The deer population in Ohio County is more than twice the number it should be as local farmers and other residents continue to struggle with the persistent animal, a local official said.

John Miller, an agricultural agent with the WVU Extension Service in Ohio County, said, "We are carrying about 100 to 120 deer per square mile in Ohio County."

He said these are extremely high numbers and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources would like to see about half of those numbers. Miller said the way the DNR estimates these numbers is for every deer harvested during hunting season, there are about four or five that weren't harvested.

Miller said the deer continue to pose a problem for farmers in Ohio County. Miller, who owns a local farm himself, said, "I farm, so I have the same problems as everyone else."

Miller said two of the biggest problems that deer cause are the eating of the farmers' crops and destroying their fences. Miller said he has to run fencing on a daily basis at his farm.

When the deer population rises and the starvation level increases, deer will begin to eat a larger variety of plants and flowers they may not normally prefer, Miller said. He said August is the time of year deer begin to move closer to residential areas of the city because they are more selective about their food.

"They start to move in closer based upon better feeding," he said.

He noted this is about the time when plants start getting tougher, so the deer's taste change and they search for more succulent plants to eat. He said it is common to see deer walking up Edgwood Street in the Woodsdale section of Wheeling.

Today there are 20 million deer in the United States and the numbers continue to rise, according to the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. In addition to habitat changes, land owners' decisions to prevent hunting have limited hunter access to many areas, allowing the populations to increase. Overall, public attitudes toward deer are becoming more negative as deer populations increase. Public concerns include crop and landscape damage, deer versus automobile collisions, transmission of Lyme disease, and effects of high deer populations on habitat quality for both deer and other wildlife. As long as adequate food resources are available deer populations can double in size every two to three years.

Many local residents continue to face the challenge of managing the over abundant species. Miller said although hunting season continues to help control the deer population, some area farmers may still try to use alternative methods such as spraying deer repellent or obtaining a special damage permit from the DNR to harvest deer.

While viewing the West Virginia DNR Web site on his office computer, Miller was quick to point out a news update listed on their Web site; the announcement of a "Special Antlerless Deer Archery and Muzzleloader Season" to take place in September on private lands only in selected counties. Miller said announcements such as this one is an additional measure taken by the DNR to help control the growing deer population.