Re: Destructive Deer and Wallabies

Hi Stephen,

We too live in deer country but they do Not eat our irises but everything
around them.
The front of our home is covered with approx. 1,000 tulips which in the past
I have sprayed with dear away and put soap shavings around the flowers;
also, I have tried blinking small outside lights which also helped.  So far
I have not lost any more tulips.
I will tell you it takes at least a 6 foot fence here to keep them out.
Good luck!
Lora Masche
Lora L. Masche
Forquin Mountain Iris Garden
21643 Shake Ridge Road
Volcano, CA 95689
(209)296-4436
http://welcome.to/irisgarden
-----Original Message-----
From: watergarden <watergarden@hargray.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list <iris-l@rt66.com>
Date: Monday, April 27, 1998 11:16 PM
Subject: Re: Destructive Deer and Wallabies


>
>
>Jeff and Carolyn Walters wrote:
>
>> > >> MMMMMmmmmmmm, Venison!
>> > >Ah, but only in the fall.
>> > >Rima
>> > So do you have 'open season' on deer like we have on ducks? We don't
>> > kill and eat our kangaroos, but there's one very cute and very
>> > destructive wallaby I'm gunnin' for here.
>> > Jan Clark
>>
>> Jan,
>>
>> Legal deer hunting in this country is generally limited to a season of no
>> more than a few weeks in the fall (October or November in most states).
Of
>> course, you can always run them down on the highway anytime you draw a
bead
>> on 'em with your headlights. (-:
>> (Not recommended for elk or moose)  )-:
>>
>
>Here in South Carolina, the deer season opens on August 15th and ends
January
>1st.  Most rural gardeners and farmers think that it not long enough.
There
>are more deer here now than there were when the Native Americans governed.
>Deer have a measurable impact on the economics of farming and have caused
may
>avid gardeners to give up in disgust.
>
>Around our home, my wife has completed abandoned all the beds which are not
>fenced.  Fences are a considerable help although we have watched deer jump
over
>a 5-foot fence, eat for a while, then jump back out.
>
>Since my wife has monopolized the fenced areas, I am left to find other
forms
>of defense.  I have motion detectors set up in the area around the iris
beds
>and a moving object triggers relays which turn on the sprinkler system,
>flashing lights, buzzers and a radio set to a country-western music station
>(you can not get more annoying than that).  The arrangement has to be
changed
>every few weeks or the deer become accustomed to the ruckus and are not
driven
>away.  Nonetheless, they still manage to do much some damage, especially in
>last winter and early spring.  The damage is done by eating the fans and
>driving rhizomes deep into the ground with their hooves.  This is part of
the
>reason I am so fond of amaryllidaceae, to wit, they are poisonous and the
deer
>do not eat them.
>
>I have not been deer hunting in decades, but encourage others to do so at
every
>opportunity.  The uninformed are often outraged at the idea of murdering
>Bambi.  However, hunters are no longer able to adequately replace the
natural
>deer predators and control the population in many areas, including the area
>around our home.  The result is overbrowsing, followed by poor health and
the
>outbreak of disease epidemics which can wipe out large portions of the
heard in
>a short period of time.  There is evidence to suggest we are about to enter
the
>final stage in this cycle.  Feeding them my iris bed will not postpone the
>inevitable for long.
>
>Stephen Hopkins
>vigilant in South Carolina
>
>
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