Deer deterrents that work

Deer deterrents that work

A hungry deer will hop over fences high into the sky, defy foul smelling deterrents and even dare a dog to fill its stomach. They won’t mind laying your precious garden to waste – after all, you invited them in the first place. In fact, in times of acute food shortage, plants which otherwise would have deterred them will become their snack.

Where does this lead us to? It takes a lot of work to make your garden or yard deer proof – and commitment too.

Before deciding which repellent will work best for you, here are some important things you need to bear in mind

• You will have to reapply the repellents, especially the odor based repellent once after it rains.
• It doesn’t take deer so long to get use to a certain type of repellent, and when they do, no scent so strong or taste too bitter will stop them. To prevent this from happening, alternate as much as you can.
• Don’t wait until deer get accustomed to snacking in your garden before applying repellents. The best time to apply repellents is when you sense the first sign of deer damage. Your goal should be to discourage them from coming and not to drive them away.
• Odor based repellent will be your best bet if you live in a place where deer population is high

With that taken care of, here are some effective deer deterrent techniques you can try your hands on.

1. Protect your garden plants with thorny foliage

Like earlier said, a determined deer can defy a repulsive, pungent smell to get to its priced reward – your supple veggies. In addition to fowl smelling bulbs like garlic and onions, incorporate thorny plants like cleome or fuzzy lamb’s ear.

2. Use decoys

Deer depend on their sense of smell and sight to find food. So, if you can figure out a way of tricking their senses, you are halfway winning the battle. Sprawling your garden with thorny looking plants will do.

3. Put scare tactics to good use

Deer are very timid – anything that looks unfamiliar scares the hell out of them. Wind chimes, scarecrows, string of CDs etc. makes them fright. Do ensure that whatever object you decide to use is always in place – winds can push them down.

4. Use garden nets

Covering your tender plants with garden nets is a good defense strategy against deer. In place of garden net, you can as well use mesh.

5. Deer Spray

Deer are repulsed by spray containing ingredients like rotten eggs, cayenne pepper and soap. You can either buy such spray or make one yourself – it is pretty easy to make.

6. Run strings of fishing line around the perimeters of your garden

This will serve as fencing. Compared with full fencing, crossing out your garden with fishing line is way cheaper. Only ensure that the line is at least 5 feet high to discourage any deer thinking of hopping through.

7. Sprinklers

Automated sprinklers when installed in your yard shoot off jets of water once it senses motion. Any trespassing deer will be instantly chased off.

8. Commercial Deer Repellents

Commercial deer repellents are available is stores and online. Deer and Rabbit MACE by Nature’s MACE is the best product on the market, proven to be the most effective.