For stewards of Maryland's backyard wildlife

Vol. 10 No. 2,  Summer 2004

HABITAT - the arrangement of food, water, cover, and space - IS THE KEY!  This newsletter is a place to share ideas, information,  and help answer some of your habitat and wildlife gardening concerns.

Highbush blueberry is one of the most important plants in the blueberry family. Found growing on moist, well-drained, slightly acid soils around wetlands, in woodland clearings and open meadows, it grows 6 to 15 feet tall in sun or partial shade.

Flowers/Fruits: Small, pink bells on drooping racemes in May and June. Sweet edible blue fruits June to September.

Landscape Notes:  Highly ornamental in all seasons with especially brilliant bronze and crimson fall foliage. Responds well to pruning. Thick bushy growth is ideal for planting in clumps, in borders or along hedgerows. Produces fruit 8 to10 years on average. Fruit yield dependent on honeybee pollination.

Other Blueberries:  Lowbush Blueberry (Vacciniun angustifolium) grows to 8 inches. There are 35 species of blueberry native to North America and all are important wildlife food. Blueberries are important to American wildlife. There are about 57 species of wildlife that eat it as part of their main diet.

Blueberries are important to American wildlife: There are about 57 species of wildlife that eat it as part of their main diet. Some of these species are: Canada Goose, Turkey, one of the most essential summer and early fall foods for Ruffed Grouse. Other users are Bobwhite, Mourning Dove, Ruby –throated Hummingbird uses the nectar, Common Flicker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Phoebe, Blue Jay, Crows, Tufted Titmouse, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, American Robin, Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Veery, Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-breasted Chat, Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, especially important to Scarlet Tanager. Cardinals , Pine Grosbeak, Rufous-sided Towhee, Tree Sparrow, Pheasants, and White –throated Sparrows are the other songbirds that eat the juicy, sweet berries. As for mammals, it is an essential food for black bears . Other mammals that use the fruit are red fox, gray fox, opossum, rabbits, raccoons, skunks and deer.

Blueberries are cover for: Turkey, Ruffed Grouse, Bobwhite, Ringnecked Pheasant, Mourning Dove, Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Veery, Rufous-Sided Towhee,, Tree Sparrow, White –throated Sparrow, Because of their dense shrubby growth, blueberries are worthy to plant in hedgerows for these species. Eastern Kingbird, American Robin, Wood, Hermit and Swainson’s Thrush.

Blueberries are nesting places for: Gray Catbird.

Blueberries are host plants for: Butterflies such as the Brown Elfin, Pink-edged Sulphur and Spring Azure. The Brown Elfins will also use the flower nectar.

Best Blueberries: The University of Maryland recommends the following Highbush Blueberry varieties for growing in Maryland: Bluecrop, Bluetta and Blueray. These varieties will do well throughout the area. The best growth and fruit production occurs in acid soils of pH 5.0 with plenty of moisture and organic matter.

Fresh Garden Seeds for Birds

When you are scooping out your cantaloupe or cutting up a cucumber, don’t throw the seeds away. Save the seeds to make bird treats. Nuthatches, chickadees, cardinals and blue jays enjoy seeds of squashes, watermelons, pumpkins and other melons.

Cucumber and sweet pepper seeds are also good to save. Seeds from hot peppers are not really liked by squirrels, but songbirds don’t seem to mind them.

Prepare the seeds the following way. When you are scooping out the seeds, rinse them to remove pulp. You can place the seeds onto a tray to offer fresh to the birds or you can dry them for storage for later use. If you decide to dry seeds try the following. Spread the seeds in a single layer on several sheets of newspaper in a dry sunny spot. The seeds should dry in a couple of days. Mix the seeds together, keep in a jar or bag, sealed and keep in a cool dry place until ready to use.

Birds- Essential Bug Controllers

Birds are seldom given credit for their help in controlling garden pests. Increase your bird population and you will reduce the pest population. Adult songbirds that eat seeds must feed their growing young protein and that comes in the form of fresh insects.

Some of the best pest controllers are the house wren, Baltimore oriole, and chickadees. Blue jays and black birds eat cut –worms. Robins like Colorado potato beetles, cutworms, leafminers, loopers, and slugs.

Wrens will include in their diet cutworms and leafhoppers. Warblers will eat aphids, cucumber beetles and flea beetles. Chickadees will gobble up aphids, cucumber beetles, flea beetles and leaf miners. Even the invasive pests, starlings and English sparrows, consume thousands of pest insects, such as cabbage loopers, cucumber beetles, cutworms and leafhoppers. Yellow –shafted flickers love to eat ants.

With this information in mind, it is easy to see why it is important to provide bird habitat if you want a healthy garden and landscape.

