by Winding Pathways | Apr 3, 2016 | Mammals, Nature, Pests
Deer drop fawns in our front yard labyrinth.
Few gardening experiences are as frustrating as discovering a patch of almost ready-to-bloom tulips or ready-to-pick green beans devoured by deer.
Over the past couple of decades deer populations have skyrocketed across North America, making gardening challenging. We have plenty of deer at Winding Pathways and have tried or researched many ways to either eliminate or greatly reduce damage. Here they are:
PLANT CROPS, FLOWERS AND SHRUBS DEER DON’T LIKE: This only sort of works. There are a few plants deer don’t like to eat. Books, blogs, and magazine articles contain lists of plants deer don’t like, but beware. As deer herds increase they get every hungrier, eliminate their favorite foods, and then chow down on plants they don’t particularly like. Also, deer seem to have regional preferences. Connecticut deer may avoid a certain plant that Iowa counterparts love. Winding Pathways Advice: Assume that sooner or later deer will eat just about any plant with only a few exceptions.
KENNEL A BIG DOG IN THE GARDEN: We haven’t tried this one but we’re guessing that the deer will soon figure out that the dog is tied or fenced in and they’ll eat plants just out of Fido’s reach. Winding Pathways Advice: Fido might help but don’t count on him.
SPRAY DEER REPELLENTS ON DESIRABLE PLANTS: It works much of the time. Many commercial repellents are on the market. We’ve made ours from egg yolks blended in water, strained through a nylon stocking to remove most of the thicker egg material and sprayed on plants. At best it is a temporary solution. Really hungry deer will eat the plants anyway, and rain washes most repellents off. Read labels. Some commercial repellents may not be safe on vegetables. Winding Pathways Advice: Repellents help but need to be reapplied after each rain and the deer will find the one plant you overlooked!
BUILD A FENCE: Tall mesh fences work. Electric fences work. Electrified mesh fences work the best. If you want a surefire way to keep deer out build a sturdy fence all the way around the garden. Unfortunately, there are some disadvantages of fencing as follows:
- Electric and tall nonelectric fences are often prohibited by town ordinances
- Fences are expensive but last a long time.
- Fences can be unsightly
- Fences are barriers to both deer and people. Building a fence means passing through a gate every garden visit.
Fences work. If nonelectrified they should be at least seven feet tall. Eight is better. Electric fences don’t need to be as tall and can be several strands of wire or (better) an electrified mesh.
Winding Pathways Advice: This is the one surefire way of keeping deer away from valuable plants. Just remember to close the gate!
WHAT WE’VE DONE AT WINDING PATHWAYS
We take a comprehensive approach to reducing deer damage to our labyrinth, vegetable garden and favorite landscape plants. Here is what we have done and are contemplating.
- Built a 7-foot tall nonelectric fence around our smallish vegetable garden.
- Built sturdy nonelectric fences around young trees.
- Use repellents frequently on special non edible plants.
- Buy a deer tag and harvest one deer per year. It’s legal where we live and we enjoy this
“local free ranging, organic” meat.
We’re considering buying and setting up an electric mesh fence around our labyrinth.
Farm and garden stores sell a wide diversity of nonelectric fencing. Our favorite resource for fences is Premier1. Their FENCES THAT WORK catalog is an outstanding resource. Check out Premier1 in Washington, IA.
by Winding Pathways | Dec 30, 2015 | Birds, Mammals, Nature, Pests
Watching backyard wildlife yields amazing sights and education. We recently noticed two things at Winding Pathways that reminded us about how many animals are downright smart.
Both involved a manufactured trap that supposedly catches House Sparrows. We have more of this pesky bird than we’d like so we set the trap under a feeder and baited it with cracked corn. A few minutes later an intrepid chipmunk entered the trap’s funnel-like door, feasted on seeds, and couldn’t find his way out. We gently released him and set the trap back on the corn.
A few minutes later we were amazed to see the chipmunk back and watch it tunnel under the trap to reach the bait! He’d learned that entering the trap brought trouble and figured out how to safely reach lunch.
Our sparrows are even smarter than the chipmunk. Not a single one entered the trap. Instead they feasted on corn and millet on the ground around the feeder. After a few hours they had eaten all the safe seed but they still wouldn’t enter the trap.
We now have new respect for the intelligence of both chipmunks and House Sparrows.
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The chipmunk figured out how to tunnel under the live trap to reach the corn.
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Having excavated, the chipmunk now enters the tunnel to get the corn.
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In and Under!
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With pouches full, the chipmunk emerges.
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The chipmunk figured how to tunnel under the live trap, gather up the corn and emerged with pouches full.
by Winding Pathways | Nov 30, 2015 | Mammals, Nature, Pests
We love watching frolicking squirrels in our yard and every year we buy bags of corn for them to snack on. We draw the line when they climb up to feeders and gobble expensive seeds meant for chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers.
Bird feeder companies all tout their “squirrel proof” feeders and a homeowner can spend a bundle on different feeders just to slow the flow of seed from feeder to squirrels’ mouths. Some preventions work better than others but a reliable company is Droll Yankee.
