DEER: Just leave them alone

I applaud Daphne Taylor’s thoughts shared in Saturday’s Press. She’s right — the deer were here first. All of Dalton Gardens was once orchards, mostly pear and apple, at the turn of the century (20th), and they lived and thrived here. Then more people started moving in…I’m sure they knew about the deer. I do not live in D.G. proper, but on the outskirts (in fact, Dalton Avenue runs along my back yard) but I ride and walk in the neighborhood, mostly to SEE the deer. I love them too.

I will say, if you residents are tired of the deer eating your flowers, please purchase a red spray bottle of Deer Stopper, available at Northland Nursery (and maybe others) which is a natural mixture of rosemary oil and mint oil, and the deer don’t like the smell or taste of it. It will keep them away from your flowers. And yes, they come into my yard all the time, too.

This area is a wildlife area. How are you going to keep the birds, squirrels and other “pests” away as well, not to mention neighbors’ dogs and cats?

I say, leave them alone. They are beautiful and innocent. Do what you need to keep them away from your plants, but let’s not trap and harm any more of them. This is definitely animal cruelty. I have a hard time believing someone can move into a rural area and not know there are deer.

JEANNE HELSTROM

Coeur d’Alene