Everyday I've gotta drive thru this national park where there's at least 50+ deer I see everyday right up close to the road eating grass. Over the past 2 years, luckily, I've only hit 2 deer, but lately I've had some close calls. Anyway, do you guys know of any product that actually works that'll "repel" the deer? I've heard those "whistles" that they sell in stores for like $10 don't really work? Anyone here use one of those kind of devices and noticed it working? What do you suggest I do/get? I really don't wanna hit another deer..the last time was just 3 weeks ago, about a 5 inch dent in my hood from it.

That brings me to another question, would that be an 'easy' dent to remove [cheaply] by a body shop? It's about 5'' vertical dent on the front part of the hood.

Thanks in advance!

 

by not hitting it

 

Move down here to Phoenix!

 

Sounds like a good excuse to get that Big Brake Kit you've always wanted!! Do they move when you lay on the horn? Maybe get some Huge Semi-Tractor style air horns...

 

I see you are from PA too. And I am guessing you are talking about Valley Forge State Park. I live right next to the park and the deer population is unreal. When I first got my new 03 Max a few weeks ago, I went for a "sunset cruise" through the park. I stopped counting deer when I hit 100! Then I thought..."Why the ***k am I driving through this park!!!!!!!". I can just see me hitting a deer with 200 miles on the clock. Now I try to avoid that area when I can. As far as "scaring" the deer...LOL. They sit and watch you walk by like YOU are the attraction! There has got to be a controlled hunt there to downsize their numbers. It's crazy.

About that dent...call Carisma in West Chester. They do great paintless dent removal.

RichK

 

 

The deer whistles worked for me 10 years ago. Problem is you have to drive at least 25mph for the whistle to hit the right frequency. Going through a national park at 25mph is a no no. They didn't work well, but I don't know about the new ones. Last year I had a deer run full speed into the side of my car. Lessburg Police were going to give me a reckless driving ticket because I turned back around on a emergency vehicle only cut through on rt 7. He said that the damage to my car was caused by me hitting something metal, not a deer. I said, "uh, what about all this deer hair in the door"? He said, "that spot may be a deer, but this is definately a car accident". He said if I kept arguing he was going to take me to jail. I was addiment about the deer, but never cursed or yelled. Thankfully a Leesburg Sheriff stopped by and took over.

 

Lobby state/federal officials to allow hunting in the park.

My family lives in northern Maine and deer are a problem. Family/friends who've tried the whistles have mixed reviews... some put them on and swore by them, others say they hit deer the next day. They definitely won't hurt anything so try them.

 

Get a group of your friends together and go get hunting licenses. I used to live in NJ between Princeton and Trenton in the "woods". Deer EVERYWHERE, they lengthened the hunting season...less deer around...Mind you they weren't all killed, they just got some respect for humans and stayed deeper in the trees. I would be willing to bet that hunting is not allowed in the park and therefore the deer have no fear (excuse the rhyme) of humans. Other places nearby might allow it and as we all know deer walk all over the place.

 

I almost spit coffee all over myself laughing at your post. Especially the part about "Over the past 2 years, luckily, I've only hit 2 deer". HAHAHAHHA! Does anyone else think that's funny as sh*t!?

EDIT: Sorry I can't help with your problem. No deer in Houston. Maybe you should get some highway horns. Or blast rap music while you drive through the park.

 

No idea if this works, but heck, they have a 30 day guarantee.

http://www.gizmocity.com/deeralert.html

 

When you are speeding down a highway and you suddenly see a deer in the middle of the road all you need to do to get the deer to run away is......flash your headlights on and off.

Why?
Well, it turns out that deer become "hypnotized" by oncoming headlights and so they freeze on the spot.

Honking the horn won't do a thing, they'll still stand there until you pass or until you strike.

But if you turn off your headlights momentarily, then turn them back on...the deer will have already run away.

On the other hand.....if the deer comes outta no where....you're outta
luck.

happy trails!

 

I live in a very rural, wooded area and unfortunately deer strikes are a daily occurence. Last year, the local police said they responded to more deer strike calls than any other type of call.

