deer proof garden (yard, moved, flowers)

[sgtgeorge]

CHS89,

That's hysterical!!!!!!!! I love it.

[mathjak107]

found this article


Stop Deer From Devouring Your Landscape
By George Weigel

Anyone who's ever had deer in the garden knows that these cutesy marauders -- which author Rhonda Massingham Hart calls "Agent Orange on hooves" -- can decimate a landscape like no other pest.


Safe from hunters in the suburbs and well fed by the shrub and flower buffets set out by kindly gardeners, deer are becoming more and more of a problem in these protected pockets.

Penn State University wildlife specialist Dr. Gary San Julian says just five male and five female deer can produce up to 200 deer in just five years. "The reproduction ability of this animal is huge," he says. What's more, a typical adult deer eats four to eight pounds of food a day, according to San Julian. That's a lot of hosta!

As we continue to convert forests and meadows into housing, we shrink the distance between deer and us. And deer are adapting quite well, realizing we're not as scary as they originally thought.

The back-yard carnage is especially bad in winter when there's little else to eat, although deer damage can happen anytime of year. Just ask your tulip buds and daylily blossoms.

So what can you do to fight back? Try some of these...

Be careful what you plant.
"The first rule of deer-o-scaping is to avoid plants that deer actively seek out," says Hart, who wrote "Deer Proofing Your Yard & Garden" (Storey Publishing, 1997). "Deer will make pigs of themselves when they find their favorite foods. And they will do it over and over again."

The problem with supposed "deer-proof" plant lists is that various lists often contradict one another. Also, deer don't read these lists. The reality is that if deer are hungry enough, they'll eat anything. Maybe even your SUV.

Nevertheless, most deer seem to have a particular fondness for tulips, hosta, daylilies, yews, burning bushes, azaleas, rhododendrons, arborvitae, most roses and most fruits and vegetables. They generally don't like strong-tasting, strong-smelling, toxic and/or fuzzy-leafed plants. See the sidebar for a list of reasonably "deer-resistant" plants.

Repulse them.
Most garden centers have a shelf full of products that repel deer either by adding a scent they don't like (blood, garlic, rotten eggs, etc.) or by coating the plants with a bitter or other yucky taste (Bittrex, hot peppers, the fungicide Thiram, etc.) Some products use both. Some of the brands that some gardeners swear by are Plantskydd, Bobbex, Deer-Away, Deer Off, Liquid Fence and Deer Scram.

The key is applying them often enough to keep the repelling scent or taste current -- sometimes a challenge when it's raining a lot or when plants are growing quickly. Don't try to tinker with the labeled dilutions of repellents, apply them in early morning or early evening, and test them first on small areas of plants before coating everything. Hart says it's also wise to rotate and alternate different repellents before deer get used to them.

Other ways to stink them out.
A deer's first priority when food-shopping is making sure he doesn't become dinner himself. So picking up the scent of a possible predator may be enough to scare him away.

Examples are the old farmer tricks of hanging sweaty shirts around the garden or hanging out muslin bags filled with human hair. Some gardeners have had pretty good anti-deer success by fertilizing with Milorganite, a granular product that's made from treated Milwaukee sewage sludge. Apparently there's still enough human scent in it to make deer wary.

Another scent repellent favored by Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center Director Sally Ferguson is "Swedish Skewers," made by soaking cubes of floral foam in a "soup" of bloodmeal, ammonia and water. To make, mix 2.5 pounds of bloodmeal in a bucket of water and add 1 cup of ammonia. Impale foam cubes on bamboo stakes or skewers, soak them in the bloodmeal/ammonia mix and then stick them around plants you're trying to protect. Ferguson says you may need to re-dip them weekly.

Surprise them away.
Some gardeners have saved plantings by using motion-activated gadgets that automatically spray a burst of water when something enters the watch zone. Others have used the same startling-action theory by employing motion-activated lights, radios, pie plates strung on wire and even mini-cannons set to go off at intervals (which might diminish your popularity with the neighbors).

Then there's the basic get-a-dog advice. Dogs usually scare away deer, but the effectiveness will depend on the dog and whether you're letting him/her outside and unchained when deer normally come by to feed.

Fence them out.
This is the ultimate plan. Deer-plagued public gardens such as Hershey Gardens in Dauphin County and Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve in Bucks County gave up and just erected tall fencing around the entire perimeter. That works great, provided there are no openings and the fence is at least 7 to 8 feet tall.

But perimeter fencing -- even the less obtrusive black plastic kind -- can get expensive and can give your landscaping that San Quentin feel. Fencing works best when you can tack it to trees in a wooded area, where it blends into the background better than in a subdivision.

Electrified fences can be smaller and a little less expensive, especially if you bait it with peanut butter to lure deer in for a sample shock. But it's still not exactly attractive and has the potential to shock you and the grandkids if you're not paying attention.

Another option is a double fence -- a pair of 4- to 5-foot-tall fences placed parallel to one another 4 to 5 feet apart. Deer think twice about being able to jump far enough to clear both.

