Damage+by+White-Tailed+Deer

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Bucks, male deer, usually scrape trees in early fall to late winter. They do this to remove the velvet that has been growing on the antlers throughout the summer. Bucks make “rubs” by rubbing their antlers on the base of the trees. Why? To mark their territory, show their dominance and intimidate other bucks. Rubbing intensifies again in late winter to help bucks shed their antlers. ======

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You can tell a deer is in your yard by identifing it by its scat or finding damage done to trees or plants. There would be low scrapes in the bark of trees or the tips of other plants nibbled off. Their scat looks like oval-shaped pellets. You can also identify a deer by their prints. If you see deer prints in your yard, you have deer visiting. ====== 

How can you control the deer?
To help control the deer, you can use odor repellents such as predator urine to treat the area, contact repellents to make plants distasteful, ultrasonic repellents and other scare devices, water spraying devices activated by a motion sensor, strobe lights and noise making devices, dogs inside visible or invisible fences, perimeter fences and meshes 8-10 feet tall, electric fences and meshes, baited electric fences and meshes, and electric deer shocking devices. Most of these deer control methods are ineffective or are effective for only a short time until deer adapt to them. Many deer, especially whitetail, are smart enough and adaptable enough to quickly figure out that these things will not harm them. Things like a tall fence is effective, but has limited applications. Not everyone wants to, or can afford to put an 8-10 foot fence around their land. Dogs in the yard are always effective. Other than dogs, some people believe a baited electric fence or an electric deer shocking devise is the most effective because they have the ability to permanently train deer to avoid the area. A strategy for reducing the damage to your trees might include different methods at different times of the year. Wrapping plants in chicken wire or netting when bucks are most aggressive may prevent most of the damage. 