Look! The deer is as big as a pony or a donkey. While I was sitting at a major intersection near my house I looked over my right shoulder and there was a deer running through the parking lot of Monroe Muffler and Brakes. This deer was going fast and the streets were packed with rush hour traffic. The deer stopped for a minute and then dashed through traffic, barely making it to the other side without being hit. This one made it to the other, but I’ve noticed how many dead deer I’m seeing on the side of the road. It seems the deer are not very bright or I’m thinking they don’t see very well. These deer are a major nuisance in the suburbs and the city.
Years ago, back when I was a kid, I never saw deer in our yard nor did I see them at the corner of Lincoln and Lemington Avenues or on Washington Boulevard. Now they are everywhere. Has there been this much construction or destruction of their territory that the deer have come into the city? It reminds me of a scene in the movie “I am Legend” with Will Smith. Do you remember the deer running down the empty street? This year I put out begonias because the florist told me the deer did not like them. He seemed to be right until recently. The flowers made it all through the summer but now I can tell the flowers have been chewed by the deer. A friend told me that they will eat anything when they get really hungry.
Reportedly, during their hormonally imbalanced mating period, deer are reckless. With few population controls throughout the southwestern Pennsylvania suburbs and Pittsburgh, their numbers in some communities have soared to unmanageable levels. From Monroeville to Bridgeville, from Wexford to Washington, deer can be a backyard and agricultural nuisance. In parts of Pittsburgh and municipalities including Mt. Lebanon, Ross, Green Tree and Franklin Park, they’re a legitimate public safety hazard
Allegheny County manages deer in its nine parks with the help of a nonprofit archers’ group that discreetly removes does during archery deer season. With self-imposed rules that exceed game-law requirements and a perfect safety record since its founding in 1996, Whitetail Management Associates of Greater Pittsburgh quietly removes about 600 deer from the county’s parks per year. The service is provided at no cost to taxpayers, and most of the venison is donated to local food banks.
If you are wondering what plants are deer resistant, some say marigolds are the answer, however few plants are completely deer resistant. Several factors influence deer browsing including the density of the deer population, environmental conditions such as drought, and plant palatability. Deer tend to avoid plants with aromatic foliage, tough leathery and/or hairy or prickly leaves or plants with milky latex or sap. My suggestion to the deer, try the Dandelions or eat some of the leaves that have fallen so I don’t have to rake them and put them in bags. Be helpful.
(Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
