Free Shipping on $99+ Orders

July 12, 2017 2 min read

If you live in the country and own a garden, chances are deer have turned your precious real estate into a snacking bar. It is sure an annoying experience to see your garden plants eating to ruins every day.

But before passing judgment, you first need to be sure that deer are the ones responsible for the damage in your garden. Mind you, other wild life like rabbits, chipmunks and squirrels wreak havoc on a garden whenever they come visiting.

Here are some tell-a-tale signs that indicate deer have been visiting a lawn or garden

  • Hoof prints:Probably the surest way to tell of the presence of deer. Unlike other smaller pests like rabbits which leave a barely noticeable foot print, deer leave a large heart-shaped foot print spanning inches in length, particularly on moist and damp ground.
  • Jagged leave tips:To pick up leaves from trees and plants, deer resort to plucking because they have no front teeth that enables them to bite the leaves off. When they are done feeding, they would leave leaves with roughened edges behind. If a rabbit or, say, squirrel were to be responsible, what you would see is are smoothly eaten leaves.
  • Scratched bark of trees:Deer, particularly the buck (male deer) are in the habit of rubbing their antlers against the bark of trees. If you have got a small tree in your garden and have been noticing scratches on its bark, chances are deer are responsible.
  • Large droppings: Unlike rabbits and squirrels, deer leave large sized dropping as they munch away garden plants, and they do so in piles.

That settled, here are some repellent tactics you can use right now to deer-proof your lawn or garden.

  1. Keep things clean

Untidy and cluttered gardens attract deer in their numbers. To avoid sending them an invitation signal inadvertently, rid your garden off grown grasses and fallen fruits that fit their palate. Ensure this is done regularly.

  1. Scare tactics

Deer are scared by unfamiliar objects and even sound. This means you can take advantage of this phobia of theirs to keep them out for good. Some of the objects that make them skittish include: motion actuated sprinkler, scarecrow, flood light, strung empty tin cans and sundial.

  1. Electric fencing

To permanently put the problem of deer invading your garden away for good, erect an electric fence. Electric fence works by mildly electrocuting wild animals like deer should they attempt to trespass.

For safety sake, only use electric fencing solution that only delivers only small a jolt of electricity, else an unsuspecting human victim could get electrocuted.

  1. Commercial deer repellents

Out there in the market, there are several brands of deer repellents, each promising so much, but sadly, only a few come near to delivering their promise.

To save yourself the headache of experimenting with different repellent solution, settle for Deer and Rabbit MACE by Nature’s Mace. It is made using 100% naturally occurring ingredients, so you have little to be worried about safety.