One of nature’s most dignified examples of beauty and grace is the adorable deer. But the moment it wanders over to your prized ornaments and vegetation it becomes a pest!

Deer are a beautiful disaster, one of the most the most troublesome of all garden pests. They do more than just eat plants, destroy shrubs, and trample all greeneries along its way; their antler-rubbing antics on young ornamental trees means they’re marking it as their territory thereby serving as markers for other deer to follow suit.

Ways-to-Keep-Deer-Away-From-Your-Garden

A deer or two can also ravage an entire garden overnight!

Don’t let deer nightmare happen to your property. Here are 10 ways to keep them away for good:

  1. fawnFencing. The only surefire way to keep deer away from your garden is through fencing. An 8-foot fence is ideal though hungry deer are known to jump even 10-foot fences. Electric fences – very tall ones, mind you – work best.
  2. Soap. Ivory and Irish Spring brands work best. Attach a bar or two to a stick or a string, and hang it from low tree branches or from stakes so that the bars are about 30 inches off the ground.
  3. Human or pet hair. Get human hair trimmings from your local barber or hairdresser. Or save your beloved pet’s shavings so you can put in mesh bags and hang about 3 feet off the ground
  4. People pee. Especially if your household is composed of carnivorous folks, your urine will contain signature odors that herbivores associate with predators.
  5. Predator pee. Coyote urine is the most effective but since it’s highly unlikely you keep one as a pet, your canine friend’s pee left in strategic places can do the trick.
  6. Deer repellent. Bobbex or any other commercial repellent that has citrus-based or peppermint-based odors can repel these lovely, but destructive animals. If you can, opt for a homemade repellent by mixing three raw eggs in a gallon of water. This substance, when sprayed on plants, will have them running away. There is more information at this University of Vermont article .
  7. Row covers. Row-cover fabric can only do so much but it can help deter animals long enough to give your newly-growing plants a head start.
  8. Motion-detector-activated sprinklers. Deer won’t be able to get used to them as easily since they follow no schedule except their own movements.
  9. Noise-making scarers. Any sudden, unexpected loud noise can startle fawns and does. A good low-budget option is to hang pie pans from trees which bang together from time to time depending on wind availability.
  10. Don’t have a garden. This is the most logical solution to not having deer as a regular guest/pest around your property.

TIP: Rotate your deterrents often enough to benefit from its strengths and keep deer from guessing on how to go around it. For example, don’t use scent-based deterrents in winter because cold inhibits scent dispersal. Scarers, on the other hand, are useful all year long, and important to keep up even in winter.