Lower Gwynedd advises its residents how to deter increasing deer population

If it seems like you’ve seen an uptick in deer on your property or around the township, you’re not alone.

It appears as if deer are everywhere in Lower Gwynedd and, recently, the township advised its residents on how to manage the damage that some of these deer can do.

According to Penn State University wildlife specialist, Dr. Gary San Julian, five male and five female deer can produce up to 200 offspring in five years. How can township residents deter the deer?

1. Fence Them Out

For small spaces at least six feet tall, for wooded areas at least seven feet tall and for open grass or fields at least eight feet tall fences. Some gardeners have had luck stringing a single strand of heavy duty fishing line between trees or posts at two feet or three feet off the ground, which may confuse the deer as they bump into the line. 

2. Use Deer Resistant plants. (Remember, nothing is deer-proof, only deer resistant.) 

Perennials- ajuga, amsonia, anise hyssop, artemisia, balloon flowers, beebalm, butterfly weed, bleeding heart, campanula, catmint, coreopsis, euphorbia, ferns, foxglove, goldenrod, hardy geraniums, hellebores, iris, lady’s mantle, lamb’s ear, lamium, lavender, flowering onions, meadow rue, monkshood, montauk daisy, ornamental grasses, peonies, Russian sage, salvia, sweet woodruff, yarrow. 

Annuals- ageratum, angelonia, begonia, bidens, calibrachoa, cleome, geraniums, gomphrena, lantana, lobelia, marigolds, ornamental peppers, pentas, salvia, snapdragons, verbena. 

Evergreens- boxwood, cotoneaster, leucothoe, falsecypress, Japanese umbrella pine, nandina, Oregon grapeholly, pieris, pines, spruce. 

Shrubs- bayberry, beautybush, caryopteris, daphne, abelia, kerria, potentilla, pyracantha, spirea, st. johnswort, sumac, Virginia sweetspire. 

Trees- beech, birch, goldenrain tree, hawthorn, horsechestnut, little-leaf linden, parrotia, red oak, serviceberry, stewartia, yellowwood, zelkova. 

3. Use Deer Repellants 

Plantskydd, Bobbex, Deer-Away, Deer Off, Liquid Fence and Deer Scram. These repellants must be applied to ALL new growth on each plant, which means checking for new growth frequently during the early growing season. Remember to reapply after rain.