I wonder if it works for rabbits, too.
Any experience with that?

~Natalie

I could not say for sure that it would work for rabbits, but I never see them around my plants. There is a lot of clover in our fields and that is where I always see them eating. I think if you have a rabbit problem the carpet deodorizer would be worth trying. It does not harm the plants.

Not sure carpet deoderizer is something id want my kids eating or myself for that matter.

I have used Scoot for Deer on the plants in my back yard. It's mostly organic, 99%. The only drawback is you have to reapply and it is very nasty smelling. It has worked for me. I live in a very highly deer populated area of Omaha called Ponca Hills.

Doug

Here is a link that might be useful: Scoot's Home Page

Common dog poop everybody, simple piles of dog poop.

Very scary for even the most powerful deer. You are lucky if you have a dog, the bigger the dog...the better. Otherwise, make friends with a dog lover. Most wont mind if you collect the poop on your own time. You may even want to "sneak" the dog an extra bag of food (hide it somewhere in the dog's yard so the owner wont see it; but the dog will have a feast) the extra food will obviously provide a heftier amount of each poop you collect. Win-Win.
Always wear gloves and always wash your hand and feet with very strong soap after each collection party.
The deer will look elsewhere to eat once they get the idea that they are in the area of a very smart and healthy dog.
...and your neighbor will get a lawn so clean that he can play many games with his children there without any worry of sudden surprises !!! again -- Win-Win !!!
...and you get the entire season completely deer free (no rabbits or woodchucks either....cats will likely also keep their distance, but they really don't cause major problems in most gardens)
In the winter - simply bury the poop and wait for pure and valuable compost to develop !!!

....and it's all free !!!

Well lagrangeny, ny this is welcome news. But what about the smell, or accidently running your hands in it when you tend the beds? My neighbor has half a dozen deerhounds and I'm sure I could get any amount of poop. There's a small animal that prevents me from growing beans, peas, cukes, melons or zucchini in a fully deer-fenced, with chicken wire along the bottom bed. It just burrows below it. Give us a few details on how to use it.

>>>> I AM GLAD THIS WILL BE A HELP TO YOU AND YOUR GARDENING EFFORTS !

Well lagrangeny, ny this is welcome news. But what about the smell,

>>>> AS IT AGES; THE ODOR DISAPPEARS COMPLETELY. IN THE SHORT RUN, IT IS SOMETIMES A BIT DISAGREEABLE, BUT THE BENEFITS ARE TREMENDOUS !

or accidently running your hands in it when you tend the beds?

>>>> WE ALL NEED TO BE CAREFUL WHEN TENDING OUR GARDENS. WE ALL LOOK OUT FOR SNAKES AND OTHER BITING ANIMALS; NOW SIMPLY ADD POOP TO THE LIST, IT'S NOT THAT HARD. GEEZ - MAYBE YOU CAN SPRAYPAINT THE POOP A FAVORITE COLOR AS AN EARLY-WARNING SYSTEM (HA-HA!)

My neighbor has half a dozen deerhounds and I'm sure I could get any amount of poop.

>>>> THIS IS EXCELLENT ! CONGRATULATIONS ! REMEMBER TO 'SNEAK' THESE 'GOOD LITTLE BUDDIES' SOME EXTRA FOOD !!!

>>>> THEY'VE GOT GOLD FOR YOU !!!

There's a small animal that prevents me from growing beans, peas, cukes, melons or zucchini in a fully deer-fenced, with chicken wire along the bottom bed. It just burrows below it.

>>>> WOW. IS THIS A POWERFUL WOODCHUCK THAT CAN BLAST THRU THE CHICKEN WIRE ???.....OR IS THIS A WILY SKINNY TYPE OF RASCAL ???

Give us a few details on how to use it.

>>>> THERE IS A VERY GOOD CHANCE THAT THE POOP (ESPECIALLY AFTER IT LEECHES BELOW) WILL FRIGHTEN YOUR UNDERGROUND INVADER !!!

>>>> YOU WILL USE THIS TECHNIQUE FOR MAY SEASONS TO FOLLOW !!!

>>>> HAPPY & SAFE GARDENING !!!

Thanks so much! my husband and I are very happy to learn about this. In the deer-fenced garden, the rodent burrows down and under the chicken wire in a couple of places. I guess we'll start with those spots. We don't work there at the perimeter, so no danger of running into the poop. In the other garden I guess we could ring it with popsicle sticks so we don't step in it.

Tell me, is it the poop itself that deters, or the knowledge that the poop brings? e.g. "There's a big dog here, I'm not even going to try going around and burrowing under on the other side of the garden! In fact, I'll find a new yard to live in!" If this is the case, we'll use it by by the holes in the ground by our second garage/screened-in porch where I think he lives.

Sorry - dog poop doesn't keep the deer away from anything, not even in prodigious amounts. It's just something they become accustomed to and then discount, like coyote urine.

Someone bought me one of those motion activated sprinklers for my garden. I deal with smaller critters but the information that came with it claimed it would help with deer too. Anyway, this sprinkler has kept cats, rabbits, and raccoons away pretty well...I don't want to sound mean but I have to admit it has some entertainment value as well when you happen to catch it in action...(but I feel okay about it because the humane society endorses it).

Here is a link that might be useful: This is the one I use

I have two Great Pyrenees dogs (150+ pounds). Plenty of dog poop in my yard, also plenty of deer. I think they're accustomed to it. They even know where the edge of the Invisible Fence is, and stay just on their side while watching my (impotent) barking dog on his side!

Florrie

I have had good success with Ivory soap shavings. Just take a few bars of Ivory soap to your beds and work them over with a potato peeler right over your plants. I have also heard that deer won't go near alpaca manure. I am going to try that this spring.
Alan

This site contains some great recipes for homemade deer repellent, as well as other resources for deer control.

Here is a link that might be useful: Deer Departed

The only thing that truly works is that heavy black plastic deer fence. It's a job to put up and it's expensive, but I have two friends that have done this, and it has worked for several years. They have fenced all, or a good part of their yard. You have to be sure to close the gate each time you drive through, though, because they are waiting for that gate to open. I have two dogs, a shepherd/malamute/wolf (120 lbs.) and a white husky (70+lbs.) The whole back and side yard is chain link dog fence. The groundhogs still come inside the dog fence. The deer have never jumped it -- so far.
A word of caution regarding the dog poop, don't put it anywhere near something you're growing to eat!

I would not use any dog or cat fecal matter or carpet powder on my plants. Posions would leach into the soil and then the plant. Read the ingredients on the carpet deodorizer. I am sure there are some crazy things in there.

How about human hair? I have heard this works. Go to a barber shop and aske for their hair clippings. Sprinkle it around. Think about it. Do you see deer when you are outside? No, our scent scares them off. Also, if you ever saw the movie The Rookie, they used this method to keep the deer from eating the grass seed on the field they planted.

Good luck.

The amount of carpet deodorizer needed to keep the deer out of the flower gardens is so small that it would very unlikely be dangerous.

As a matter of fact, we DO see deer all the time. Currently we have a herd of 14 that are always roaming through our yard, sometimes coming as close as 10 feet to us.

This photo was taken when we were putting in a new pond. Notice the deer under the tree.
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This was taken two weeks ago in our side yard. Mama doe and her quadruplets that were born last year.
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I for one am going to try the carpet deoderizer....Our back yard deer population has gone from 8 or 9 last year to 15 this year. What I'm most worried about is our hibiscus bushes and daylilies.....we already have the veggie garden fenced with electricity. Thx for this suggestion. cat.