Some Deer Tips From Painful Experience

20 years ago

Some tips for battling deer that I have learned from many painful experiences:

Protect your evergreen plants in the winter - On my back hillside I had 25+ new azaleas. Like an idiot, I did not protect the azaleas during the winter. So the deer ate every bloom and killed most of them. So now I install a temporary fence from Lowes during the winter months. You can buy a 4' high one covering 50' for $29. It is easy to install, just sledge the poles into the ground and clip the fence to them. Or, cover each bush with a burlap sack (if you live in tough winter climates, this is good practice anyway.

Use a deer spray in the spring - Deer will only really bother you through the spring. Up to the summer, I spray a homemade mixture on each plant and around each plant (test first to make sure plant is ok). I do this once a week until June. I basically ripped off Deer-Off's recipe which is cayenne pepper, garlic, eggs, tabasco, and water. This stuff works. Just buy some empty spray bottles for the mixture.

Infuse your beds with certain scented plants - Deer generally dislike plants with a scent, like sage, lavender, and alyssum. So in my beds I will always plant a couple of these plants. On many of my annual beds I now plant a front border of alyssum. This plant is hated by deer and it looks great. I love this plant!

Line beds with moth balls - In beds without scented plants, I line the bed edges with moth balls (1 every 2-3ft). Yes it is poisonous so be careful around children. I just push my into the mulch so they are not visible. It works wonders in keeping animals away. I have to replace every 1-2 weeks depending on rain. As I said earlier, I have found that alyssum does this trick too, but I don't want it in every bed.

Hope this helps!

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Comments (10)

Ilene29
20 years ago
How much of the cayennee pepper and garlic eggs and tabasco and water do you use. What i guess that i am really asking is how much of each thing.
Ilene
jaceysgranny
20 years ago
I'd like the recipe also for the generic "Deer off" please.

Thanks,

Nancy
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katinla51
20 years ago
I live in Louisiana, so the deer here probably love cajun cuisine. In past years they have used our pasture as their breeding ground....hmmmm
tommysmommy
20 years ago
There's a lovely doe with 2 fawns who's been eating my flowers regularly. Even with spraying Liquid Fence - until I refilled the bottle with my homemade hot spray. Using dried red pepper flakes, make a "tea" (quart of boiling water over 1/4 c. flakes) then strain through a coffee filter and spray. She hasn't dined on the flowers in 1 1/2 weeks and I just found her in the woods with the kids so I know she's still around.
denrfs
20 years ago
I would also appreciate you posting the exact proportions for the homemade repelling recipe. It's July, almost August, and the deer are still nibbling on my roses. I haven't been able to make a single bouquet yet, and I have 8 rose bushes. I have tried "Deer Off" and a motion detecting light. I've even run across the yard waving my hands in the air and yelling loudly when I catch them in the act. They are only slightly amused and entertained as they saunter off to return later.
jabee
20 years ago
Here's a recipe for "Homebrew". Don't apply when weather is under 40 or over 80 degrees, don't apply when plants will get full sun.

Thanks to the site below, visit it for great info on living with deer.

Garlic, Eggs and Tabasco
Combine one garlic clove, one egg, 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce and, one cup water.
Mix in a blender.

Let the concoction sit to ferment for several days.

Apply fermented mixture to plants.

Warning - This deterrent has been known to repulse humans too!

Here is a link that might be useful: My Deer Garden
froghollow
20 years ago
Don't forget ornamental grasses around plants that you don't want the deer eating. Deer tend to stay away from plants surrounded by grasses.
cixel
20 years ago
Coming from california, the idea of a backyard without a fence is totally alien to me. I'm not sure i've ever seen a backyard that didnt have a fence let alone a deer problem.
michaelzz
19 years ago
our deer have not stopped laughing since i read your note to them about only having damage in the spring !!!

our deer have the " all year buffet " here in CT
dadgardens
19 years ago
The deer here in NY are enjoying the yearr round buffet too. They've even started to munch on the forsythia---with a desert of peony, hellebore, and lungwort.