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Dealing with Deer

© Susan Ward

If you're tired of deer treating your garden like a delicatessen, and frustrated by the failure of folk remedies that seem to have about as much effect as putting out a "Deer: please keep out" sign, then it's time to think about anti-deer design.

The problem with deer is that they're bold and much more cunning than people think they are. People are easily deceived by cute animals. The deer know this and use it to their advantage. Where I live, deer have not been hunted for a long, long time. The deer know this, too. They stroll down the streets of our town, bold as brass, pausing to nibble whatever looks tasty. I have even seen a deer standing at a crosswalk, as if it was waiting for traffic to stop! The deer are so bold here that they've been known to clamber up stairs to get to the plants on people's decks. I often wake to find a small herd of deer in my yard, looking for all the world as if they're holding a meeting to decide who gets to eat what.

Walking toward them, waving your arms and shouting don't disturb them; they look up at you like cows and continue browsing. I can also vouch that much vaunted folk remedies such as festooning trees and shrubs with bars of strong-scented soap, such as Irish Spring, or strewing human hair through your beds, doesn't deter them. Oh, sure, they might work for a week or two, but bambi image aside, deer are not dumb, and once they figure out there's no actual threat involved, they ignore whatever deer-deterring concoction you've come up with.

So what's to be done? First, get to know your enemy. Deer are incredibly habitual. If you watch them, you'll see that they often follow the same routes, and sometimes even "visit" the same plants. There's no point in having a garden positioned right along deer trail; as anyone will tell you, hungry deer will eat anything! Even more aggravating is their habit of taste-testing; although peonies, for instance, are often on lists of plants that deer don't like, I've had deer bite off all my peony's long-awaited blooms and spit them out on the lawn. So find out what the regular habits of the deer you're dealing with are, and plan accordingly.

Second, if you want to grow vegetables or any of the flowers that deer prefer, the only safe solution is a fence... a high fence. It will have to be eight feet tall, because deer are gifted leapers. You can use any fencing material, from wood through wire, but if you use wire, make sure the strands are close enough together that the deer can't widen them and squirm through them. Make sure the fence is strong. Joyce Schillen relates a telling anecdote about deer determination at http://www.gardenpages.com/bambi.html ; even though she had enclosed her garden with an electric fence, one buck decided he was going to get in, and managed to butt his way through, ignoring the repeated electric shocks! A "blind side" or using raised beds made from cedar boards is useful; supposedly deer won't leap into an area when they can't see their landing spot.