Our Services to Control Deer

Deer are our largest wild mammals in the UK. They range from Muntjac, about the size of a small dog to Red Deer standing about the size of a pony. They are an Important and established part of the natural environment. If we are to manage the challenges they pose successfully, we need to understand their needs and work around them.

They tend to roam over wide areas, the boundaries of which overlap those of human occupation. Having deer on your land doesn't necessarily imply ownership although it may create obligations to your neighbours and the wider public. Since the last war, patterns of farming, EU subsidies and policies as well as patterns of rural and semi-urban occupation have combined to create an environment that is very friendly to deer and has allowed their populations to grow quite steadily.

Since Deer have no natural predators in the UK, it is mainly hunting and natural death which keeps them under control although, increasingly, because of population pressure, road traffic accidents are playing a major part. Larger parcels of land tend to have a Deer Management Plan and the managers will selectively cull out the old, weak and any imbalance in sexes on a yearly basis to keep numbers and damage under control.

However, populations living on land under more fragmented ownership are not subject to the same level of management and can often cause a serious nuisance to urban gardens, extensive damage to crops and woodland and instigate potentially fatal car accidents when crossing roads in the dark.

What can Microbee do? - Deer Management

1. We can and do monitor numbers for clients with larger land holdings and are able to give a report on the potential impact of the presence of deer on a property and suggest ways which can help provide a sensibly managed population and environment.

2. We can erect fencing alongside areas of dangerous road boundaries such as blind bends where a deer emerging from undergrowth might cause or get involved in an accident. These would have the effect of guiding deer along the fence to a point of greater visibility for the driver and one where the deer feel secure in waiting.

3. We can protect tree species of particular value from browsing and bark damage.

4. We can treat planting and shrubs with taste deterrents to prevent or reduce browsing.

5. We can monitor and cull deer as part of a management plan designed to prevent over-pressure damaging their health and the surrounding environment.

6. We can also, where a deer has been injured in a car accident and strayed on to your private land, attend and humanely kill the animal.

Sadly, this kind of intervention is sometimes necessary. Whilst we would urge landowners to take steps to try and prevent these accidents occurring, we do recognise that there are situations where nothing can be done except humane dispatch. In this situation, if it has to be done, better that it is done quickly and well by someone skilled and qualified for the job. 

Whilst we are readily capable of responding quickly to an emergency, we would prefer that clients seek our advice well in advance and try to manage their transient deer in a proactive way. Please call us to arrange a visit to survey and discuss the situation.

Slow down and prepare to stop as soon as you see a deer, the slower you are going, the better your options.
 
When you see one deer, be aware that there are likely to be others nearby. Deer travel in small groups and others may suddenly cross the road to join the one you can see.
 
Be extra careful in the hours around dawn and dusk. Deer often move about at these times in search of cover and food and lie up during the day.

Further Solutions

American Style Garden Enclosures. These are Fruit-cage or Tennis-court style enclosures designed to exclude deer! They are elatively cheap, very effective and needn't cost the earth. They can be used to protect special areas of garden or the entire perimeters of smaller gardens.

Fencing

Culling