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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the material that\u2019s been damaged within the last two weeks. You can see some of it\u2019s more significant than others. So they completely just destroyed this hydrangea. Some of it\u2019s a little more minor, but we certainly notice it. And that\u2019s not a plant that\u2019s going to be nearly as sellable as it was before,\u201d said Casey Jones, one of the owners of Townside Gardens.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we don\u2019t use our sprays and our granular things and all of these water-activated motion sensor things, without that, we\u2019re losing $500 to $1,000 a week in merchandise right now,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the population kind of gets more and more out of control, things that used to be considered very deer resistant now are not anymore,\u201d Jones said. \u201cPeople are losing money. They\u2019re losing interest in things that used to really bring them a lot of joy because they can\u2019t do the gardening that they used to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs they over-browse our woodlands here, they are basically creating a pathway for invasive species to come in and take over as well,\u201d Jones said. \u201cSo it\u2019s not just affecting us, but affecting the deer and the environment as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n
Residents in neighborhoods behind Franklin Road say they are also seeing more deer than before.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the last year, it\u2019s 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\u2019ve never touched before,\u201d said Emily Jarrett, a Roanoke resident.<\/p>\n
Jarrett said the problems go beyond plant damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re always in the street, so we\u2019re having to pay attention to whether we hit one or not. And I think we\u2019ve seen an increase in ticks just when I\u2019m out in the yard. So it\u2019s not just that they\u2019re eating our lovely plants,\u201d Jarrett said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had an issue of a decomposing carcass that in the city we\u2019re not really prepared to deal with,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Jarrett said she believes the city needs to make it easier for residents to address the problem themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d Jarrett said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just not nearly enough. There\u2019s more than that in this neighborhood right behind us,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I am sure of is that we need to do something about it and that the community feels the same way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
City Councilman Phazhon Nash said the issue has been on his radar and that it is time to put a plan in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a serious issue,\u201d Nash said. \u201cLyme disease has really been on the rise here in our area. I think it is because of the increase in the deer we\u2019ve 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nash said the city increased its deer culling budget from $40,000 to $65,000 in this year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s existing framework as a model.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have some pretty good stuff they\u2019ve 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,\u201d Nash said.<\/p>\n
Nash said any bow hunting program would require community education so residents understand the rules that would apply.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou 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\u2019s house,\u201d Nash said.<\/p>\n
Nash said the city\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Nash said he also wants to work with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources to model a healthy deer population target for the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to have zero deer in Roanoke City. We have to have some form of population control. But at the same time, we don\u2019t want to disrupt the natural order of our ecosystem here in the city. So it\u2019s about finding the balance,\u201d Nash said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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