Deer Damage Identification
Understanding Deer and the Damage they Can Cause.
Deer Damage: an increasing problem across Canada and the USA
The deer population at the turn of the century was estimated at 500,000. Today the deer population exceeds 20 million. It’s easy to understand why deer damage is on the increase leaving a devastating impact on home gardens and the environment.
Deer are herbivores. They eat over 500 species of plants, with male deer consuming 2-5 kg of forage daily. Recent data suggests that deer are now causing over $1 billion in farm, garden, and timber damage annually.
Add to that the alarming increase in Lyme disease carried by deer ticks—without question these beautiful but ravenous herbivores have become a very serious problem.
How to Identify Deer Damage
Deer decimate vegetation through two types of activity:
Browsing
To recognize deer browsing, look for torn leaves or stalks with ragged ends. Deer have no upper incisors and must jerk or tear plants when feeding. Woodchucks, rabbits, and other small rodents usually leave cleanly cut plant stalks.
Antler Rubbing
Another form of damage occurs when male deer (bucks) rub their antlers on trees. This type of damage is characterized by vertical scrapes and shredded bark on the saplings, exposing underlying wood.
Deer damage by browsing will look random and ragged due to the tearing that occurs as they eat, leaving ragged leaf and stem edges and often leaving only the stems behind. The damage can be found as high as 2 metres up a plant. Favorite vegetation for deer include shoots, twigs, grass, clover, green leaves and bark. They also like to feed on garden vegetables, fruit trees, and landscapes with a particular fondness for Hostas. However, deer are also known as scavengers and will devour other foliage, especially during the winter months when green vegetation is scarce.
Other Signs of Deer
Deer Droppings
Identified as elongated pellets, sometimes mistaken for rabbit droppings. In the spring and summer months when deer are feeding on lush green shoots, leaves, grass, fruit, etc., the pellets clump together and are left as a mass.
Deer Tracks
Shaped like 2 halves of a broken heart and are about 5-7 cm long. The distances between the tracks depend on whether the deer are grazing or running.
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Hostas are a favorite meal for deer.
Damage from antler rubbing.
