Deer Repellent For Gardens

Homeowners have many options for deer repellent for gardens, from deer resistant plants to spray on repellent. There are options for easy to make solutions to mix up at home, or to buy commercially. Chemical free options, scare tactics, and barriers are other effective for keeping deer from eating a spring’s worth of hard work and a summer’s worth of garden fruits and vegetables.

Luckily, deer repellent for gardens is both easy to make and home with everyday ingredients, and inexpensive. The most popular deer repellent for gardens is a mixture of raw eggs in water. One raw egg can be mixed with on gallon of water, and then sprayed or sprinkled directly on the plants that need protection from hungry deer. This mixture should be reapplied after rain or watering with a sprinkler, or when new grown appears on the plants. The concentration of the mixture can be increased by using a smaller amount of water per egg, and the solution can be left in the sun to putrefy, in order to increase the odor that deters the deer.

A raw egg solution may not be a desirable deer repellent for gardens if it is a vegetable or fruit garden that needs protection from deer. Eggs can carry salmonella and other nasty bacteria, and no one wants to eat fresh vegetables or garden fruit that has been sprinkled with rotten eggs. Some research suggests that adding a little bit of cooking oils makes the mixture adhere to the plant leaves more easily.

For leafy vegetables such as lettuce and kale, a solution of water and soap may be a better option. While less effective against deer, a watery solution of dish soap is also a deterrent for hungry deer and will not carry the harmful bacteria that ray eggs can. Regardless of what repellent is used directly on garden fruits and vegetables, it should be washed thoroughly before human consumption.

Another variety of deer repellent for gardens is pellets made from coyote or wolf urine. These are available from some hunting and gaming stores, and on the internet. While effective, this method is not without drawbacks of controversy. The methods for protracting the urine from the animals is thought by some to be inhumane. Additionally, they emit a very strong and unpleasant odor, which repels deer, but is also offensive to humans.

A simple deer repellent for gardens that is safe for edible plants is a motion-activated sprinkler. These units cost just around fifty dollars, and one sprinkler can detect motion over up to a one thousand square foot area. Deer will typically avoid areas once they learn that they will get wet when they enter, and the watery deterrent is safe for plants that will be eaten later.

Motion activated sprinklers are available online, and as above ground units, without costly installation of an in-ground sprinkler system. The motion activation works day and nights, and one homeowner reports an added advantage: she leaves it set even while on vacations, so she does not have to worry about the repellent washing off in the rain while she is away.