Re: Deer Damaged Pumpkins

Thanks Bill,

It's is a deer, I have 5 bucks from a young forked buck and all the 
way up to a 5-point buck just coming out of velvet and since the 
tracks of the damaged pumpkin was 3 1/4" and the other 2 sets of 
tracks were about 2 1/2" the older buck I am pretty sure is the 
culprit! The deer around here always hang around, a few years ago a 
herd camped just outside my front room window during the winter and 
you could watch them watch the TV!

I extended the 600 feet 3' higher with a hotwire around the area and 
moved one of my dogs by the patch (chained up!) so he will bark at them.

They have eaten some tomato's and a few other items before but have 
never touched the pumpkins before though....

And I do have some borax I can put on the wounds on the plant but 
since it has scabbed over and isn't soft or oozing I have left it 
alone but I was concerned if I should do something with it as a 
precautionary measure since I am running out of summer days quickly 
here in Colorado, luckily my biggest one he left alone and didn't go 
under the covering!

Errol


----------

At 12:46 PM 8/25/2010, you wrote:
>For the 1st Year in the last 15 years of growing my pumpkins I've 
>had a deer decide that they are tasty!
>
>They ate all of my Cinderella and Field pumpkins in one of my 
>patches but they left my big pumpkins that are planted about a acre 
>away alone that night.
>
>Then a couple of nights ago they found my big pumpkins and they took 
>about 8 big bites out of my 2nd largest.
>
>I have taken countermeasures to protect the pumpkins left just short 
>of putting the 1 big buck  out of the 5 that I think is the culprit 
>in the freezer.
>
>The bites have scabbed over and don't appear to be going soft but I 
>was wondering if I should put something on the bite chunk spots just 
>in case to protect them or just watch it closely!
>
>I do have a few cuke beetles but they haven't bothered my plants and 
>I have been hand picking them off but the deer are a different story.
>
>Also I am very reserved on spraying my pumpkins because at the end 
>of the year I recycle my pumpkins by goats and poultry which create 
>the manure for the garden! =-)
>
>Thanks!
>
>Errol
>
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