But, being partly of Yankee stock, we took the economical route. To thwart the hungry mammals we mounted our feeders on steel pipes and even ringed some with metal stove pipe. Somehow they managed to dig claws into the metal, climb and feast on expensive seed.
Then we discovered spray grease. It’s sold in hardware stores and is meant to spray on drawer slides, hinges, and other balky metal parts. We sprayed it on the metal pipes holding up the feeders. Squirrels gingerly put their feet on the pipe and backed off as soon as they felt the grease. It works.
Spray grease only lasts a few weeks and needs to be reapplied, but it is a simple way to discourage squirrels from climbing to feeders.
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Even in the teeth of a storm, squirrels feast to tide them over.
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Boldly the fox squirrel hunkered down at the window feeder.
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Quite the acrobat, this squirrel hung for more than 30 minutes eating seed.
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A cautious squirrel scoping out the action.
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A hungry squirrel
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Squirrels have an amazing ability to climb just about any vertical pole.
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This squirrel learned to climb the metal deflector pole and reached into the hanging feeder.
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This grease works for a while. Remember to re-apply.
by Winding Pathways | Nov 2, 2015 | Mammals, Nature, Pests
On Halloween day a buck was hot on the “tail” of this doe and yearling.
Drivers, be cautious! Across most of North America early November is the most likely time for a car to collide with a deer. Too often it happens even in suburban neighborhoods and a collision usually does extensive damage to a car, injures or kills the deer, and sometimes even people are killed or hurt.
At our home at Winding Pathways we watched a buck chase a doe on Halloween afternoon. That’s slightly early, but during the next two weeks more cars will hit deer than in any other time period in the year.
In early November female deer come into estrus in northern states with peak activity a week or two later in the south. Big antlered bucks have the uncanny ability to stay out of sight most of the year, but in November they abandon caution and run through backyards and cross roads at any time of day or night. A doe in heat is usually followed closely by an eager buck.
Within weeks nearly all does will be pregnant and the rut fades, but usually it’s followed by a somewhat less intense breeding time in about a month when any nonpregnant does mate. By Christmas nearly all does are pregnant and will give birth late next spring.
When driving through deer territory always be careful, but in early November be especially cautious. Go easy on the gas pedal, keep your eyes open and if one deer crosses the road in front of you expect others to follow. Look in the direction the deer came from. Others likely will be about to cross.
An interesting overview on deer rutting can be found at The Noble Foundation.
by Winding Pathways | Sep 12, 2015 | Mammals, Nature, Pests, Trees/Shrubs
A pair of winter sheds all polished.
One year at Winding Pathways we planted a few trees and tended them all summer. They were doing great until one September night. A buck deer decided that our new trees were perfect for rubbing off the velvet that covered his newly formed antlers. Just a few minutes of determined rubbing killed our precious trees!
Deer antlers start growing in early spring and by late August are fully formed. Velvet on the outside of the growing antlers is rich with blood and minerals. By September its purpose is done. Bucks rub the velvet off to prepare their antlers for battle with rivals when the mating season starts in November.
Deer have the uncanny knack of rubbing the most valued trees in a yard, and often they remove all the bark, thus killing the tree.
Fortunately, damage is easy to prevent. Just drive fence posts into the ground a few feet out from the tree and attach wire mesh to them to physically keep deer away. Plastic tree guards that attach directly to the trunk also help prevent damage.
Do this now before the deer start to rub. Or you may lose all your new trees in just one night.
by Winding Pathways | Jul 17, 2015 | Mammals, Nature, Pests
Chipmunks are one of the most common backyard wild animals. These small striped rodents enjoy living in shady yards that have some form of structure for them to hide in or around. Sometimes people confuse them with thirteen lined ground squirrels, which are about the same size but prefer to live in large lawns in the open sun.
Several species of chipmunks live in the United States. Most are in the West and the most commonly encountered species is the Eastern Chipmunk that frequent yards.
Chipmunks love retaining walls and woodpiles, especially those that have many nooks and crannies. They are efficient diggers and sometimes make so many tunnels that a wall slumps or collapses and a woodpile teeters over.
The small mammals eat seeds, fruit, and an occasional insect. They are efficient tree climbers and harvest fruits like cherries on the uppermost slender branches. Chipmunk heaven is a shady yard with a retention wall and bird feeder to provide a daily seed banquet.
Some people resent chipmunks because of their incessant tunneling. Box trapping and moving the animals rarely reduces the population of a species that has many babies. Keeping bird seed off the ground and contained in feeders may reduce a chipmunk population somewhat. Hawks and snakes enjoy dining on these small mammals. Encouraging predators to share the yard will help keep chipmunk numbers in check.
We like the chipmunks that live in our backyard at Winding Pathways. They’re beautiful animals that make us smile when we spot one with cheek pouches crammed with seeds. They’ve undermined our low rock wall in a few places, but we just repair it and consider the damage a small price to pay for the wonderful entertainment chipmunks provide on summer days.
