Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference

Bovine tuberculosis is endemic in white-tailed deer in Michigan’s Northeastern Lower Peninsula (NELP), and evidence suggests transmission to domestic cattle. One source of transmission is through feed shared between deer and cattle as a result of deer access to stored cattle feed. Fences (2-3 m in height) have been erected to surround stored feed on at least 50 cattle farms in the NELP in order to prevent deer access. However, gate closure by landowners remains a problem. We investigated the use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) curtains installed at gate openings as a tool to deter deer from entering stored feed areas. Deer activity was monitored through the use of infrared digital cameras and by recording deer tracks inside and outside stored feed facilities. Two treatment and two control sites were established. On the first treatment site, deer tracks inside the fenced feed area decreased post-treatment from 9 to 0. Tracks within 5 m outside the fence decreased from 28 to 13. Photographs of deer entering or exiting the gate decreased from 23 to 0. Photographs of deer near stored hay decreased from 2 to 0. No deer activity was observed on either control site or the second treatment site during the study period. While sample sizes are too small for statistical analysis, we believe the use of PVC curtains to deter deer from stored feed areas has merit and deserves additional intensive research.