Deer in the Garden

[MidwestPiglet]

Hi fellow gardeners! What a great new board, thanks Pete.

We recently moved into a new home, in the 'burbs/country. I'm used to a city garden, working with small lots. Now I have plenty of space for flowers, veggies & herbs. We've got about 1,000 day lillies on the property, with a scattering of daffodills, and fruit trees.

However, we have LOTS of wildlife -- deer, coyotes, chipmuncks, birds, fox, squirrels. I want to work with the natural life around us, so I don't want to use any harsh chemicals.

I know how to deal with everything but the deer -- any suggestions on what I can plant to keep them away from my flowers and produce? (I've heard that "spicy" plants like pepper might keep them away.)

Thanks!

 

[amid chaos]

Human hair...put it in a nylon or onion bag and hang from the plant or on a stick near the plant. Hang from your fruit trees too.

 

[LAinSEA]

Bambi isn't so cute when he's living off your expensive roses from Oregon!

Our best success has been with a water sprinkler contraption that works off a motion sensor. It makes noise and shoots water at the offending beast - yes the neighbors' cats get wet too (ours don't do outside).

You have to move the water "hazards" often - the deer get used to their presence and will start to ignore them if they are left in the same places week after week. They still get scared off if they are in different places.

The neighborhood deer are incredibly distructive and hungry! They eat even the "deer resistant" plants and are death to fruit trees espcially the cherry trees. Fortunately there is another solution - our community will let you have deer tags for bow hunting through the fall and winter months. Our neighborhood is divided over this topic - but I don't think there will be any protestation after one of the children or adults come down with Lime disease.

We also have coyotes, fox, raccoon, possum, and the occasional mountain lion preying on unsuspecting domestic cats and dogs...

Wildlife is great fun to watch but difficult to live with.

-LA

 

[Mamu]

I border conservation land with lots of wild life.

I agree it wonderful to watch, especially watching them eat everything you sweat to plant.

The best is when you go away for the day only to return and see a woodchuck has eaten what you've planned to cook for dinner.

 

[miller17]

Deer love pansies, crocus, and tulips. They ate all the flowers off my geraniums one year. I've found that they won't eat petunias. I also read that they don't like marigolds, but I haven't tried it yet. We had some luck also with a bar of soap near trees that we planted (Irish Spring, I think). Everytime it rained it would renew the scent. That worked for awhile. I've had the most luck with planting things that they don't like.

 

[We4mickey]

Welcome to the boards. And another cheesehead.
The hair Idea is a good one.or check this out http://www.nixalite.com/wcp.htm

 

[MidwestPiglet]

Thanks for all your replies! You've been VERY helpful!

I've got a big hunk of hair from my hairbrush this morning (I tried to make that sound more appetizing, without success). When I told my husband and daughter what it was for, they eyed me suspiciously. Then my 5 1/2 year old had a zillion questions about deer and hair: "Why are they afraid of hair?" "Are they afraid of their own hair?" ......

We4mickey: Yes, we're cheeseheads. We have the actual cheesehead hat in the basement rec area. Go Pack Go!

[Hoping for warmer weather... snow in April is discouraging...]

 

[MinnieMe2]

I've also heard that hanging bars of soap in panty hose will keep deer away from fruit trees. I've never had to try this, but a number of people have sworn it works. It might look funny, though, unless you can kind of tuck the stocking full of soap into the leaves....

 

[LAinSEA]

The nasty hooved beast came down onto our patio last night and ate our rose trees to the nub! right next to the house!

It's been too breezy for the motion-sensor sprinkler contraptions...besides staying up with wrist-rocket in hand I might have to rent the neighbors dog!

We live on a greenbelt and really can't fence (not that fences will keep them out either). Repellant washes off too soon (we get alot of rain). These neighborhood deer are quite unresponsive to "irish spring" and "bone or blood meal" bags.

looking for answers and hoping for the mountain lions to come back and visit,
LA

 

[cleo]

If you have a dog that sheds you have a never-ending supply of deer repellant.

We brush our collie and then put the 'puppies' (hairballs) out in the tulip bed. I started it last year and it's the first time in 5 years that I've had flowers bloom. A herd of deer live behind our house and they seem to love the tulips the best. Dog hair must make them think the dog's out there because now they leave it alone.

 

[LindaBabe]

There will be more and more of them in people's yards, as their habitat falls prey to the developers bulldozers, and hunting is increasingly limited. Too bad! Venison tastes great.

 

[Jeepers Lady]

I've found that taking our male Alaskan Malamute out to mark his territory - the perimeter of our property -- has been a wonderful boundary to prevent deer and those rascally rabbits from nibbling the tops of my flowers -- it also seems to have frightened the resident raccoon from invading the back yard

 

[LAinSEA]

Don't know if I like what would be hanging from my trees - but this is a suggesting from an old guy at the garden store (and yes that is what he called himself).

Buy venison jerky - put it in little mesh bags and hang it from the fruit trees and among the roses - or anything else they might be hungry for. He said forget about the soap - the only thing that really ruins their appetite is another dead deer!

I'm not sure I'm going to like attracting the other neiborhood critters intent on the smell of the ruined meat - but then again a few more predators might make the deer think twice.

Anyone else ever heard of this one?

-LA