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  • From: Anton Callaway <marillen@earthlink.net>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] sea berries & deer- update
  • Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2008 21:32:03 -0400 (GMT-04:00)

I asked about sea berries & deer a few weeks ago.

What response I got stated they are resistant to deer. I also figured the
wicked thorns may deter deer. However, the local deer herd has repeatedly
surprised me.

They did it again. The bush was ravaged. The thorns were bitten off. The
plant was reduced to a stub. I pulled it inside the razor wire.

I am convinced that deer vary widely in their preferences by species (of
deer) and their previous experience with humans.

Other plants sold as resistant to deer in the West have been quickly
destroyed by the whitetail deer in NC. In addition, plants that were
untouched for years in yards of acquaintances 20 miles away are devastated
here.

People in this neighborhood have told me that the local deer herd was fed by
a naive family for years. When the deer became too aggressive, the family
stopped feeding them. What we have now is a herd of deer who associate the
smell of humans with food. The clearest indication I have observed is a
cluster of azaleas that grew here, unprotected, for years. We recently moved
them to a new location on the property and suddenly the deer found them very
attractive and have been munching them down to nubs. There is plenty of
browse, but they go after stuff with a human scent preferentially. It's
getting time to make the kitchen smell like deer.

Anton
Zone 8, NC




  • [NAFEX] sea berries & deer- update, Anton Callaway, 03/16/2008

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