Title: OH DEER

Some people take yearly vacations to places such as Georgia or North Carolina just to wake up in the morning, look out the window, and see a deer or a rabbit peacefully grazing on dew-covered greenery. For some Brevard County residents, that idyllic scene is right outside their back door.

But watching a deer gracefully graze in a wild field is different than watching them graze on your newly planted rose bushes orfruit trees.

And although munching mammals can take quite a bite out of a landscape, concern about diminishing wildlife habitat is leading more and more residents to learn ways to be a little more tolerant while still protecting their favorite plants.

Depending on where you live, you can spend your entire life in Brevard without seeing a deer. But for Bob and Kim Gatewood of Melbourne, deer visitors are a nightly occurrence.

"We used to see two or three deer at a time," Bob said. "But now we see groups of seven or eight, probably because they just don't have anyplace else to go.

"I think it's kind of neat to see them," he said. "And to know that they are still around and not homeless yet. But they can do a lot of damage. What's here at night, plant-wise, isn't what's here in the morning. In the morning, there are a lot of tops cut off."

Since Kim grew up in a city environment with no space for growing things, she wasn't about to let a few deer stop her from creating her dream gardens. She just works around them. "We started out with an electric fence when we were trying to get the plants started," Kim said. "But we don't need that anymore."

Kim's persistence has resulted in a beautiful landscape of flowers and foliage as well as bountiful vegetable and fruit gardens. It would be hard for any critter to not see it as a delectable delicatessen. But with a few simple barriers, Kim has been able to set aside parts of her yard off-limits.

What to use
Netting has been placed on low-growing shrubs, "primarily to keep the rabbits away," Kim said. And restrictive fences have been placed around gardens containing fruit trees and vegetables. The Gatewoods even have been successful at keeping squirrels off fruit trees, something many local gardeners find as a constant challenge.

"We use the owl decoys to keep the squirrels away," Bob said. "The decoys are placed on posts around the gardens and Kim just comes out and moves them from one post to another."

"We knew it was a nature preserve when we moved in," Kim said, referring to their environmentally friendly community in Melbourne, "but I didn't realize the deer would eat so much. You never know what they are going to eat. I've just learned to plant more."

Doug Terraglio is another Melbourne resident that has had to adjust his gardening habits to accommodate the visiting wildlife.

"When we built our house, we didn't set out to find someplace that had deer," Terraglio said. "We actually live in a fairly populated area. But we have deer in our yard all the time, and we love it. The deer will come out with their babies at night and just lay down in the yard right under the oak trees. They lay the babies down and then the mother goes and feeds."

Since Terraglio appreciates the presence of these wonderful creatures and the other wildlife that sometimes visits his yard, he has gone to great lengths to learn to preserve his plants without chasing away the wildlife.

"Deer have been a real challenge for me," Terraglio said. "I found out quickly what plants they like. Roses are like candy to deer! I fenced in about 1,000 square feet with PVC fence to be able to grow citrus, mangos, figs and vegetables, and I also fenced in the roses. There was no alternative."

To protect other plants, Terraglio has applied repellents.

"I have used a product called Deer Off. It's a spray repellent that is pepper based," Terraglio said. "It is pretty expensive and has to be reapplied after a rain, but it works great. And I've made my own spray by mixing a 'tea' out of garlic powder and cayenne pepper."

Finally, Terraglio has done some replanting.

"I now try to stay away from plants deer eat. When I buy something new I stick one out in the yard for a week to see if it gets eaten. I also search the Internet for stuff deer won't eat. According to most Web sites, if deer get hungry enough, they will eat anything, but in my yard, they have stayed away from cannas, philodendron, caladium, heliconia, tiger lily, ginger, garlic, croton, crown of thorn and lantana (so far)."

Co-existing
Because of his efforts, the deer and the Terraglios have developed a peaceful coexistence.

"My house was the first one built here and everyone said that the deer would be gone after the construction got rolling," he said. "Well, over three years later, the deer are still here strong."

These tactics to restrict, repel and replant are the best methods for Brevard gardeners that want to learn to live with visiting wildlife.

Restrictive fences or netting can be erected around specific plants. The fencing should have mesh with holes less than 2 inches square and should be constructed 1 to 4 feet high. To deter rabbits and gopher tortoises from digging under the fencing, the bottoms should be buried 6 to 8 inches or staked securely to the ground to prevent animals from pushing underneath it. If you have fruit trees you want to protect, owl decoys can be placed at the top of the fence stakes.

Repellents can be home-made mixtures or you can buy products at garden centers or feed stores. Some work by making individual plants unpalatable to the species and others work by omitting an odor that is offensive to the animals, creating a barrier for larger areas.

Many items, such as human hair and bars of soap, are listed in organic guides as being possible animal repellents. But Dan Keene, horticultural assistant for Brevard County, suggests gardeners should spread bloodmeal or cayenne pepper around the plants they want to protect.

"They are both natural and the bloodmeal helps fertilize the plants," Keene said.

As for replanting, lists abound as to what plants are liked and disliked by specific species. These lists, however, should be used as guidelines rather than guarantees. Following Terraglio's suggestion and giving a plant a trial run in the yard for a week or so may go a long way in keeping the peace between you and your wildlife visitors. Planting onions, garlic or African marigolds also may repel some species.

An alternative to trying to plant what the animals don't like is to plant their own diversionary plot. Local feed dealers carry food crop seed mixtures made to lure grazing deer and rabbits away from food crops. These are available in cold- and warm-weather blends.

Know the laws
Many gardeners feel another humane solution is to trap and remove wildlife from their property. This usually is not true and, in some cases, is against the law.

There are state and federal laws that regulate which species can be harassed, trapped or harmed. This includes relocating. It also is against Florida law to relocate animals to public land or to private land, without the property owner's permission.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Web site, even when it is legal, relocating animals usually is not a good solution.

"It's a popular myth that the animal that is a nuisance on your property can simply be 'relocated,'" the Web site states. "However, it's rare that relocated animals have a good chance of survival, and moving them may even affect the survival of animals in their new 'home.' It is tough on the transported animals and can have negative impacts on the animal populations where they are released."

Perhaps the best solution for learning to live with wildlife is just a change in thinking. A deer is just a deer and a rabbit is just a rabbit. Whether you look at their visit with a sense of awe or aggravation is up to you.

"Our goal is to coexist with Florida's wild animals, and we owe it to them to seek low-stress and hopefully nonlethal solutions to nuisance animal problems," states the FWC Web site. "Usually, that means modifying our own behavior."