Tar-paper Cones 



Another deer repellent, suggested "by County Agent .B H. Lovejoy, 

 of Sanford, Maine, is the. use of tar paper, which is cut into 4- "by 6- 

 inch pieces, rolled into cones, and held in position with paper clips. 

 The cones are capped or hung on some of the side "branches about 3 feet 

 from the ground. Tor a small tree one cone is probably sufficient. The 

 scent from the tar paper will last 3 to 4 months, when a coal-tar repel- 

 lent should he painted on the cones, or the paper renewed. According to 

 Mr. Lovejoy, this method gave 100 percent control, and although the deer 

 walked through the orchard they did not browse there. 



Traps 



Uhere legal, it is practicable to trap and transplant deer as a 

 method of controlling their damage, but this method is both laborious and 

 expensive. The animals may be trapped in the crate in which they are to 

 be shipped. The crates are fitted with a drop door at each end, a trigger 

 and a treadle board, such n,s are commonly used in making box traps for 

 smaller animals. Camouflaged with brush and baited with apples, oats, 

 salt, and twigs, the traps are set where deer are known to bo feeding ex- 

 tensively. The animals enter the traps freely and can be readily trans- 

 ported for restocking. Further development of this plan may provide a 

 means of removing deer from cultivated sections to others in which they 

 can do no harm . 



Electric Fences 



Experiments are being conducted to test the value of electric fenc- 

 ing in deer control. This device is discussed by Richard Gerstell l/, of 

 the Pennsylvania Game Commission, in a recent article in which he explains 

 that the electric fence is convenient when temporary or movable fencing 

 is required. In brief, Gerstell thus describes the fence: 



From a given supply source, an electric current of low voltage is fed 

 both into wires insulated from the ground and into the earth. Any 

 living animal simultaneously coming in contact with the charged 

 wires and the ground both "shorts" and "grounds" the established 

 circuit. The passage of current through the living body during 

 the disruption of the circuit results in an electric shock. . . . 

 Apparently to avoid shocking, certain animals will steadfastly 

 refrain from coming in contact with wires which they have come 

 through experience to associate with the sensation of being shocked. 

 Thus, the charged wires are erected along lines beyond which it 

 is desired not to have the animals pass. 



Gerstell reported the fences more than 90 percent efficient in preventing 

 deer from entering enclosed plots. 



Gerstell, Pd chard. Electric Fencing as a Door Control Agency. 

 Pennsylvania Game News 8 (12) : 8, 9, 32. 1938. 



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