Our visit with Jim and Sandi was a wonderful experience. After arriving at their home in Columbia Maryland, Jim and Sandi shared their deer experiences with us. For years, the deer used Jim and Sandi’s backyard as an open salad bar. Sandi was kind enough to show us pictures of the deer damage to the yard (It was crazy to see how much damage they had done)! Almost every plant they had was eaten and the deer destroyed the grass, leaving bare spots from the act of stamping. Stamping is when a deer is on alert and will typically stand in the same spot and repeat this gesture until it identifies what it initially perceives to be an unknown source of danger. They finally said enough is enough and wanted to resolve this as soon as possible. Coincidentally, the landscapers that they have been using for years recommended DeerBusters fencing. H & E GrassCuts not only recommended the product but installed it too (and they did an excellent job)!

Jim and Sandi purchased the 8’ Welded Wire fencing with a 2”x4” mesh. They were determined to keep these deer at bay! At DeerBusters, we recommend if you have a high deer population AND hope to keep out smaller rodents like rabbits and ground hogs to use the welded wire fencing! Poly fencing works well too—we just suggest a rodent barrier at the bottom of the fence to keep out those smaller critters.

After meeting Jim and Sandi, we walked the perimeter of the fence, which was about 800 linear feet. We noticed that they had 3 gates total. The first one we walked through was a driveway gate- this one was particularly important to Jim because he can get his truck and tractors in and out of the backyard very easily. The access gate towards the back of the property is actually used as a community gate—so if neighbors want to stop over, they can walk on in! The third gate was next to the house, and it was primarily used for a second point of entry/exit. As we were walking around, we also noticed a few garden patches. In one corner there was a patch of hostas (deer LOVE hostas) and another area dedicated to daylilies. Due to the deer destruction, these garden patches were never possible, until now!

Once we toured the property, it was time to get to work. We captured photos and video of the fence. Chris brought out the drone and took some pretty great shots! During this time, Jim walked over to us and asked if we wanted a few plants to bring home. (OF COURSE, WE DO) We were fortunate enough to leave with a few plants that day! When we wrapped up all the content we needed, we chatted with Jim and Sandi more in depth about their experience with DeerBusters. They had nothing but wonderful things to say about the company and would recommend it to anyone who is having trouble with deer. We also learned that they plan to build a greenhouse in the future that is filled with herbs and other flower varieties. Most of Sandi’s daylilies come from a garden business called Smokey’s that is based out of Michigan. The coolest part of the entire visit was hearing about the daylilies that never had the chance to bloom because of the deer and how excited Sandi was to know that this would be the first year she would be able to see them reach full bloom!

As our visit came to an end, we said our goodbyes. However, just as much as we did not want it to end, neither did Jim and Sandi. They invited us to join them at their favorite lunch spot (Tony Loco’s)! We were fortunate enough to hear stories from their past and learn a lot about them. We left with a few valuable life lessons too! Thank you, Jim and Sandi, it was a pleasure.

Check out our visit: DeerBusters Welded Wire Deer Fence Testimonial

Source: https://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/content/blogs/dan-schmidt-deer-blog-whitetail-wisdom/deer-stomping-foot-what-does-it-mean

Smokey’s: https://smokeysgardens.com/index.php