I love deer. But not 15 at one time in my yard!

When we moved here in the '70s we thrilled at the occasional deer. But in the last couple of years, it's gotten frightening. Every day this summer I'd wake up to assess the damage in my once beautiful yard, stepping around piles of poop.

I've tried netting and string, hot pepper powder, tin pie plates, Irish Spring, expensive and loathsome smelly stuff. I'm giving up and putting up deer fence next. Maybe the deer will move on.

Extensive research has been done on deer problems. Deer populations can double in two to three years. They carry ticks and diseases. They cause car accidents (406 in Orange County in 2008, UNC Highway Safety Research Center). They die in yards (my neighbor had to pay someone $150 to remove a spoiling carcass from her yard).

Eighteen towns in North Carolina, including Pittsboro, Smithfield, plus Duke Forest, have culled deer, according to Joe Folta, with N.C. Wildlife Commission. Nearly all of my neighbors on Mount Bolus signed a petition asking for help from the town (including a former Chapel Hill mayor). The reaction of one council member last month, before even looking at our report, was to dismissively pronounce "No way, no how!" to the culling of deer.

In a town where dogs must be on leashes, herds of deer run free. Police resources are short, they say. Well, pay now or pay later.

Judy Bergman

Chapel Hill