Homeowners say deer overrunning their metro Atlanta neighborhood

ROSWELL, Ga. — Some residents of a north Fulton neighborhood say they’re being overrun with deer.

They told Channel 2′s Bryan Mims that the deer are eating plants and have made themselves too much at home in the Martin’s Landing subdivision in Roswell.

“They just multiplied, and they just love it here because everybody puts in some really good plants, especially hostas,” said Ray Bernier, who has lived along Pond Way for more than 30 years.

He said when he moved here, the deer weren’t nearly as profuse as they are now. The deer have not only eaten all his hosta plants, they ate a wreath that he had hanging in his backyard.

“They decided to help themselves to it,” he said.

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A couple of houses away, Andrew Michael said a deer once gave birth in his fenced backyard.

“It hopped the fence and nested in our backyard,” he said. “And we’ve got a little pond in the backyard, so I guess it was a perfect spot to have a baby.”

Kaitlin Goode, the urban wildlife program manager for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, said the best way to control the neighborhood’s deer population is to hunt them.

“It’s the number one tool for managing deer herds,” she said.

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Georgia allows bow hunting for deer in residential areas with permission from the property owners. Roswell also allows deer hunting with a permit.

The property manager of Martin’s Landing told Mims there are no plans to allow hunting in the community.

Goode said, aside from hunting, homeowners can plant deer-tolerant plants to discourage deer from browsing on their property.

She said deer thrive in suburban areas because of the lack of hunters and the abundance of food. Shrubs and flowers in neighborhoods provide a buffet for deer.

Bernier said he tries to keep the deer away by planting vegetation the deer don’t like to eat.

“They’re nice and all that, but if they didn’t eat all my plants that would be good,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind as much.”

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