OH, DEER!

The changing weather and early nightfall have made the potential for car-deer collisions that much greater.
Matt Dollison, Montgomery County’s wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources said the passing of November means an end to the deer’s breeding season, however, the arrival of shotgun deer season this past Saturday will mean an increase in deer activity.
“There might be a bit of movement from deer being chased around by hunters. Thankfully, that will pale in comparison to the activity you see from the rut in November,” Dollison said.
When you’re in your car, Dollison said to pay close attention to areas where you see deer crossing signs.
“If you see any of those signs, they were put up by the Iowa Department of Transportation because those are areas where people have hit deer a lot in the past,” commented Dollison.
Other areas of concern are roads adjacent to woodlands, as deer prefer to be in those areas rather than crops or grassland.
“Parts of the county with more trees are going to be the areas that have more deer congregated in them,” advised Dollison.
If you encounter a deer by the side of the road, Dollison said using your brakes is the best deterrent to a collison.
“Slow down to stop, or stop. If you get on the brakes, and get stopped, you can honk your horn and flash your lights. Also, you have to beware of the deer that are with them. A lot of the times, it’s a doe with a fawn. If you see one deer cross in front of you, there’s a good chance there will be at least one, or more, behind it,” said Dollison.
If anyone is considering installing deer whistles on their vehicle as a deterrent, Dollison’s advice is to save your money.  
“The best quote I ever heard about deer whistles is that they do really good until they get clogged with deer hair. They do nothing, and are just a gimmick. It’s a total waste of money for people to buy those,” Dollison said.
Dollison said the deer populations remain down in the area. The amount of permits available have been cut back as deer populations are more acceptable.
Auto Body Shops around the area dear with auto body repairs from car-vehicle collisions on a regular basis.
Shop manager Justin Hruby with Inter-Tech Collision Center in Red Oak said the month of November was definitely their busiest time of the year for fixing vehicles that struck deer.
“I’d say about 75 percent of the auto body repairs we made in the month of November were from deer-related collisions,” Hruby said.
Compared to other months, Hruby said the greatest increase in deer collision repairs always comes in November.
“It’s mostly in November when we see the spike, between the harvest and the rut. That combination has to be, by far, the busiest month for fixing vehicles damaged by deer,” commented Hruby.
Randy Vanderhoof, owner of Randy’s Body Shop and Mechanical Services in Red Oak, said he also noted a similar uptick in deer collision repairs, though it was down from other years.
“This year was lower. There aren’t that many deer around now. Still, I’d say I repaired about 40 percent more vehicles striking deer in November than in other months. There have been years that the number has been twice that,” commented Vanderhoof.
While the rut is over, Vanderhoof said he still expects to see a fair number of deer on the road until January.
“There’s quite a few deer in the month of December, and even in the first part of January. They’re bunched up now since it’s colder weather. Because of the bunching, you may have a dozen deer cross in front of you, rather than one or two. That cold weather makes a big difference after the rut,” Vanderhoof said.
Dennis Houston, who owns Hilltop Body Shop in Stanton, said his busiest time of year is in November, though he doesn’t see quite the increase in damage repairs from striking a deer than other locations in Red Oak.
“We definitely see an increase in November, though I don’t think it’s any higher this year than it has been in previous years, but we always see an increase in November, by about 25 to 30 percent,” Houston said.
Houston said he notices a taper off in those auto repairs towards the start of the new year.
“It usually starts to taper off towards the end of January. That’s when we start to see less vehicles damaged in deer collisions,” Houston said.
A similar repair trend was also noted at Body by Freshour in Villisca. Owner Derek Freshour didn’t have the exact numbers but said his shop was busiest for deer collisions in November.
“We definitely see an uptick in deer hits this time a year, between the harvest, the rut, and the start of hunting season. There’s a lot more deer volume this time of year,” Freshour said.
The increase in repairs, Freshour said, wasn’t limited to the month of November.
“When hunting season starts, we keep seeing the increase in vehicle repairs from deer for at least the next couple of months,” commented Freshour.