Deer

Have you ever wandered out into your garden in the morning only to find nothing where you had plants. Or maybe you found just a stub of stem poking out of the ground. Maybe you think to yourself, "I know I had plants yesterday, what could have done this?"

Well, chances are, you have deer nearby looking for a snack. This is especially true if you live in a rural area with lots of trees and land for them to roam. Now, deer are tricky animals so it takes alot of patience to learn what works in your area.

Fences are your best defense, but remember, deer can jump so you have to make it high enough. Or better yet, get some electric fencing to put on top of a fence so that you can keep your regular fence lower than you need. This will be your most expensive method. Remember, you have to buy enough to make at least 8-10 feet of fence height.

You can use a Bait and Shock fencing method where you attach aluminum pans to your fence, add a favorite sticky goo that deer love, such as peanut butter, and soon as they taste the pan, ZAP! Deterrent action!

Chicken Wire fencing is only effective if you put it high enough and sturdy enough. Mix chicken wire with electric fencing to keep them out.

Repellents work pretty well. You can try BGR (big game repellent), Chew-Not, Ro-Pel, Hinder, and more. Odor repellents need to be refreshed constantly unless you mix it with stuff like VaporGuard or WiltPruf. You can use Raw Egg Spray sprayed on trees and plants. You can't smell it, but deer can. Hot sauce spray, is used as a taste repellent by adding 2 TBS tobasco plus 2 TBS antidesiccant to 1 gallon of water and spraying. Refresh after rain.

But by far the best deterrant other than fencing is hanging really strong deodorant soap in nylon stockings or cheesecloth on your trees and around your garden perimeter. Deer hate strong smells.

You can toss human hair around too and the smell of humans usually deters them.

Try any of these methods and let me know if they work for you!

But try to be nice to the deer and make a patch of stuff just for them away from you regular garden. At least the deer will thank you for it! My step-dad does this and has some really fat bucks to shoot in deer season right in his backyard! He has herds of the buggers living out there. He keeps a patch of good stuff growing and has his vegetable patch closer to the house.

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