JF,

I was not able to determine from your post how long your neighbor has been
feeding the deer, but you mentioned that you have had a problem with deer in
the 11 years you have been there.

I think you were right when you said "too many more housing
evelopments" -- especially when they are landscaped with "deer yummies"
such as landscaping, etc.

As for the neighbor who feeds the deer, have you considered the possibility
that the deer are eating the corn put out *instead* of your plants? (In
which case, I'd be chipping in on a truckload of corn myself.)

I don't have much experience with deer in the yard here, but we did see a
few last year -- not far from our teeny little water garden, so I think
they may have come for a source of water.

Anne Lurie
somewhere in the desert that is NE Raleigh


"JF" wrote in message
link.net...
We've been in our west Durham home, near Duke Forest, for eleven years,
and
we've always had problems with deer. Twenty-five azaleas were regarded as
salad, and hosta, impatiens, lilies, and many other plants were usually
consumed just before they reached their peak.

It's been worse, however, in the past two or three years. The deer have
eaten English ivy almost to the ground, have drastically pruned the
liriope,
and are evermore daring. They are often on the front walk or in the
backyard
in the middle of the day.

This morning there were five in the front yard, including two in the
azalea
plantings only six feet from the living room where I was taking
photographic
evidence.

I'm sure part of the problem is a neighbor who puts out cracked corn in
the
wooded area behind his house. The deer have worn that area, about twelve
feet by twenty-five feet, to bare earth. I often see six or seven deer in
the area, about 150 feet from my backyard.

Is feeding deer the problem, or is it that there are just too many more
housing developments?

Can I do any thing other than politely asking my neighbor to stop feeding
the deer?