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1. What is the city’s deer management program?

Trained marksmen, under the direction of the City of Beachwood Police Department, conduct sharpshooting on public lands and on private property when allowed by property owners and where deer can be harvested safely and humanely. The marksmen receive additional training in the Cleveland Metroparks to simulate the environment in which they will be working. “Do Not Enter – Deer Management Area” signs where deer management operations occur and radio contact with Beachwood officers on patrol prevent citizens from wandering into the operational area. In the event of an unauthorized entry into the area, no shots are fired and individuals are asked to leave. Culled deer are transported to a processor for dressing and preparation for donation to a local food bank.

2. Why is the city culling deer?

Based on information obtained by resident surveys and the results from our deer count studies, there is an overabundance of deer in our city. Suburban areas, provide high-quality, high calorie and easily accessible foods in the form of gardens, ornamental plantings, and fertilized lawns, while nearby woodlands offer daytime refuge. The richness of plant species is higher in residential areas than in wooded habitats. Suburban areas are free of hunting and natural predation. Deer have a high reproductive potential and populations increase quickly.

• There are negative impacts associated with an overabundance of or excessive browsing by deer:
  • Native plant and wildlife populations, habitat quality, and ecosystem processes suffer.
  • There is a decline in biodiversity (the number and variety of species of living organisms) in natural areas and a reduction in the ability of native plants to survive and reproduce. Repeated removal of stems, leaves, and flowering parts of plants reduces the height, vigor and reproduction of plants.
  • There are negative impacts to wildlife that needs woodland understory for forage, nesting, and cover. Significant reduction in vegetation that birds use for foraging, escaping predators and nesting also occurs.
  • Damage to landscape and garden vegetation occurs from deer browsing and antler rubbing.
  • Individual deer health declines with reduction in the availability of forage.
  • The spread of disease in both deer (e.g., chronic wasting disease) and humans (e.g., Lyme disease) increases.  Visit the Ohio Department of Health website for more information.  

3. What is done with the culled deer?

The deer meat is donated to Cleveland-area food banks.

4. Can the city use nonlethal methods to manage the deer population?

Reproductive agents for wildlife are not commercially available and are currently classified as experimental and are produced by research facilities. Also, the free-ranging nature of deer makes it difficult to deliver contraceptives to them. Relocation of deer is not allowed by ODNR. This technique requires the use of traps and/or remote chemical immobilization techniques and has been demonstrated to be impractical and stressful to the deer and may result in high post-release mortality rate of up to 85%. These programs also require release sites that are capable of receiving deer.  

5. Why can't we just plant unpalatable landscaping plantings or use repellents to deter the deer?

Unpalatable landscape plantings and deer repellants are unreliable and short-term strategies. Deer are likely to ignore either the taste or odor repellents in times of food scarcity and overpopulation. Some repellents lose their effectiveness in rain and require reapplication. Long term approaches are needed to maintain deer populations at levels that are healthy for both deer and human. 

6. How can I protect my garden from the deer?

• Deer look for easy sources of food. To protect your garden, the Division of Wildlife suggests that you install a 3-4 foot barrier (vinyl, hardware cloth, etc.) with the first foot of the barrier underground to keep small critters out like raccoons, skunks, and groundhogs. On the corners of the garden, install posts that reach seven feet off the ground. Then run a single wire around the garden 7 feet off the ground. Periodically hang ribbon (or better yet aluminum pie pans to scare off the birds) to act as a visual deterrent to the deer. Deer have bad depth perception and they will not jump between the hard fence and the top wire.
• Various sprays deter deer from eating plants. Cayenne pepper can also be used by spraying plants with water and then generously dusting them with the pepper. The hotter you make the plant, the less likely the deer will eat it.
• Choose plants that tend to be less palatable. Keep in mind that if a deer is hungry enough, there is no plant that it “will never eat.”

If the techniques mentioned above are not working, contact the Division of Wildlife at 330-644-2293. Oftentimes, they can identify the reason over the phone as to why the technique is not working and can give site-specific advice to further help alleviate the deer problems on your property 

For additional information, visit the Ohio Division of Wildlife website.