Keeping Deer Out of Your Garden

Fencing:

Some people have used wire mesh, laid down on the ground in the garden. It seems in some cases that the deer don't like walking on it, and don't like possibly getting their legs tangled in it.

Repellents:

Repellents can be costly and time consuming to apply and often must be re-applied after rain. Certain repellents depend on specific temperature ranges to be effective and the choice of repellent may change seasonally. The effectiveness of repellents will depend primarily on the current availability of natural food sources, a deer's appetite, stage of development, the weather, and frequency of application. Milorganite, is a deer repellent, as well as an organic lawn and garden fertilizer. Dried blood meal is an agricultural by-product that offers some degree of protection from deer damage. Dried blood meal is also a good organic fertilizer (nitrogen) for plants.

Bars of deodorant soap hung around susceptible plants is usually effective within a range of three to four feet. The bars work best when wet, it is best to leave the wrapper on, to make last as long as possible. Lifebuoy consistently produces the best results. Bars need to be hung 3-4 feet apart around in the garden area. Replace as needed. Human hair, put in small pouches around the garden (like the deodorant soap), 3-4 feet apart may also work. Replace the hair midway through the growing season to prolong their effectiveness.

Homemade Deer Repellent:

• 6 spoiled eggs
• 3 Tbsp. of Thiram 75% (a mild fungicide)
• 1 quart of water

Mix thoroughly, using an old blender if possible. (Do not use the blender canister for anything intended for human or animal consumption). Then add1-3 gallons of water and mix thoroughly. Spray on plants. Repeat as needed, especially after rain. Don't use moth balls; they may seem to do a good job because of the smell, but they are toxic to humans and animals (as well as pets) alike.

Other Deterrents

• Electronic sound devices.

• Dog(s).

• Thorny bushes or trees planted around or in the garden.

• A plank hung from a tree; when the wind blows and it bangs against the tree, it scares the deer away.

• Wind chimes in the garden: the noise scares the deer away. (obviously not itty-bitty wind chimes, bring out the big ones.)

• Leave a radio playing in the garden.

• Sheets of aluminum foil or mirrors placed around the garden area will frighten deer away.

• A scarecrow.

Source: My experiences, research, and books: Outwitting Critters, and Gardening In Deer Country.

By one.of.a.kind from Al

Long ago I read you can use hot pepper spray, (& have even mistakenly recommended it in the past) but NOT if you have pets because it can get in dogs & cat's eyes & these precious little creatures can even dig their own eyes out from the pain & burning! Hot pepper spray is very, very dangerous so if you read about using it, don't!

A product that's recommended specially for this is "Predator Urine". It's supposed to be the safest & best for product, maybe this is what you've use in the past. For keeping birds from garden's, they also sell fake Owls with moving heads & motion detectors with recordings are another product for this problem.

Sprinkle perimeter of garden with human hair. Sounds crazy but works. s
Stop at local beauty shop and ask for the trash they put hair in. Wear gloves and sprinkle it around perimeter.

Hardiness Zone: 7a

Many thanks,
Mille Woodsi from Alto, N.M.

A: Mille,

Sorry to hear about your trees and perennials. If either deer or rabbits are really hungry due to stress from overpopulation or drought, your only defense is a VERY tall fence (at least 8 ft tall for deer) or a fence buried into the ground (at least 6 inches down for rabbits). Because no one method will continue to work forever, an arsenal of inexpensive home remedies is probably your best value. Most gardeners have found home remedies to be at least as effective (if not more effective) than expensive commercial remedies.

As others have noted here, deer detest certain odors. The scent of predators (e.g. human hair, dog hair or fox/coyote urine), and animal proteins (e.g. rotten eggs or bloodmeal) are their two biggest dislikes. There is nothing fancy about animal urine, so if you buy it, buy the most inexpensive product you can find. Some people have also had luck with hanging bars of soap from tree branches or placing soap chips around the base of favored plants. Any strong smelling remedy that repels deer should also work on rabbits. Some gardeners also swear that placing Mason jars 3 feet apart all around their garden repels rabbits. I have no idea why this would work, but anything is worth a try.

Good luck!

Ellen

I've heard that dried blood works really well. You get it at garden centers.

I'm not too sure about repelling rabbits, but eggs and shells do the trick for deer!!! My husband used to work as a lumber broker and one of the huge forestry industrial businesses did extensive research and found that deer HATE the smell of eggs. I usually save my shells and throw them out when I plant my veggie garden. Mix several raw eggs with water and spray around the vegetation after every hard rain. Maybe moth balls would work for the rabbits. They help repel cats.

Deer do not like the smell of the protein in eggs. I make a mixture that I have used here on my acreage successfully for years. Mix one beated egg into 4 litres of water. Spray on the plants. This is a simple solution to make up and simply spray on the plants. It will have to be redone immediately after a rain or a heavy dew.

Rabbits...someone said that they do not like the smell of baby powder.

I live out in the country and when we had a garden my husband tied hair in bunches around the garden and it worked even on rabbits and u can go to a hair salon and get it free. We had problems with birds getting the tomatoes

You can try putting old shoes around plants/trees. A friend with an orchard puts his families old shoes around the trees, hangs them too....says it works. As far as I can tell, if deer/rabbits are hungry enough, they will disregard anything. Also, once they determine there is no "real" danger, they will disregard your efforts, so have several different things, and alternate their use.

I've attended some very sobering seminars on how to repel deer. Basically, the experts said we are all just planting salad bars for the animals and therefore the population of deer and such are exploding in response to that.
Beside constructing a moat or barrier, it is best to alternate lots of different repellents, both taste & scent. The second valuable thing the expert shared was to be sure that whatever product you used had been okayed by DEC. It was stated that there are lots of small companies selling petroleum-based, homemade products that are not environmentally safe.
We struggle with deer and rabbits too; it's important that you give yourself a fighting chance by at least planting only low-browse risk plants. One seminar the expert showed a picture of blue spruce & cedar that had been gnawed down and destroyed, so if they want to eat it, they will. But at least you can try to have your yard last on the buffet.

All I can say is get a dog ;)

Forget about Bloodmeal! I put a pretty thick layer on last night and this morning saw a rabbit eating off the tops of my petunias:-( I chased him off and sprinkled cayenne pepper in the garden and put down shavings of soap. We'll see if that works.