Why can white-tailed deer become pests in suburban and urban areas?

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are highly adaptable mammals that thrive by exploiting human-altered environments, including agricultural lands, forests, and urban areas. Their transition into pests in suburban and urban settings is primarily driven by their ability to capitalize on man-made disturbances and the lack of natural predation or sufficient hunting pressure.12

When these populations become overabundant, they cause several significant issues:

• Property and Agricultural Damage: Deer readily consume cultivated vegetation, including garden plants and orchard crops.1
• Public Safety: They are responsible for hundreds of thousands of vehicle collisions annually in the United States, leading to substantial property damage and human fatalities.2
• Health Risks: Their presence contributes to the spread of dangerous transmissible diseases, such as Lyme disease.1
• Ecological Impact: Overabundant deer populations can severely damage forestry and carry parasites that negatively impact other wildlife, such as moose and elk, as well as livestock.1