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.
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:
- Fencing. 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.
- 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.
- 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
- People pee. Especially if your household is composed of carnivorous folks, your urine will contain signature odors that herbivores associate with predators.
- 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.
- 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 .
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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