Deer sightings in your backyard are not rare occurrences. These adorable, twitchy-eared gemstones from the forest can often venture out of the wilderness and sneak into your yard.
It is not uncommon to wake up on a fresh morning to find a family of deer resting in a warm corner of your backyard.
They are small and timid creatures who have to work hard for survival in their natural habitats. These animals roam around in the safety of their herds.
The deer are only known to move around when they need to find food and shelter. We need to clarify one thing at this point – deer are harmless animals.
Deer herds tend not to create a stir, especially when they are staying in an alien yard. These creatures sleeping in your backyard are only there to rest and will not disturb you.
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Usual Sleeping Places For Deer
Deer are unique in their body size, with hoofs to support their weight. They are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum of animal sizes.
That means they are neither large enough to protect themselves nor small enough to find a tiny hiding spot or burrow in the wild.
Because of the constant pressure to keep themselves alive, they become the lightest sleepers in the forest.
Deer find it challenging to locate a safe place to rest. Ultimately, their speed, fueled by their agile bodies, is all they can trust to protect themselves.
As you may have gauged by now, deer value safety the most. A family of deer will seek comfort in a location where they do not feel threatened.
Of course, a provision of food nearby will only help the case. When they are in the wilderness, deer will look for thick undergrowth of grass or other plants, where they will find a bedding place.
Smart as they are, deer are known to find bedding spots that fit their shape and size. Additionally, they may also look for areas of shelter where they can camouflage themselves.
If deer venture beyond the realms of the forest, they may stumble upon human settlements, where they are likely to find everything they need for the night.
A backyard with added luxuries like a pond and some vegetation is nothing short of paradise for deer. They would be comfortable making bedding out of the shrubbery in your yard.
In dry or cold seasons, a backyard with a pond is perfect for the night, so they do not have to venture far in the dark for water.
Also Read: Where Do Deer Sleep?
Reasons For Deer To Sleep In My Yard
For starters, let us try to understand why deer move beyond the boundaries of the wild and enter suburban residential settlements.
We have gradually encroached upon forest land and taken over significant chunks of the habitat belonging to animals. It is only natural for them to walk over the once ground.
Moreover, there is a very high probability that deer may not satisfy their needs of food, shelter, and security within the forest. That would only push deer to find human settlements nearby.
The main reason deer would prefer sleeping in your yard is the proximity to and availability of food and water.
Once a family of deer has decided that a particular place is safe for them to nest for the night, they would like to be assured about the presence of food items nearby.
The company of a pond in your backyard will only be the cherry on top of the cake. Thus yards fulfill all the requirements of deer and create the ideal environment for them to call home.
Deer trust animals and they will trudge the same path for years once they have ensured their safety. That’s why there is a chance that you may find deer in your backyard multiple times.
Once the herd or the family has cleared your backyard as a safe place, it can show up many more times just for a safe shut-eye.
It is also easy for deer to decide if your yard is secure – they can quickly decipher that a fenced setting will keep them safe from natural predators like wolves and other jungle predators.
So naturally, for all these reasons, deer prefer to settle in the backyard either alone or with the entire herd.
Should I Prevent Deer From Entering My Backyard?
One of the most significant reasons for deer or a herd to enter your property is ‘security.’
Once they are in your yard, they will find the best spot to rest or fall asleep.
The question is – Is having deer in your backyard safe for you?
As mentioned in the beginning- they are adorable and harmless animals without predatory instinct. Consequently, they are spooked relatively easily.
A spooked deer in your backyard is quite the opposite of regular deer. It does not take much to startle a sleeping deer, and that is because they are notoriously light sleepers.
A deer may consider you a threat after sensing your presence in the yard. The only victim in a commotion is your backyard, where the deer may create a stir and effectively trash it.
Deer are timid. Because of this characteristic, they have developed several sleeping mechanisms to keep harm at arm’s length.
Some bucks may even decide to sleep while standing up with their eyes open, and such a position makes it less likely for a predator to attack the deer successfully.
A threatened animal is more likely to take fight-or-flight decisions, which can damage your property in numerous ways.
We should also consider that a fully stocked backyard is nothing short of a paradise for deer.
There is always a possibility that a herd of deer will munch on all your delicate flowers, grass decorations, and bonsai additions, leaving you with a garden in distress.
If provoked, a herd may even destroy your backyard to a much greater extent.
How Do I Keep Deer From Entering My Yard?
While sheltering deer is not necessarily bad, we concluded that these herds could potentially destroy your yard.
So, we thought it would be valiant to give a few remedies to keep deer from entering your property.
One of the best and hassle-free ways is to create a wall of deer-repellent plants on the periphery of your garden. That way, deer are far from enticed to enter your space on a whim.
They will keep their distance from plants that smell and taste bad. Deer can pick up fragrances from long distances thanks to their sharp noses.
Therefore, it would be best to plant some foul-smelling plants on the edge of your yard. Moreover, deer also avoid plants that have an unfamiliar or rough texture.
You can thus add a combination of deer repellent plants with coarse textured shrubbery on the boundary of your yard.
A corollary to that is to grow all deer favorites near your house. If you grow peaches and strawberries on the inner lining of your garden, deer are less likely to pick on them, and they accurately sense human proximity and would not want to engage in the same.
Some people also prefer a more robust and hostile method to keep deer at bay. You can install water sprinklers in your garden or backyard.
Then turn the sprinklers on whenever you see deer roaming around your land. While the herd may not have a response to the water, they will have a response to the sudden onslaught of it.
A sudden change, movement, or shift in the environment for the deer is a threat. Thanks to sprinklers, deer will stay away from your garden.
Another eco-friendly method is the introduction of coffee grounds on your personal property. While this might not spook or scare the deer, it will announce and warn that the property has a human presence.
Sprinkling a generous amount of coffee ground around your yard and in your backyard’s perimeter shall keep the deer or herd at bay.
Lastly, if none of these give the anticipated results you have been seeking, consider investing in store-bought deer deterrents. Property owners can also search online to get the best deal on some of the most trusted deer deterrents available.
Conclusion
Deer are shy creatures equipped with brilliantly agile bodies. While they may not hold power in the pyramid of the jungle, deer certainly add an aesthetic value to that ecosystem.
But what do you do when deer start visiting your backyard regularly? Well, for starters, you should try not to scare them. A shaken deer can do more harm than good in your yard, and you should wait for the deer to leave.
However, if the menace goes beyond your comfort, you should indulge in the methods that we have stated above. That way, you can protect your yard and the deer simultaneously.
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