# Dealing with deer



## BillinOregon (Feb 6, 2012)

Our rural property is lousy with blacktail deer. I had to build an eight-foot fence to keep them out of the garden. We also have a lot of wild turkeys. I'm wondering how these pests will react to the garden railroad I plan to build this spring. I know I will need to choose my plants carefuly. Does anyone else deal with these critters? I would think deer might damage my tracks, but I'm planning to use stainless steel.


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## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

I don't know if your blacktail deer are much different from the white tails we have in NY state, but they haven't been any problem at all for me. I have motion-sensing lights and often see two or three hanging around the yard. One loop of the layout, around a fifty foot long flower bed, runs very close to the tracks they often leave in the snow, from the neighbor's yard to the side street (no fences). Perhaps because that stretch of track is an incline along the 50 ft. length, up to almost a foot high. They seem to prefer the level ground next to it. 

Maybe I just got lucky with the incline. Perhaps if you just elevate your roadbed a few inches, they'll go around instead of "on". 

If you get snow, see if your deer tracks always follow the same path, as mine do. Might be less hassle if you can avoid where they like to walk. 

JackM


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

I only have 300# piglike peccaraies to worry about, they have poor eyesight but for the most part stepped over the track, but spooked and they are mini tanks barreling through. I got a nick and slight kink once, from a cloven hoof in my SS track before I put up a barrier. 
I don't plant things they like to eat, life is hard here in the desert and they'll go after anything that smells like food. 

Barriers and elevated tracks have eased my concerns. 

Happy Rails 

John


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

The solution to your problem


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

Choot 'Em, Choot 'Em


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## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I think either jerky or sausages is a good solution since the meet tends to be on the little dry side anyway. Of course if you just have to have that veneson steak I would suggest a nice garlic sauce with lemon juice top with carmeled onions and served over rice. You'll want the steak smothered with garlic sauce so the primary ingredients should be 1 cup olive oil, 3/4 cup garlic, and 2 cups lemon juice with just about 1/4 stick of butter for 2 servings.


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Sounds crazy but...... Dial soap. I know what your thinking..."How am I gonna catch the deer and wash 'em with Dial soap?" Actually, deer hate the smell of it. If you hang it around vegetation, the deer will avoid it. If you hang it near your layout, they should avoid that, too. If you 'google' "deer dial soap" you'll get plenty of information about it. BTW deer smell a lot better after a good bath with dial soap. Hope this helps. (you can stop laughing, now) 


-Kevin.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

I had a deer problem a few years ago. They were eating my wife's Day Lilies and enjoying the lily pads in the pond. I tried the Dial soap thing with minimal results. I suspect that the lily pads were too much of a temptation. Also, the scent of the soap seems to have a very short life outdoors.


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Here's my experience with some of the wildlife that we have


*Turkeys*


The turkeys cause no problems whatsoever. They will walk right through the layout area but they've never stayed around it very long. Never caused any damage either. So I wouldn't worry about turkeys.












*Deer*

We have lots of mule deer around our area. But they are pretty timid. Interestingly the females seem much more timid then the males. I can walk pretty close to a male deer before he runs away. The deer will sometimes walk through the train layout area. But again I've never noticed any damage caused by deer. 


What I have noticed is that they will typically walk around the layout if all of the buildings, rolling stock, etc.. are out on the layout. If some items are missing, meaning there is a really large section of open ground, the deer are more likely to walk there. So I guess they are either afraid of the train stuff or they don't like obstacles in their way. 


*Elk*

These troublesome guys are the only wildlife to actually damage the layout thus far. They are huge too. Part of the problem is they come down during the winter time. That's when there is nothing out at the layout except the track. So not much to scare them away. And the whole area is usually covered by snow. So it's hard to tell there is even anything under the snow. After the melt I look to see if any track sections have been trampled. But thankfully its pretty rare when this happens.


*Bear*

We've had the occasional black bear roam through the property. They never stick around long, but I have seen one walk near the layout. Didn't cause any damage though.


*Chipmunks and Ground Squirrels*

These are the most visible since they come out during the daytime. But other than sometimes scampering around the layout, they don't cause any harm. 


*Packrats*

Of all the wild life we have, these guys are the worst. If I forget to put figures or other small items away at night, they will likely be moved or gone the next day. There is not much you can do to prevent them coming either. I make it a point to never have food around the layout to keep critters away, but the packrats still come around looking for toys. Spring rat traps work to some extent, but tiny deer mice can sometimes trigger these larger rat traps without getting caught. Live traps also work, but packrats are very tricky to catch in traps. The funny thing is, packrats are dang cute.


*Racoons*

They always seem to be looking for food. So if we keep food away from the layout, they stay away.




I'd guess our layout is in as wild a setting as you'll likely see. Our property borders the San Juan National Forrest and we're at 8000' elevation. So I expect wildlife. And that is part of the fun living in the woods.


In this view from the cabin, the only evidence of humans is our flagpole. And that's the way we like it:


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## BillinOregon (Feb 6, 2012)

Matt: Your locations and layouts are dazzling. I sure miss the smell of a pine forest, although fir has its charms. 
I realize that it is probably camera angle, but do you have some significant grade in our outdoor layout? 
Glad I don't have elk in my yard, although I'd sure love to have some in my freezer!


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By BillinOregon on 15 Feb 2012 09:48 AM 
Matt: Your locations and layouts are dazzling. I sure miss the smell of a pine forest, although fir has its charms. 
I realize that it is probably camera angle, but do you have some significant grade in our outdoor layout? 
Glad I don't have elk in my yard, although I'd sure love to have some in my freezer! 
There are definitely some significant grades around the property









Out on the layout I have tried to keep grades to a minimum. I used lots of fills with rocks from the property to hold up the roadbed. 


Not sure if you've seen this or not, but below is a link to a cabride video clip of the layout. Sort of shows the terrain and layout grade.


Cabride Video 


Mmmm elk in the freezer, now that sounds good.


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## BillinOregon (Feb 6, 2012)

Nice layout, San Juan. How long was that run in feet? Just getting ideas ...


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Hmmm









I'm not exactly sure how long the run is. My guess is around 250-350 feet based on the amount of track we've ordered over the years.


The track is Llagas Creek code 250 nickel silver rail on their "narrow gauge" ties.


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## astrayelmgod (Jan 2, 2008)

Motion sensiing sprinklers will ward off most wildlife. Any movement, and the sprinkler turns that way, and shoots about two cups of water at the target. Of course, they can't distinguish deer from people, so you have to turn them off when you want to be out there. And back on afterwards. 

A solution specific to deer is dogs. Large, loud dogs, out in the yard. Not at night of course, too dangerous for the dogs. Deer won't come near the place.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Barbecue was always my favorite way to deal with deer. @import url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/CEHtmlEditorProvider/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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