Radios or other noise makers. Personally, I think deer like a bit of music while they dine.
Predator urine. For this to mean anything to a deer, the predator has to be one that is active in your area. If you have no wolf packs or mountain lions (cougars) where you are, save your money.
Dog hair or a confined dog. Having dogs just patrol and mark the perimeter of a property does not deter deer. If the dog isn't running loose and of sufficient size to actually do bodily harm to a deer, the deer soon figure this out and ignore frantic barking or the scent of the dog. An unconfined large dog will keep deer at bay.
Human urine...deer aren't afraid of humans in suburban areas.
Brush piles; deer sail right over them if they can see a safe landing, plus they have to be continually replenished as wood rots down.
Flashing lights - deer soon figure out they aren't dangerous and ignore them.
Water sprays - see above.
What Works - With Limitations
Commercial deterrent sprays using ingredients that either smell and/or taste bad to deer, such as:
Deer Off?
Hinder
Deer Away®
Repellex
Scoot®
Plantskydd®
Chew-Not
This 1 Works
Tree Guard®
Deer Blocker
Liquid Fence®
Not Tonight Deer!
Bonide Shot Gun
There are other products on the market and more seem to appear every day; each swearing it's the best and it will work. Well, it's likely they do work in smaller gardens where deer pressure isn't too great or browse too scarce, at least for a while. I have actually used about half of the above list with marginal results. None are exactly inexpensive. All of them have to be reapplied as plants put out new growth (the tastiest part of any plant for Bambi) or after it rains. In my climate, where some months seem to have 40 rainy days, reapplication can become a real chore.
Home Made Deer Sprays
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 eggs
2 gallons water
2 tablespoons liquid detergent
Blend at high speed; let stand 24 hours, spray on foliage
18 raw eggs
5 gallons water
Beat together, spray on foliage
Into a 1 gallon tank sprayer put:
1 cup sour milk, yogurt, sour cream or buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten & strained ( if you omit the straining, you'll plug up your sprayer )
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6.
Feb 9, 2004 1:21 PM
In response to message posted by biogardener:
Good; you're ahead of the game there, Traute. Once your willows get mature, the ...
-- posted by Marge_Talt
5.
Feb 8, 2004 11:06 PM
Yes, I have been watching the wire mesh and snipping it where necessary to make sure that the trees can grow normally. I have even pulled some of the wraps off and used them on younger trees. I got ...
-- posted by biogardener
4.
Feb 8, 2004 10:38 PM
In response to message posted by biogardener:
Yes, Traute, wire mesh will keep the blighters from eating trees. You may have ...
-- posted by Marge_Talt
3.
Feb 8, 2004 3:46 AM
I have a lot of deer on my 20 acres of country property where I have been planting trees. Three years ago, they discovered my willows which I had grown in the low-lying areas by simply sticking branc ...
-- posted by biogardener
2.
Feb 7, 2004 12:36 PM
In response to message posted by Howie:
LOL Howie...your traveling tag - eat venison - totally cracked me up!
Well, like I ...
-- posted by Marge_Talt
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