch wide). Also, their burrowing habits produce mounds of earth and burrow holes that present hazards.

Damage Control

1. Wire fencing will help keep woodchucks out of nursery areas and small plantings. Bury the lower edge 10 to 12 inches deep in the soil to prevent burrowing under the fence. Because woodchucks are good climbers, the fence should be three to four feet high.

2. Live trapping is an effective method of reducing woodchuck numbers in a small area. Live traps may be of the homemade type or wire mesh commercial variety. The opening for these traps should be eight inches square or larger. Live traps can be effectively baited with apples, carrots, lettuce or other green vegetables, preferably of the type the woodchucks are already eating. Traps should be placed at the burrow opening at dusk when the animal is in the den, in rows where damage is occurring or other areas the woodchucks frequently travel.

Place guide logs on either side of the path between the burrow opening and the trap to funnel the woodchucks toward the trap. Check the trap twice daily, and release during the daytime in a nonagricultural area.

[The remainder has to do with extermination and I'm not gonna tell ya.]

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001


BTW,if you go the humane trapping route, do it at the end of the summer when there are no young left to starve :) At least, I think that's when they're able to fend for themselves.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001

Place guide logs on either side of the path between the burrow opening and the trap to funnel the woodchucks toward the trap. Check the trap twice daily, and release during the daytime in a nonagricultural area.

Nonagricultural area? What? Like Harlem?

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001



Snort! I guess it means woodland.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001

OG

Thanks for the info. I think the 5-10 lbs may be a pygmy. Ours are definitely "hippos" in the 20lb range. Have a link for the rest of the article? ;-)

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001


Not gonna, you'll only read how to kill 'em. Make me! Ha!

But here's a link for humane traps:

http://www.tomahawklivetrap.com/products/9.html

I think that specific link is for feral cat traps but there are all kinds of traps and things for wild critters at the site, including hypodermics on the end of those long poles you wouldn't touch somebody with.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001


I don't believe the advice of burying the wire 10-12" deep is supposed to work because, yes, they'll just keep digging down. The wire should be bent outwards towards the 'chuck and parallel to the ground so it forms an L. The chuck is supposed to (unsuccessfully) dig at the apex of the L.

"A device called Deer Gard Pro, for example, uses a recording of a pack of vicious barking dogs played through two speakers." For a while I had envisioned setting one of my electric radios outside, set it at full volume, with the plan that I would plug it in if an unwanted critter approached. I never bothered, but I figured it would be good for some temporary amusement.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001


Helpful Hints for Co-Existence With Wildlife

Everyone with a house and a yard, whether in the country or the suburbs, has a little bit of nature around them. Songbirds, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, opossums, raccoons and deer provide opportunities to enjoy wildlife. However, sometimes these same creatures in their search for food and nesting sites can cause homeowners distress. The following information presents some hints that will help homeowners co-exist with suburban wildlife, not surrender to them.

Protecting Your Gardens

One food source that many animals readily utilize is your vegetable garden. Some people choose simply to plant a little extra for the wildlife. However, when the toll becomes too great, the best protection is a fence. To be rabbit-, groundhog-, skunk-, and dog-proof, the fence should be 4 feet high, with 6-8 inches buried in the ground to deter burrowers. Chicken fencing will work, although galvanized welded wire fencing with 1 x 2 inch mesh is stronger and will last longer.

For those not interested in investing in a fence, the following repellents are recommended, although not guaranteed: a dog, a 3-foot width of black plastic laid around the garden, fox urine which can be obtained at a hunting/trapping store or wind flags.

Protecting Your House

Probably the biggest wildlife-related headache for a homeowner is animals that decide to share the house. The best deterrent is preventive maintenance. Check and replace loose or rotten eaves, fasten boards and shingles in early spring and fall. These are the times when animals are most actively looking for nesting and over-wintering sites. Also screen louvers, air vents, attic fans or any other openings that provide an entrance for birds or animals. Usually, heavy-gauge hardware cloth with quarter-inch mesh will keep birds, squirrels and bats out of attics. To foil raccoons, however, welded wire fencing, 9-gauge expanded metal screen or plywood should be used.

Animals should be removed as soon as they're discovered to prevent their having young in your attic. Squirrels and raccoons can usually be chased out with a broom. Another method is to place 3 or 4 pounds of moth crystals in containers in the attic in order to make the area uninhabitable. Once the animal is removed, the entrance hole must be sealed to prevent its return.

Animals such as chipmunks, groundhogs and, occasionally, opossums or skunks will burrow under concrete porches or garages. Using mulch or keeping grass cut short around these areas will make them less attractive burrowing sites. Once a burrow is found, search the entire area for other entrances. Plug all the entrances except one and sprinkle some flour in front of this entrance. Then, check for tracks leaving the burrow. When the animal leaves, fill the hole with rocks and cover with dirt. Some ammonia sprinkled around each entrance will help discourage animals from starting new dens. If you can't catch the animal out of its burrow, encourage its leaving by pouring one-half to one gallon of household ammonia into the den, then spread the flour and check for tracks.

Chimneys are another attractive denning site for birds, squirrels and raccoons. Installing a heavy-duty steel chimney cap with a 9-gauge expanded metal screen is the best way to prevent a lot of problems. A light-gauge aluminum and hardware-cloth chimney cap will not keep a persistent raccoon out of your chimney. These caps are usually available at hardware or department stores or from chimney cleaning outfits.

If you discover a raccoon in the chimney, evict it as soon as possible by opening the damper a little bit and building a small, smoky fire out of damp newspapers. An alternative is pouring a pound of moth crystals down the chimney, although this will take longer to remove the raccoon than smoke. Watch for the raccoon to leave and immediately install a chimney cap or heavy-duty spark screen. Care must be taken between April and June in order not to trap young raccoons inside chimneys. If you suspect young are in the chimney, consult the local humane society or wildlife administration office.

If none of these tricks work on problem wildlife, traps may be a last resort. Call Reston Association at 703-437-9580 for more information.

Excerpted from "Helpful Hints for Co-Existence with Wildlife" by Janet McKegg, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001



RABBITS, GROUNDHOGS, SQUIRRELS PROBLEMS:

Eating newly planted flowers or garden vegetables. These rodents like freshly planted or newly started bulbs and plants because they are sweet and tender. Destruction of shrubs and trees during winter months.

SUGGESTIONS:

Try wildlife repellents from your local garden centre. Or try a homemade application of Tabasco, cayenne pepper and water. Mix in a blender and apply to young shoots and plants. Rabbits and groundhogs do not like hot and spicy tastes. Another homemade repellent recipe is one onion, one whole garlic and Tabasco sauce mixed in a blender with water and applied to plants. Apply after every rain or watering. Protect young plants or bulbs with netting or screening over the garden area. Make sure it is elevated enough to prevent damage to plants and safe enough that it will not harm animals. This can be removed after a couple of weeks when the plants have established themselves. Set up a motion sensor sprinkler to target the garden during evening or nighttime hours. Fence your garden to exclude burrowing animals by burying the fencing in the ground and outwards in an "L" shape away from the garden. Make the fence at least three feet high with an outward overhang or baffle to discourage climbing. During winter months, wrap the base of trees and shrubs with hardware cloth or protective netting designed for this purpose. Remember to take into consideration height with snow cover. Groundhogs do not cause winter damage to trees or shrubs due to the fact they hibernate during these months.

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2001


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