.png)
Deer, Gophers, and Ground Squirrels: Living With Central Coast Wildlife
Updated: 2 days ago
The first morning you look out the kitchen window in your new Central Coast home and see a doe and two fawns eating your neighbor's roses, it is charming. The fourth morning, when they have moved on to yours, it is a project. Wildlife in SLO County is one of the genuine pleasures of living here, and one of the genuine adjustments, especially for buyers coming from a city. Here is the cast of characters, where each one lives, and what experienced locals do about them.
CAMBRIA · SLO HILLSIDES · AVILA VALLEY
Deer
Black-tailed deer are everywhere the hills meet the houses: Cambria most famously, where they walk down the street in daylight, but also the hillside neighborhoods of San Luis Obispo, Avila Valley, See Canyon, the edges of Arroyo Grande, Los Osos near Montaña de Oro, and nearly all of North County from Atascadero to Creston. They are bold, patient, and hungry in late summer when the wild forage has dried up.
What works:
Fencing. Deer clear a standard fence without effort. A tall perimeter fence, or a double fence they cannot judge, is the only reliable solution for a vegetable garden or an orchard. Many rural properties in the county are sold with a deer-fenced garden area for exactly this reason, and buyers who garden should look for it.
Plant choice. Deer prefer roses, fruit trees, and most tender ornamentals. They generally pass over sages, toyon, manzanita, rosemary, lavender, and most of the natives in our native plants for SLO County yards guide. "Deer resistant" means less preferred, not immune, and a hungry September deer will try anything once.
Repellents help for a while and need reapplying after rain.
Acceptance. Many Cambria and Atascadero households simply plant what the deer do not eat, fence the one bed that matters, and enjoy the show.
Deer also mean cars. Dawn and dusk on Highway 41, Highway 46, Highway 1 north of Cayucos, and the back roads of North County are deer hours. Slow down.
LAWNS, ROOTS, AND YOUNG TREES
Gophers
Pocket gophers are the great equalizer of Central Coast landscaping. They tunnel through lawns, eat roots, and can kill a young tree from below without a visible sign until it leans. They are active in every town in the county, in the flat neighborhoods of Grover Beach as much as on ranch land in Templeton.
What works:
Wire baskets around the roots of anything you plant that you care about. Gopher wire is standard practice for new trees and shrubs here.
Raised beds with hardware cloth across the bottom for vegetable gardens.
Trapping, which is what most locals and gardeners rely on. It is a skill, but it is learnable, and it works.
Owl boxes. Barn owls are voracious gopher hunters, and owl boxes on rural properties and in vineyards across the county are a real part of the strategy.
Not poison, if you can avoid it, because of the risk to owls, hawks, pets, and the neighbor's cat. Several rodenticides are now restricted in California in any case.
ORCHARDS · SLOPES · IRRIGATION
Ground squirrels
California ground squirrels are the rural owner's other burrower. They live in colonies, dig extensive burrows, and are hard on orchards, gardens, irrigation lines, and, more seriously, on slopes, foundations, and the banks of ponds and ditches. Anyone buying acreage in North County, on the Nipomo Mesa, or in the hills above the Five Cities will meet them.
They are also the reason rattlesnakes hang around, because squirrel burrows are snake habitat. Managing the squirrel population is part of managing the snake population.
What works is a combination of exclusion, trapping, encouraging predators, and, on larger properties, working with a pest professional who understands agricultural land. A note for horse owners: squirrel holes in a pasture are a leg-injury risk, and filling them is part of the routine on the horse properties we sell.
RACCOONS · SKUNKS · AND MORE
The rest of the neighborhood
Raccoons and skunks visit every town, especially near creeks and on the coast. They open trash cans, dig up lawns for grubs, and move into crawl spaces and under decks if given an opening. Secure the cart lids, close off the underside of the deck, and never leave pet food out.
Wild turkeys roam the oak woodland neighborhoods in Atascadero, Templeton, Santa Margarita, and around SLO in flocks that seem to grow every year. They are mostly entertaining and occasionally destructive to seed beds and car finishes.
Coyotes are present countywide, including in town. Small pets should not be out alone at night in the hillside neighborhoods, and cat owners in rural areas should know the risk.
Mountain lions and bobcats live in the wilder parts of the county: the Los Padres foothills, the Santa Lucia Range behind Cambria, the hills around Lopez Lake, and the canyons. Sightings on trail cameras are common; encounters are rare. Keep livestock and goats in secure night enclosures if you are on the wildland edge.
Rattlesnakes are active from spring through fall on rocky, grassy, and brushy land across the county. Wear boots on rural property in warm months, keep the area around the house clear of woodpiles and debris, and teach kids and dogs to stay on the path. Rattlesnake-avoidance training for dogs is offered locally and is worth doing for anyone with acreage.
Birds deserve a mention in the other direction. Hawks, kestrels, and owls are your allies against the burrowers; hummingbirds and finches are why the native fuchsia and sages go in the yard. A bird-friendly, native-planted property is the low-maintenance version of pest control.
ATTICS · GARAGES · CRAWL SPACES
Wildlife and your house
The wildlife issues that turn into repair bills are the ones involving the structure. Rats and mice move into attics, garages, and crawl spaces in every town; the coast's mild climate means the season never really ends. Seal gaps larger than a quarter inch, screen vents, keep vegetation off the roof, and inspect after the first rains, when animals look for shelter. Inspectors on the Central Coast routinely find rodent evidence in crawl spaces, and it comes up in our home inspection guide for that reason.
Bees are the other common one. Swarms settle in eaves and walls in spring, and a local beekeeper will usually remove a swarm without harm to the colony.
FENCE IT, WIRE IT, LET IT BE
The mindset
Every long-time rural owner we know has arrived at the same place: you fence the garden, you wire the trees, you secure the trash, you keep the dog in at night, and then you let the rest be. The deer in the meadow at dusk, the owl in the oak, the turkeys marching through, the bobcat once a year at the edge of the drive: this is what you paid for. Buyers thinking about acreage should read got land? what you can actually do with acreage on the Central Coast with the animals in mind.
The wildlife was here first. The good properties are the ones set up so you can enjoy that rather than fight it.
Your next step
If you are buying, ask us about a specific property's wildlife pressure; we can usually tell you from the town and the lot whether you are looking at a deer-fencing project, a gopher-wire habit, or a quiet in-town yard. If you already own, the highest-value first steps are wire baskets on new plantings, a secure trash setup, and screened vents. And if you would like to see the kinds of properties in the county that come with a fenced garden, an orchard, or an owl box already in place, they are in our property search more often than you might expect.
Talk With Kim & Kristen
We are Kim San Jule and Kristen Gentry, Broker Associates with Real Broker, serving San Luis Obispo County and the Central Coast. Whether you are buying, selling, or simply thinking ahead, we are glad to be a resource.
Kim San Jule · Broker Associate, DRE 01948144 · 805-345-8303 · kimsanjule@gmail.com
Kristen Gentry · Broker Associate, DRE 01968754 · 805-441-4618 · kristengentryslo@gmail.com
Real Broker · Search Central Coast homes for sale