I've been living here for a year and a half and haven't hit any deer (but I've seen many). I really don't think there are any secret answers, but there a few things I do to try and minimize the chance of hitting a deer.

1- Be more vigilant in the fall. This is usually the time of year when they are most active. I didn't see any all summer and now every other morning I have deer in my backyard.

2- If possible, avoid driving at dawn or dusk because this is usually their most active time.

3- I realize 2) may be out of your control, so when driving during times of high activity, drive defensively. At dusk/night, I find the most effective technique is to keep my high beams on as much as possible and scan the sides of the road for the telltale glow of their eyes. I usually dim the interior lights as well.

During the morning, scan tree line for motion and white flashes. They tend to flick their tales when excited/scared, and you might catch a glimpse of their white tails. Their body coloration tends to make them blend in very well.

 

get an H2




I'm curious to know if there is a real solution to your problem. I like the suggestion of blasting 'rap' music...as if deer are scared of a certain type of music. Maybe it's the sound of gunshots in some of the songs that scare the deer.

 

I have deer whistles on my '92 and I have seen deer run away in the day time. Lucky cuz I was rolling (way beyond 25mph). I don't think I will put them on my 2k3 until I decide if I want a body kit or not. Anyway I hoope that helps.

 

I am in Sterling. Glad to see an org. member close by.

 

Thats really funny.

 

Hey nissan5788, you can spill cayote urine in the area where the deer hang out, I wont take long for them to understand it's time to move.

Cheers

AA

 

Not a hunter or anything, but do they sell that stuff? If so, why not get lion or tiger urine and clear the whole park out.

 

I've heard the new H2 has a plastic bumper instead of a steel one like on the originals, so you'd still have body damage if you struck any wildlife.

As far as rap music, I was hoping the bass would scare the deer. I'm sure any type of loud music would get their attention. .

 

They actually do sell coyote urine, but its not for hunters. Its for people who want to keep deer out of their gardens.

 

They run like hell when my two German Shepherds chase them off the property. I always wonder what my dogs think they're going to do if they catch one.

Maybe sticking your head out the window and barking like a dog would work? Might have other uses, depending on what you're into...

 

Oh. Not really into gardening either. Guess you can tell I am a from the concrete jungle.

 

Drive slower. Whenever I'm going through the area around here infamous for deer vs. car incidents I just drive like my mother. It's no fun, but I haven't killed anything yet.

 

Very true. You can try deterrents, etc. but.....

let's face it, no matter what anyone thinks about roads and 'humans rule', deer have been in all of these areas for a WHOLE LOT LONGER than we have been around, and actually have been forced into much smaller territories due to a disproportionately overdone human population. It is we who are invading and being a nuisance.

So....like all other conditions of nature (ice, snow, rain, etc.)...slow the heck down.

 

this is hilarious

here's what google found for coyote urine:
http://www.biconet.com/critter/coyotePowder.html

Saturating the entire forest might be a bit excessive, so how about pouring some in a super soaker and squirting it out the window.

sooo, puting everything together we have
you driving slowly through the park, flashing your lights at deer, hanging your head out the window while you bark like a dog, blasting rap, and spraying coyote urine from a super soaker.





The imagery of this is too funny.

 

Ya you can buy that stuff it is very efficient cuz deer fear cayote. The american deer never been in contact with lion or tiger so they probably cant identify them but guess what they know what a cayote is.

Cheers

AA

 

sooo, puting everything together we have
you driving slowly through the park, flashing your lights at deer, hanging your head out the window while you bark like a dog, blasting rap, and spraying coyote urine from a super soaker.




But what if the deer spray something back while playing the theme song to Wild Kingdom?

 

I think if you do all of the above, the deer will run...







and so will the humans!

 

I live in PA and I'm just going to put a snowplow on the front of my Max. It'll compliment the 4x4 look.

Oh, and Eric, my German Shepherd/Coyote mix brought back a deer's head one time. Not the whole deer mind you, just the head. That's what they do when they catch them. I call him Killer now. Be careful though, if a hunter in PA sees your dogs chasing deer, he can legally shoot them. And you don't want to have to dig holes for two dogs and a hunter.

