I need your help! Deer eating my garden! (store, to eat)

[southern country redneck]

if you move this thread to the gardening section you will get many valuable suggestions. this is a common problem. one solution is to plant things they like even more in another part of your yard. or you can buy bottled urine of one of their predators and hang them around the garden.

[agsaltis]

I use an electric dog fence (fi-shock) that you get at Lowes/HomeD. Since they can reach over the fence I put peanut butter in tinfoil on the wire. That way they get the full effect
If no outlet handy you can buy underground cable at a ConAg place (garner 70).
Here's a pub and water repeller I saw on Ask this old house (too $$ for me):
www.wvu.edu/~agexten/wildlife/deercont.PDF
Deer Repellent - Guardener&#8482 is an innovative deer repellent device to keep deer and animals away from your garden

[PDXmom]

My granny use to use the pie pans & human hair thing to keep the deer out. It worked for her.

But I've heard Deer Off is suppose to work too, you get it at Lowes.

I saw the most beautiful Doe & Fawn last night up at Treyburn.... munching on the country club vegetation. It's good to see deer are equal opportunity munchers.

Edit: Deer Off is suppose to be rain and water resistent.... I think I heard it has a 3 month life span.

[Snarky Prof]

Originally Posted by bull_city_original

you need multiple solutions

- wolf or human urine
- hot peppers
- human hair
- mechanical scarecrow that moves based on movement seen (sort of like automatic lights)
- like the scarecrow, an automatic noise maker (like a dog whistle, if the whistle doesn't scare of the deer, the dogs barking in the neighborhood likely will)
- 12ga., rifle, 45/50 cal handgun, or bow
- 17 foot or greater fence
- plant enough food for the deer and yourself in multiple locations

LOL! My husband is a bow hunter. He would be down with that!

Dogs are a good deterrent too. At least that's what worked for me up North.

[Francois]

Originally Posted by Snarky Prof

Dogs are a good deterrent too. At least that's what worked for me up North.

Pffft--the deer here just laugh at my dogs who are going crazy (behind a fence). I guess just because something is done one way "up north", doesn't mean it is the same here...

[frankpc]

Deer Off (which is basically Capsaicin pepper and putrified eggs) has worked well for us. We have a nice hosta bed that has not been touched and have deer on our property almost daily.
Lowe's sells the concentrate as well as the premixed. The only problem we've had is the solution tends to clog the pump spray tubes.

Frank

[no kudzu]

Today a lady told me to buy Zoo Doo as it is composted predator poop. I've used it before for fertilizer but never thought of it for deer repellent. Might have to give it a try.
Interesting thing happened last night. I have a container growing on the front porch with hosta and impatience. I had sprayed the entire pot well with deer spray but yesterday the impatience were looking particularly burned or wilted so I gave them a good rinse when I was watering. I usually water only the soil. Well guess what----some fool deer-who else could it have been- ate the rinsed off impatience to the soil but didn't touch the hosta. Can you believe that. So this stuff must really work. I guess I'll have to spray every single living thing in my yard to have anything to show for my efforts and money.

[Beermat]

In addition to Deer Off there is a product called 'Liquid Fence' which costs $23 from Ace Hardware. It smells disgusting and needs to be sprayed over the plants / shrubs the deer like every 30 days to be effective. I have found it works well after having virtually everything 'snacked on' last year by the deer. Failing that a rifle and Bambi on the grill

[capt chill]

fence, otherwise grow enough for the both of you... It will be a losing proposition. The hair etc uh really is a waste of time.

[Caddyshack]

The only thing a deer won't eat is an aluminum christmas tree.

We proved it at our place, they chowed all the "deer resistant" plants to the ground. I tried the coyote urine, soap, hair, the buffet continued. Then I put up the electric fence. This works, but it looks like crap, and when you want to landscape something new, you have to run the fence there too.

After a neighbor told us about their deer fence, we were sold. We fenced in about 4 acres so the fence is hidden back in the woods. The only deer we've seen inside in 5 years were when a dead tree knocked the fence over and it is easy to repair. I highly recommend the fence.