Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Austin Bans Deer Feeding

Now here's something that will perk up gardener's ears about town. The Austin City Council voted unanimously on Thursday to ban intentional feeding of deer inside the city limits. Fines for violating the ban range from $75 top $125 per violation.

This new ordinance certainly has its fans and foes. Likewise the effect of such a ban on the deer "pressure" residents experience remains to be seen. The recent drought has left deer will even less to eat and their interest in our landscapes is certainly understandable.

Deer problems are especially bad west of IH-35 where there feeding can do very expensive damage to a landscape, especially one filled with plants they love. Don't forget that we have a publication on Gardening In Deer Country on the Central Texas Horticulture website. Soon coming to the website is a list of plants not preferred by deer. (We had one about ready for publication but one night the deer broke into the office and ate it.)

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