And the simplest fence of all is a single strand of heavy-duty, deep-sea-fishing line strung between trees or posts at two to three feet off the ground. Many gardeners swear by this one, saying it confuses deer when they bump into it.

Yet another option is erecting barricades around sensitive plantings. This approach works great when you use 6- to 8-foot-tall barricades of thick burlap, poultry netting or sturdy deer fencing.

If all else fails, have you ever thought about rooftop gardening?








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[Katimae]

My parents had deer problems in their garden. My dad came up with the idea of putting out a couple bars of deoderant soap (like Irish spring or zest) it keeps all the animals away and doesn't interfere with the veggies!

[bldginpa]

Well....we're planning our garden now. One person told us that arborvitae would be good, as well as barberry bushes. Hate the idea of investing in new shrubs only to have the deer eat them for dinner. I like the idea of deodorant soap. It seems so simple and not offensive to us humans. Anyone else ever heard of that method?

[Summering]

Originally Posted by bldginpa

Well....we're planning our garden now. One person told us that arborvitae would be good, as well as barberry bushes. Hate the idea of investing in new shrubs only to have the deer eat them for dinner. I like the idea of deodorant soap. It seems so simple and not offensive to us humans. Anyone else ever heard of that method?

Aborvitae seem to make it with no problem, and also those barberry bushes........you'll be ok with both choices.

[Muther Nature]

Ok, so I don't go for chemicals and yes, deer eat everything including spiny yucca's (yes!) if they are hungry enough....
I did find something that works great.
I live in the middle of the woods, so I have a plethera of visitors feasting on the gardens I grow! Here's what I did:

I took some old golf tees and glued a small square of songe to each of them, placed them around my garden perimeter about 2 feet apart.(the golf tees keep it above ground just enough).

In the areas where the deer were a problem, I put a few drops of coyote urine on each piece of sponge - where the rabbits, woodchucks, squirrels & chippies were, I used fox urine.

These are natural predators and their territory is now 'marked'....

I have not had a problem with visitors in 5-6 years! That's my 'liquid fence' and a lot cheaper, too!

I got mine at the local Agway store, but a lot of places carry it now, back in the garden dept. along side deer-away, etc...

Since it is oil based to an extent, you don't have to apply it that often - not unless you get a 3 day downpour of rain...then wait till the sponge dries and reapply. A little dab'll do ya!

AND NOT to worry, you won't get stinked out, how often do you crawl on all 4's with your nose 2 inches to the ground???

Good Luck and Happy Gardening!

[Southwb]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

well im looking for ideas for what we can plant in our yard. this was our first year in nepa and threw some gala feast for the deer as everything is eaten.

we are looking for ideas on the least likly to be eaten flowers and plants we can use.

Plant anything!! But This homemade family repellant keep them away from mine....
Raw eggs(2)
Gallon Size Water Bottle
Milk
Red Pepper
Ammonia 2 tsp
Put the raw eggs and shells with the ammonia and all into the bottle then put in milk and red pepper. Set it in direct sunlight for a week. Put it around your plants, but the smell isn't pleasant so don't breathe it in. After 12 hours water you plants as usually. Apply new batch once every 3 weeks.
Good Luck.

[Summering]

Problem is you have to be around to do some of the above, and we usually left for a few months a year. Our neighbors left for about 6 months a year. So............nothing really worked. Except..............planting in flower boxes high up, and deck planters.
I lost so many nice plants and shrubs..........
I took my dog clippings and had that all over, I tried fencing........it didn't work at all, and then it just looked so horrible.
If you take long trips or you have two homes............the best thing is to make deck gardens. Oh I was not a happy camper about it at all. .
Hey, and yesterday up by the Jack Frost golf course.....I saw the most beautiful red fox just leisurely walking across the course. My second I've seen in Pa.

[JLStorm]

Originally Posted by EnyaGirl

I was just talking to my mother about this the other day, as she's a gardener (and I have a brown thumb..lol). She suggested planting burberry bushes. THey're pretty, but thorny, so deer stay away from them I know my husband (JLStorm) went to a garden center the other day and spoke to someone about this too...I'll see if he has any info that he can post.

I found out that during the summer you are pretty safe, but during the winter, even "deer proof" plants will be eaten if food gets scarce. The only thing that I have come up with is the pepper solutions that you can spray on your plants to make deer rather not eat them, but that requires constant up keep. During the summer I was considering trying motion activated sprinklers, but during the winter that is not an option. Around here anything that people dont want eatin is in a cage that is built higher than a deer can reach.

[llmtjm]

If you don't have the time to respray repellants, or if you are away for weeks at a time. Try 'irish spring' soap. If you put enough bars out, even in the rain it only gets more fragrant. It sends that 'human' smell and they 'mostly' will avoid the area. Also in a pinch I have used garlic powder(they hate the smell) and red pepper flakes. It won't hurt them, but they have learned they don't like to eat in my garden.