 

No deer in Houston?? Man, not running on Westhimer...but there are plenty of deer in that area. Rap music is good, unless you see some sneakers on the telephone lines...then you know they are some ghetto deer

 

Think he actually caught one or they found a dead one?

My boys are pretty big, especially for shepherds (one is 100 lbs and the other is 115 lbs) so they'd be in a position to do something if they ever caught up with a deer. Both are from the Humane Society so I'm not sure if there isn't some King Shepherd in there.

I always thought maybe they thought they were either herding or chasing of an intruder, but maybe they're thinking "I'm gonna catch this thing and rip its head off".

I know the deer are scared ****less. We have an old post and wire fence surrounding our property and a few weeks ago they snuck up on deer behind our big shed and chased it from one end of the property to the other (600+ ft). That deer hit the fence so hard it actually snapped one of the posts (granted the posts are like 60 years old), did a couple of flips, got up and continued running. Thankfully, the dogs know the property lines and stopped the chase at the fenceline.

Thanks for the heads up on the hunters. I keep my dogs on my property so I think I'm safe. First idiot that brings a rifle onto my property is leaving in the back of a police cruiser.

 

Have you ever noticed the big plow on the 'olde tyme' locomotive engines. Those plows were called Cow Catchers. Pick one up

 

I've got those deer whistlers on all my cars (for 50 cents each I figured why not). Then again I almost hit a big buck last weekend. Since then I've adjusted all my lights higher and added fog lights to help see them in advance.

It's not the deer that worry me, it's the bear! Almost drove over one last year on a 3 lane highway. He was spread over the entire middle lane and his fur blended in with the black road at night (thank the Koni shocks!). I think bear aren't hunted in Maryland so it's a steady problem...not like deer in PA, in a few weeks they'll all be "harvested".

 

I don't know if he caught it or found it, but he ripped it's head off either way. I thought he had a ground hog at first, so I grabbed a shovel and when I flipped it over I saw these big-azz eyes staring at me. Scared the hell out of me.
BTW, good to see you got your dogs from the humane society. It makes no sense to spend a lot of $ on a dog when there are thousands of them being euthanized every day.

 

Y2KSE..I’m stuck in PA for at least 3 more years! (College) & unfortunately, I can't avoid the entire area, it's the only way I can get to my college

fhaze_max..stock horns, they usu. don’t move..they usu. just stand there on the side of the road eating away. I installed the FIAMM horns today so, maybe that’ll help a little?

RichK, Yep, I’m talking about VF Park. The amt. of deer around there is crazy! It gets downright scary at times driving through there @ nite being the only car on the road..no advanced warning of when a deer is just gonna dart out into the mid. of the road. My Max had only 3000 mi. on it when I hit that deer a couple weeks ago. I’ll give Carisma a call tomr..thanks for the info!

Tanman..yeh, lol..only hittin 2 deer is a pretty good record for around where I live! As for the rap..it’d give me a headache & get me annoyed way before the deer would even get to hear some of it !

jjs..thanks for the link. Where did you read they had a 30day guarantee though ?

dbla..lol..that’s a good idea..but, I think the park rangers mite have just a little problem w/that

Thanks for the suggestions =)

 

My friend put those deer horn thingy's on his buick. It seems to attract deer, since the first one he hit took off one of the horns and half of the front of his grill on his buick. The second deer hit the side of his front passenger door, and then it's a*s swung around and hit the back. It think it's like one of those horns are like "Hey Deer" and the other one says "run away" and it's with one horn knocked off, it just says "hey deer," but hey, maybe it's a psychosomatic thing. At least he drives a buick - there's more steel in the hood of that thing than there is in our entire cars.

 

Steven Wright (the comedian) said that he put those wildlife warning things on his car backwards......when he looked in his rearview mirror, he had a herd of deer chasing his car.

 

to the left, in the blue area...

 

This wasn't supposed to be funny but it's hell funny
First thing that came to my mind is to just honk your horn every 10 or so sec, depending on how long this deer strech of road is (if no other cars are in front of you).