ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) – Residents and businesses in Roanoke say an overpopulation of deer in the city is causing significant problems, from damaged merchandise and destroyed gardens to traffic hazards, increased ticks, and the spread of tick-borne diseases.
Townside Gardens, a plant nursery on Franklin Road that has operated for nearly 40 years, says deer coming down from nearby woods have been eating its plants for the past two years.
“This is the material that’s been damaged within the last two weeks. You can see some of it’s more significant than others. So they completely just destroyed this hydrangea. Some of it’s a little more minor, but we certainly notice it. And that’s not a plant that’s going to be nearly as sellable as it was before,” said Casey Jones, one of the owners of Townside Gardens.
Jones said the business has tried multiple deterrents. The nursery installed an eight-foot fence on the back of the property, but deer jump over it or walk around it onto Franklin Road. Motion-activated devices that flash lights and emit noise kept deer away for about six months before the animals grew accustomed to them. The business now relies on deer repellent spray, which Jones said is not 100 percent effective.
“If we don’t use our sprays and our granular things and all of these water-activated motion sensor things, without that, we’re losing $500 to $1,000 a week in merchandise right now,” Jones said.
Jones said customers frequently report deer destroying their home gardens. She said plants once considered deer-resistant are now being eaten as the deer population grows and food sources in the woods diminish.
“As the population kind of gets more and more out of control, things that used to be considered very deer resistant now are not anymore,” Jones said. “People are losing money. They’re losing interest in things that used to really bring them a lot of joy because they can’t do the gardening that they used to do.”
Jones said the problem extends beyond gardens and businesses. She said the overpopulation of deer contributes to the spread of tick-borne diseases in people and increases the likelihood of spreading chronic wasting disease among the deer population.
“As they over-browse our woodlands here, they are basically creating a pathway for invasive species to come in and take over as well,” Jones said. “So it’s not just affecting us, but affecting the deer and the environment as a whole.”
Residents in neighborhoods behind Franklin Road say they are also seeing more deer than before.
“In the last year, it’s not unusual to see 10 or 12 together in the yard all through the spring and summer. And now they are eating vegetation that they’ve never touched before,” said Emily Jarrett, a Roanoke resident.
Jarrett said the problems go beyond plant damage.
“They’re always in the street, so we’re having to pay attention to whether we hit one or not. And I think we’ve seen an increase in ticks just when I’m out in the yard. So it’s not just that they’re eating our lovely plants,” Jarrett said.
Jarrett said she also dealt with a deer that was struck on Franklin Road and died in the woods near her property in a location the city would not retrieve.
“We had an issue of a decomposing carcass that in the city we’re not really prepared to deal with,” she said.
Jarrett said she believes the city needs to make it easier for residents to address the problem themselves.
“We have an unsafe number of deer living in town. And the city has put restrictions on how people can take care of it themselves, so we need their support in figuring out how to lower the population,” Jarrett said.
Jones has started a petition signed by nearly 400 people asking the city of Roanoke to increase its budget for deer culling. She said the city currently removes between 100 and 200 deer annually.
“That’s just not nearly enough. There’s more than that in this neighborhood right behind us,” Jones said.
Jones said the petition is intended as a starting point for a broader conversation with city and state officials about options including increased funding, more kill permits, relocation and fertility control.
“What I am sure of is that we need to do something about it and that the community feels the same way,” she said.
Jones said she and others plan to attend a Roanoke City Council meeting on the 20th at 2 p.m. The petition is available on Change.org and in hard copy at the Townside Gardens store.
City Councilman Phazhon Nash said the issue has been on his radar and that it is time to put a plan in place.
“This is a serious issue,” Nash said. “Lyme disease has really been on the rise here in our area. I think it is because of the increase in the deer we’ve seen and then also the ticks that joyride on the deer and then fall off in our yards and bite us and our dogs. So it is a public health issue that we will address.”
Nash said the city increased its deer culling budget from $40,000 to $65,000 in this year’s budget.
He said he also wants to pursue a local ordinance allowing bow hunting of deer within city limits during hunting season. No deer hunting is currently permitted in the city.
Nash said he is meeting with the city attorney to determine what steps city council would need to take to make bow hunting possible. He cited Roanoke County and the City of Salem’s existing framework as a model.
“They have some pretty good stuff they’ve drafted up, particularly Roanoke County, like with the height of the deer stand being 10 feet at least, you know, kind of the areas away from like schools and not hunting in public parks. So my plan is to use that as a foundation,” Nash said.
Nash said any bow hunting program would require community education so residents understand the rules that would apply.
“You still have to have a hunting license. It still has to be hunting season. You have to be shooting from a deer stand so that the arrow is going a downward trajectory and not flying straight ahead into someone’s house,” Nash said.
Nash said the city’s current deer culling contract is carried out by a group of veterans. He said the deer that are taken are processed, and the meat is donated to local food pantries and shelters.
Nash said he also wants to work with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to model a healthy deer population target for the city.
“We don’t want to have zero deer in Roanoke City. We have to have some form of population control. But at the same time, we don’t want to disrupt the natural order of our ecosystem here in the city. So it’s about finding the balance,” Nash said.
If the city moves forward with a bow hunting ordinance, it would need approval from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources by April 1 to implement a season that fall. That timeline means a bow hunting season could not begin until 2027.
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