Introduction:
Deer are beautiful creatures that inhabit a diverse range of habitats in Maryland, including the suburban landscape. Beautiful as they are, deer are increasingly becoming viewed by suburbanites as destructive pests, rather than graceful distractions, because of their feeding habits. Suburban deer continue to increase in numbers and cause growing problems with humans sharing their habitat - no pun intended. They frequently dine on gardens and landscape plantings at the dismay and expense of an increasing number of suburban residents. Complaints to DNR staff have steadily increased over time, and indicate a decreased tolerance of deer in many areas of Maryland. The following article provides a workable solution to the issue of suburban deer damage.

Deer thrive and find abundant food in suburban areas. When wooded areas become housing developments, some sections are cleared for roads and home sites, while others remain forested; new homeowners then plant ornamental shrubs and seed the yard. When open farmland is developed, new residents plant trees in addition to shrubs and seeded lawns. Both of these types of development actually improve habitat for deer. At the same time, hunting within the forested or agricultural landscapes is either eliminated or restricted, affording deer both improved habitat with reduced mortality, resulting in elevated deer populations. Superior plants contain added nutrients, which provide excellent food for Maryland’s deer herd. Consumption of highly nutritious crops contribute to improved deer productivity. Fertilized lawns, garden plants and many varieties of landscape plants are often more nutritious than native forage, and therefore more appealing to deer, which is why deer often target landscape plants and gardens in the suburbs.

Repellents can provide an effective deterrent when applied to gardens and ornamental shrubs in a regular manner. They are effective when used in small areas, and areas with low to moderate deer numbers, but are most effective where untreated plants are available for to deer to eat.

Repellents: How They Work
Repellents work by emitting an alarming odor or bad taste that repels deer, and discourages their feeding behavior. They make treated plants less palatable and less desirable to deer, and have been used successfully to reduce damage to ornamental plants, vegetable gardens, orchards, and tree and landscape nurseries. They do not alter the aesthetics of plantings, and can be used where aesthetics cannot be compromised. Repellents should not be expected to eliminate all damage, but they can help to reduce deer feeding damage to plantings.

Some repellents are applied directly to plants (contact repellents) and some are placed near plants that need protection (area repellents). Repellents should only be applied according to label directions, to prevent damage to tender plantings.

Most repellents can be placed into two categories, taste-based repellents and odor-based repellents, though a few repellents incorporate some of both qualities.

Repellents: Taste-Based Repellents
Taste-based repellents impart a noxious taste that makes treated plants less palatable than untreated plants. Most taste-based repellents are applied directly to each individual plant and discourage deer from feeding because of the offensive taste that they impart to the plant. One kind of taste-based repellent is systemic. It is placed in the ground with the plant roots, and is absorbed by the plant as it grows. The chemicals absorbed by the plant impart a noxious taste to the plant, which deters deer feeding. A drawback of taste-based repellents is that deer must eat part of the plant before being repelled.

Certain taste-based repellents can be used on edible plants such as vegetable crops, fruits, berries, nuts and herbs, but they must be removed (washed off) prior to eating. The following repellents are approved for use on edible plants: Hinder*, Millers’ Hot Sauce *, Deer Stopper*, Plant Pro-Tec*, and Deer buster deer and & rabbit repellent*. Only those repellents that are labeled for use on edible plants should be used for edible plants.

Repellents: Odor-Based Repellents
Odor-based repellents capitalize on a deer’s keen sense of smell. Their odor discourages deer from feeding on the treated plants by producing an offensive or alarming odor, which repels deer. Some odor-based repellents can be placed into dispensers that can be attached to or near plants. The Plant Pro-Tec Garlic Dispenser is one repellent dispenser that is clipped onto edible plants and doesn’t need to be washed off because it isn’t directly applied to the plant. Some odor-based repellents may use rotten eggs, animal parts, and soaps as active ingredients. Some incorporate chemicals that deer find offensive. Still, other odor-based repellents use real or synthetic predator urines to repel deer. Repellents that use predator urines rely on the principle that large predators mark their territory with their urine, and that deer are discouraged from entering areas frequented by these predators.

Odor-based repellents can be used to treat individual plants or for area treatments. One system of area treatment is called the rope fence system. This treatment is done by suspending a single-strand of cotton rope, at waist height, on fence posts or stakes anchored around the perimeter of the impacted area. The rope is treated with an odor-based repellent that discourages deer from entering the fenced area. The Plot Saver system by Big Bucks Enterprises is an example of a commercial product that employs this concept. A similar method is done using strips of cloth or dryer sheets treated with an odor-based repellent attached to stakes placed in the ground around the area to be protected.

Repellents: Homemade vs. Commercial
Repellents can be purchased commercially or they can be homemade. Homemade repellents can be inexpensive, but may not be as effective as some commercial repellents. Some examples of homemade repellents include human hair clippings in a mesh bag, crushed garlic cloves in a cloth bag, and deodorant soap attached to the plant by a string.

