For farmers like John Daughtery, deer can really damage crops. For his Christmas tree farm, they eat the buds, and during this time of year, bucks batter trees with their antlers. With the amount of deer around, he's had to limit the types of tree's he plants. 

“We definitely lose a lot of trees as they get bigger, . . . when I was trying to plant some fraser fir and the deer were really eating those bad, I tried some Turkish fir, which is an exotic. The deer were just as bad with those. I think out of the 125 I planted, and I think I had three survive, and it was awful deer damage. So, I just can't . . .there's a certain species you just can't grow,” Daughtery said.

Daughtery said there's only so much they can do. 

“We try to harvest as many deer as legally allowed. The only other thing we can do is put up some deer exposure fences, but it's costly and we can't do that. . . it depends on where you're at in the state, but in this area, the deer, there's just way too many deer,” Daughtery said.  

PA State Game Warden Alex DiCicco said he see's deer everywhere, but it's not too drastic a difference from years before. In hopes of hunters harvesting more deer an additional 12,000 licenses were issued in the Knox area. 

It's generally consistent every year, but certainly is, of course, depending on things like farming operations, . . . The density can seem, you know, higher at different times, . . ., it seems, more deer out there,” DiCicco said.

DiCicco said anyone experiencing crop damage or issues should reach out to the main game commission office in Harrisburg.

“There aren't a lot of short term solutions to remove a lot of deer. . . hunting is the method we use to control the population, but I always advise people to reach out. Someone will come out and talk to you and work with you and get the plan whatever may be best for your property,” DiCicco said.  

Source - https://www.erienewsnow.com