TAKE ONE
Gardener News
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September 2019
GARDENERNEWS.COM
TAKE ONE No. 197
Mating season is here! Is your landscape prepared? By R.J. Curcio New Jersey Deer Control ®, LLC As the long days of summer shorten, changes begin to occur in your garden and landscape. Your property’s plants react to the cooling temperatures and shorter days as they prepare for winter. That same environmental indicator tells the white-tailed deer that it’s mating season, known in wildlife biology as the “rut.” For those gardeners and property managers out there who don’t have a deer problem, you may be wondering: what exactly is buck rub? Well, simply put, buck rub is an abrasion to a plant, ranging from a light scratch to heavy shredding. The buck (male deer) typically makes the abrasion in the fall months, but there is much more to the story. Before the rut, bucks often can be found in “bachelor groups.” Within these bachelor groups, there are typically bucks of various ages that tend to get along relatively well. They feed alongside each other daily and have even been observed grooming one another. However, this brotherhood turns south fast as the days get shorter and hormones increase, particularly testosterone. An increase in testosterone means an increase in overall activity, aggression, and a VERY strong drive to mate. They only have a few months to spread their genes, so their bodies engage into a state of near panic in order
to accomplish reproduction. The bachelor group turns into more of a pecking order and once travelling partners can turn into fierce competitors. They are no longer interested being in each other’s presence unless they’re looking for a fight. The rut has begun. I don’t want to discount the massive changes in does (female deer) during the fall, as they go through their own hormonal changes. When they are in “estrus” and ready to mate, their activity levels can be 20 to 30 times higher. This makes them even tougher to deal with on your landscape in the fall months. Fortunately for your trees and shrubs, the females cannot rub them because does do not have antlers. Be wary if you only see females on your landscape, though. It does not mean your trees and shrubs are safe. In the fall, if there is a female around, a male is typically not too far away. The beginning of the fall is when the buck’s antlers are just finishing development after having fallen off the previous winter. That’s right, a buck’s antlers fall off every single year! Believe it or not, antlers are a bone, and the fastest growing one in the entire world. Every winter they fall off and every spring/summer they regrow. During the regrowth period, the antlers are covered in “velvet,” which appears furry. This is the live tissue that supports the antler’s growth and is also where the buck rub begins. With the arrival (Cont. on Page 24)
New Jersey Deer Control ®, LLC/Photo
Devastating buck rub damage to the bark, xylem and phloem on deciduous tree.