Commercial repellents can be more expensive than homemade ones, but most of them have the advantage of being tested and developed for effectiveness. Newer repellent technology has incorporated sticking agents that adhere the repellents to the plants, making them last longer before needing reapplication. Some commercial repellents are reported to have worked for up to five weeks, before needing reapplication. Commercial repellents come in many different forms. Some come as solids that must be dusted on plants, some are solids or liquid concentrates that must be mixed with water to form a solution, and others come pre-mixed and ready for use. Liquid repellents can be easily applied using a spray bottle or pump sprayer.

Repellents: Drawbacks
Some drawbacks of repellents are: they can be costly, they need to be reapplied after repeated exposure to the weather and, they can loose their effectiveness as deer can learn to tolerate them, especially when food is in short supply. Repellents can be ineffective at deterring antler rubbing by deer. Male deer rub their antlers on trees to remove velvet, to polish their antlers, and to mark their territory. Plant enclosures like wire cages or tree shelters can be used to deter antler rub damage.

Repellents should be applied at the first sign of damage or if damage is expected, prior to any damage. Deer may eat plants that have been treated with repellents, if alternative foods are not available. Snow cover can prevent deer from finding food, which can encourage them to feed on treated plants. Deer can become used to some repellents over time. Repellents degrade and need reapplication.

Not all repellents perform equally - some repellents are more effective than others at deterring deer damage. Trying different repellents can prevent deer from becoming used to any one kind, and can be more effective than using just one kind. Due to their cost and varying effectiveness, repellents should only be considered as a method of reducing deer damage. Where larger areas need protection, other deterrents, exclusion or a combination of damage abatement measures should be considered. Weather, adjacent natural habitat and deer numbers influence the effectiveness of most repellents.

Repellents: Advantages
Repellents can reduce deer damage to tolerable levels in areas where damage pressure is light to moderate. They can be a cost-effective treatment for reducing deer damage on small to medium-sized areas such as gardens, landscape plantings, small orchards and small to medium-sized tree and landscape nurseries. Repellents do not alter the appearance of landscape plantings and should be considered where exclusion methods would detract from the aesthetics of plantings. Commercial repellents are readily available at various retailers, and can even be ordered online. Advancements in repellent technology have resulted in repellents that last for up to five weeks before needing reapplication. Most repellents are easily mixed and applied, and some come premixed and ready to use, in handy spray bottles.

Conclusion:
Repellents can be an effective deterrent to deer damage, but are most effective when they are used in conjunction with other deer damage management techniques, like fencing and population reduction.

The Maryland DNR deer management project continues to investigate all new and experimental deer management options for all Maryland landscapes. Maryland citizens who live in the growing suburban areas will benefit from increased assistance with white-tailed deer issues from DNR, through website information on deer and assistance from MD’s Urban Deer Biologist, who can assist communities with resolving deer problems.

To learn more about repellents and other deer management options, go to the DNR website on deer at: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Hunt_Trap/deer/deer_damage/ddmtintro.asp

• Special thanks to  George Timko, Urban Deer Biologist - MD Deer Project
• Photo of Highbush Blueberry courtesy of Robert H. Mohlenbrock @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database/USDA SCS. 1991. Southern wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. South National Technical Center, Fort Worth, TX.
• Illustration of Highbush Blueberry couresy of USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 2: 700.

Here is a listing of phone numbers, web sites and organizations that you might find helpful or interesting in your search for ideas to manage your wild acres. DNR Online... Inspired by nature! www.dnr.maryland.gov 

National Wildlife Federation - Details on their backyard habitat program www.nwf.org or call them at 1-800-822-9919.

Native plants - The Maryland Native Plant Society offers information dedicated to protecting, conserving and restoring Maryland's native plants and habitats, visit them at www.mdflora.org. 

Maryland Cooperative Extension offers home and garden information, tips publications, plant problems, Bay issues, and other links at www.agnr.umd.edu/MCE/index.cfm  Their Home and Garden Information number is statewide and can be reached at 1-800-342-2507, and from outside Maryland at 1-410-531-1757. 

Maryland's "Becoming an Outdoors - Woman Program "- One of the topics covered in the three-day workshops is Backyard Wildlife.

For a free wildlife & native plant newsletter, visit the WindStar Wildlife Institute at www.windstar.org and subscribe to the WindStar Wildlife Garden Weekly e-newsletter.  You can also visit this website to learn how you can become a certified wildlife habitat naturalist.

For more information on butterflies - visit the North American Butterfly Association at www.naba.org

Warm season grasses and wild meadows for upland nesting birds visit Pheasants Forever at www.pheasantsforever.org or e-mail: pf@pheasantsforever.org

Habichat, the newsletter for Wild Acres participants, is published by the Wildlife and Heritage Service, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The facilities and services of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are available to all without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, physical or mental disability. This document is available in alternative format upon request from a qualified individual with a disability.

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