Deer Management Deer Removal

Management of Nuisances: Nuisance deer can be controlled using a number of methods, such as fencing, repellents, hunting  and sharp shooting.  

Fencing: Electric high-tensile  wire fences such as the 7-strand slant wire, the 6-wire vertical fence,  and others have been designed to protect crops from deer damage.  Spacing between wires should be about eight to 10 inches and any brush  around the fence should be cleared away. The type of deer fence to  construct depends on such factors as terrain, vegetation, location, and  deer density. Wild things can evaluate your property for the proper  electric fence design and install the fence.  We also can provide a  maintenance program for our fences or if you have an existing fence we  can maintain it and provide a yearly contract for service.
 

Woven-wire fences may also be used to keep deer out of an area will work  if constructed eight to 8 feet high. Wire strands strung above the  woven wire can add more height if desired. Wire mesh fences may be  erected around individual ornamentals or other plants you might wish to  protect from deer browsing. Wild things can evaluate your property for  the proper woven wire fence design and install the fence.  We also can  provide a maintenance program for our fences or if you have an existing  fence we can maintain it and provide a yearly contract for service.  To  have Wild Things LLC evaluate your deer damage and management options  in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston,  Westport, Fairfield, Easton, Newtown, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford or  Milford call Connecticut Wild Things LLC in Stamford, CT 203.602.3343  Norwalk, CT 203.854.4848 or Stratford, CT 203.375.1211
 

Repellents: The use of  repellents can be costly because they must be re-applied following rain.  No repellant has been proven to be 100% effective.  In areas of high  deer density and limited food resources, repellents have little value.  Home remedies such as bone meal, coyote urine or human hair tied in  sacks hung from trees have been used with limited success. Soap has  recently become a popular home remedy in northeast orchards, but still  have not been proven 100% effective.
 

Population Reduction: Non  profit land holding entity, homeowners association or a municipality can request from the Connecticut Wildlife Division to  implement a deer management plan to reduce the deer herd using  specialized equipment and techniques. Wild Things can also provide controlled hunts from start to finish or just administer a controlled  hunt program that will qualify and place hunters either using firearms  or archery equipment on your selected properties. Farmers who are experiencing deer damage problems would be wise to encourage hunting on  their property during the regulated deer seasons. The only practical way  to control free-ranging deer herds in the state is by harvesting  animals each year to help curb population expansion and maintain the  deer herd at a level compatible with the habitat and farming interests. To  have Wild Things LLC evaluate your deer damage and management options  in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston,  Westport, Fairfield, Easton, Newtown, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford or  Milford call Connecticut Wild Things LLC in Stamford, CT 203.602.3343  Norwalk, CT 203.854.4848 or Stratford, CT 203.375.1211
 

Population Management: Because  deer have a high reproductive potential and few natural predators, deer  populations have the potential to increase rapidly. In the absence of  significant mortality, deer populations can double in size in two years.  High deer populations can significantly alter forested habitats  reducing plant diversity and habitat suitability for other wildlife  species. In addition, deer can impact flower and vegetable gardens,  landscape plantings, and pose a threat to motorists on Connecticut  roadways. Wild Things recommends the use of regulated and controlled  hunts to effectively and efficiently reduce and maintain deer  populations in balance with cultural and habitat carrying capacities. To  have Wild Things LLC evaluate your deer damage and management options  in Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan, Darien, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston,  Westport, Fairfield, Easton, Newtown, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford or  Milford call Connecticut Wild Things LLC in Stamford, CT 203.602.3343  Norwalk, CT 203.854.4848 or Stratford, CT 203.375.1211
 

 Connecticut Deer Fact Sheet
 

Deer Habitat: Field and forest edges, woodlands with an understory of herbaceous vegetation.
Deer Weight: Males: 150 pounds (average); heavier weights are not uncommon; females: average 110 pounds.
Deer Length: 71 inches; 39 inches high at the shoulder. Males are generally larger than females.
Deer Food: Spring/summer: grasses and  forbs; fall: acorns, other mast items, and apples; winter: twigs and  buds from a wide variety of hardwood trees and leaves from conifer trees  such as white pine and hemlock.

Identification: The white-tailed deer is a stately, graceful  animal distinguished by conspicuous ears, long legs, and narrow, pointed  hooves. Adult male deer have spreading, branching antlers. The most noticeable feature on the deer is the tail, which is brown above and  white underneath. When the deer is alarmed, the white tail is raised  high, revealing a white "flag" as the deer bounds off through the woods. 

White-tailed deer vary seasonally in  coloration. Their summer coat is reddish-brown to tan and is composed of  short, thin hairs. The winter coat is grayish-brown to gray, with long,  thick hairs. Fawns are reddish-brown with white spots, which they lose  when they are three to four months old, usually by the end of August in  Connecticut.

Range: White-tailed deer are  found over all of Connecticut.  The population is the largest in  Fairfield County and along the entire coastline of Connecticut.

Reproduction: The  Connecticut deer mating or rutting season starts in late October and  extends through early January. In Connecticut, the peak of the deer  rutting season is the last two weeks in November. Fawns, weighing from  four to eight pounds, are usually born in June. Fawn deer remain under  the female deer’s care through September, when they are weaned. The  number of young deer born in Connecticut ranges from one to four,  depending upon the age and condition of the doe. In Connecticut, twins  are common and triplets and quadruplets have been recorded. Female fawns  born early in spring have the potential to breed by the following fall.

History in Connecticut: Due to  over-harvesting for venison and deerskins, market hunting, and a general loss of deer habitat caused by extensive clearing of the land  for farming, white-tailed deer were uncommon in Connecticut from 1700 to  approximately 1900. The numerous laws enacted during this period to  protect the dwindling deer resource, plus the improvement in deer  habitat as farms were abandoned, contributed to a slow but steady  rebound in deer numbers. In 1907, legislation was passed allowing  landowners to shoot deer causing crop damage on their land. Since then,  harvest regulations have been gradually liberalized to deal with the  growing herd and increasing deer damage problems. In 1974, Connecticut  passed the Deer Management Act and, in 1975, held its first deer  firearms hunting season, changing the status of white-tailed deer from  agricultural nuisance to valuable game animal. The Connecticut deer  population continues to increase, as deer benefit from man’s land use  activities, evidenced by their adaptation to manicured suburban  environments and the clearing of forests for timber harvest and cordwood  cutting.

Interesting Facts: Male  white-tailed deer grow and shed antlers annually. The deers antlers  begin to grow in April or May. They are soft and covered with a  sensitive tissue known as velvet. By fall, the antlers harden; the deer  scrape them against saplings to remove the velvet in preparation for the  rut. Antlers are used in sparring during the mating season. They are  shed from mid-December to late-January. Antler size is determined by  age, genetics, and nutritional value of the deer's diet.

Frequently, well-meaning people find a fawn  alone in the woods and bring it home without realizing that the doe was  nearby all the time. To divert the attention of predators, female deer  only visit their fawns three or four times a day, for about 15 minutes  per visit, in order to feed them. Not only is removing a healthy fawn  from the wild illegal, but it also reduces the animal’s chances of  survival.