What is the primary method for controlling deer populations in Ohio?

The primary method for controlling deer populations in Ohio is exclusion, which involves implementing physical barriers to prevent deer from accessing certain areas. This can include erecting fences or other structures that limit deer movement into gardens, orchards, and other sensitive habitats where their activity can cause significant damage.

Exclusion is beneficial because it directly addresses the problem by keeping deer away from areas where they are not wanted, rather than relying on methods that may be more labor-intensive or less effective. Physical barriers can prevent overbrowsing and allow local vegetation to thrive, which can lead to a healthier ecosystem overall.

The other methods like live trapping, cultural control, and biological control tend to be less effective as primary solutions. Live trapping requires significant management and can be costly and labor-intensive; cultural control involves changing land use practices to minimize deer impacts but does not eliminate the deer themselves; and biological control generally pertains to using predators or diseases, which are not practical or efficient for deer management. Therefore, exclusion is regarded as the most direct and strategic approach to managing deer populations in Ohio.