I’m spluttering with indignation.
In the dozen or so years that we’ve gardened here, I’ve boasted that we’ve been almost completely free of mammalian vermin: a rabbit emerged once but our two (very efficient) Tibetan terriers soon resolved the situation. Suffice to say that some of that rabbit reappeared in the kitchen a couple of hours later.
Yesterday I was wandering back from the compost heap minding my own business when there was rustling in the undergrowth and out shot … a muntjac. Harrumph. All that Christmas goodwill just flew out the window. The cheek of the thing.
The Reeves’s muntjac is a small (about 45cm high) and extremely impertinent deer (we’re surrounded by woods so we often see them). Unlike all other deer species, they’re not blessed with any cutesy ‘bambi’ traits. They have stubby little antlers and a face that looks like it’s been recently operated on by a woefully under-qualified plastic surgeon. Reeves muntjac are also known as barking deer because of their rather unattractive call — they sound as if they habitually smoke at least 60 untipped cigarettes a day. The first deer were brought over here from China to amuse the Duke of Bedford at Woburn. A combination of deliberate releases and escapes has led to them becoming pretty widespread, especially around the midlands.
Muntjac are not friends of the gardener and are quite capable of doing a fair bit of damage, not only to the soft shoots of emerging plants but can also strip bark from trees. You can deter them from entering your garden with decent fencing. The RHS have a list of plants that are less likely to be eaten by deer, which includes the very curious fact that they don’t generally eat berberis, except for purple-leaved varieties.
Failing that they make very good eating; muntjac is basically venison but in a more manageable size. There is a good recipe here.
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Hi all, not sure if you can help me but I have recently stared to keep Orchids after being given 2 as gifts, I really like them but have found that although they develop what look like healthy buds these all fall off at several stages of developement but all before opening? I am not sure why this is and seem to be finding it very difficult to find any reference to why this might be? Can you tell me where I might be going wrong please?
Thanks very much
Jayne
We have muntjac in the field behind our garden and I’m personally delighted to wake up to the sight of such lovely wildlife. Muntjac do eat everything, but why the desperation for perfection in our gardens? We read everywhere of how we should be encouraging wildlife in our gardens so I think it’s rather shortsighted to be wanting rid of them simply because they eat a few of our plants.
We often hear the Muntjac bark when we take the dogs out late at night, it’s an eerie sound which travels across the fields like a wraith on the prowl, actually I am rather pleased they are around along with the foxes and badgers ( I’m saying nothing about the furry slugs with four legs, the rabbits). BUT I’ve lost two young columnar cyprus trees and a Cornus Kousa because they have eaten the bark on them – blasted things! I suppose I’m the sort that would take a photograph first and say “ah how sweet” whilst raising the shotgun to my shoulder.
we have a pet red deer who my husband found abandoned over twenty years ago. she eats anything and everthing, we have no compost heap because she gets it all. although she has a warm shed to go into, back in feb when we had all the snow i got up several mornings to snow covering everything including her – she was laying down in the field covered in snow, she clearly does not feel the cold the same way we do.
We had tremendous problems with Muntjac. We considered deer fencing, but it was too expensive. We tried deer repellant which didn’t really work. We planted a few deer resistant plants (supposedly) and the deer ate them. Eventually, we got in touch with Southern Counties Deer Control, who operate in southern England. They offer a free deer control service which involves a deer cull. We were very pleased with what they did for us, at zero cost! Their website is http://www.DeerControl.org.uk if anyone is interested. Regards Gill
We live out in the middle of nowhere, and the deer eat us alive. I got my husband to make me a homemade deer deterrent after every single veggie I owned got chomped on last year (and we tried all of the usual solutions to no avail.) I’m not sure how suburban you are — probably wouldn’t work in suburbia — but if you’re desperate and not too close to your neighbors, you might give it a shot. We scrounged around and made ours for pennies and it’s 100% effective! I wonder if it would work for Muntjac?
anna
what is this 100% effective cure.
eddie
I work for a couple who have a large garden.
The Lawn is being damaged by Muntjac Deer. I think that they are after the Willow Roots that run close to the surface, although most of the Lawn is damaged, it looks as though someone has played a round of Golf and left divits every where.
But the Deer don’t just damage the Lawn, they have eaten all of the Snow Drops as well.
Apart from expensive fencing and “Sonic Repellers” does anyone have any ideas as how to keep them out of the Garden.
I want to encourage the muntjac deer into my garden as it seems the perfect place for an abandoned baby muntjac but firstly anyone out there know how to?
the monkjack are a nuisance we want to learn how to turn them into food if we shoot them
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn – did you get any answers?
What is a Monkjack? I hope you shoot as badly as you spell.Then you won’t hit any deer.
Our garden backs onto a coppice. We love to watch the muntjac deer grazing on the bank. We also have crops growing in the garden. Never had a problem. We have a privit (?) hedge on 2 sides and panel fence at the bottom which backs directly onto the deer. They have never breached the boundary. My next door neighbours panel has come down and the deer graze on his lawn but cause no damage. It seems comparing our 2 gardens that a solid fence keeps them out. Hope it helps. We do need to remember that alot of our human territory has encroached on the animals territory, we cant be moaning about them wanting to live in their natural habitats now can we!
yo yo yo
I would like to know where i can these cute little muntjac deer’s antler? willing to pay for shipping coast??thanks
We watched through our window as a female muntjac gave birth. Our garden opens onto a wood populated by this species. We also have the glis glis or edible dormouse there. The muntjacs eat the new growth on our groundcover ivies each winter but it grows back during the summer. The glis glis enter the loft and we fear for the electric cables etc. Foxes killed the pet guinea pigs this year. But all said we love the wildlife. We hope the muntjacs don’t cause themselves problems by overpopulating (like us homo sapiens). A deer shooting platform recently appeared in the wood next door but soon it was mysteriously vandalised and made ‘not fit for purpose’ Best of all around here in the mid chilterns is the sight of red kites flying above us. Butr I bet someone will start bitching about them soon and saying they need “controlling for their own good”. It’s we who need our numbers controlling.