GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Frank Patis' hostas stand a little shorter these days. His day lilies, too. Nibbled off at the stems or eaten down to the ground, they've all been damaged by the deer that wander through his Grand Rapids backyard like regular residents.
"You come home and everything's gone," said Patis in September, looking at what the state mammal left of his landscaping. "Nothing really seems to deter them."
Sprays don't seem to work. Fences can be hopped over. Patis has attended city council meetings, too, but is not satisfied by how they've addressed an overly large deer population in the Lower Peninsula and West Michigan: "Every year, the population is getting higher and higher, and we're not getting any results," Patis said.
Patis' 90-year-old mother was recently cited by the city for a dead deer in her front yard, likely hit by a car.
"It's just ridiculous that the city wants us to pay for people to come clean up the deer," he said.
In the spring, Grand Rapids and other local governments in Kent County put together a deer management task force after a rise in deer-related crashes and complaints. In 2022, Kent County recorded the highest number of deer-car crashes in the state (2,251), according to a Michigan State Police (MSP) report.
At a Grand Rapids Public Safety Committee meeting in August, the task force provided an update on its progress, saying it would track when and where deer carcasses are picked up by road crews, survey the deer population in Kent County and ask for public input on potential management strategies. A committee would then review the data and deliver proposals to the city by next fall.
READ MORE: How Grand Rapids, Kent County plan to manage a growing deer herd
"Yes, it's taking longer than anticipated," said James Hurt, managing director for public safety. "But we're really taking a regional approach to this and I think we're on the right path."
Rich Brown, one of Patis' neighbors, doesn't see a solution by way of the city.
"You can cut out half the deer population, it wouldn't change anything," Brown said. "I'd just as soon shoot them all. Not that they're not cute to look at, but they're a nuisance."
Brown and his wife used to sell hostas, raising around 500 varieties on their Grand Rapids property. Some of the best sold for $50 apiece. Then, the deer happened. Around 2018 or 2019, Brown says, their population grew beyond what he could control.
"They eat the leaves, they eat the stalks, and put [my wife] out of business," Brown said. "Now all we have is little hosta stalks and weeds, nothing else. Nothing even I want to go out and look at."
What was once registered on the National Hosta Society Garden Tour now grows hostas no more. It's too much work and too much money to keep up with the deer.
"It's an economic problem," Brown said. "It's not just a nuisance."
Attempting to put a dent in the deer population, state regulators made a number of tweaks this summer to deer hunting seasons, including expanding urban archery season to multiple counties, including Kent County. All rules and regulations applicable to Michigan's traditional archery seasons apply, meaning hunters must operate more than of 150 yards from a home.
READ MORE: State adopts new deer hunting regulations, rejects antler point restrictions, one buck rule
"Do we need a petition? Do we need to bring it to a vote? I mean, how do we actually get action?" Patis said. "I chased deer out of my yard this morning. They haven't been here yet this afternoon, but they'll be back tonight."
