we got tons of deer here. they're great, but they can jump high, eat stuff grown in gardens, etc. are there any natural (and nonviolent) ways to keep them out of a garden? I once heard of a special bush they dont like, if you plant it, theyll avoid the area, but i forget its name. Looking for all things like that.
I found this site which may be useful. I have had friends that had similar problems to you, and these deer repellents seemed to work for them: http://www.critter-repellent.com/deer-1/deer-in-my-garden-flowerbed.php http://www.deerbusters.com
Among mammals, deer are probably the worse eaters of gardens. It is possible to fence out deer, but not on my budget. I've seen deer jump a six foot fence like it wasn't there. So here's what I did. I got a pair of motion sensing outdoor light fixtures. I got the ones that use two bulbs. I use one bulb in each and in the other socket I put a plug adaptor. Then I got a pair of small outdoor usable radios. I pluged in the radios, set them to a Rap music station, covered the light sensors (so they're always active), and place them in opposite cornors of the garden. When anything "trips" the sensor, the light comes on AND the radio. The combination works very, very well. I also experimented with a fan on each, to add motion to the set-up. The fan experiments never got too far. There is a master switch on the way down to the garden, so I can turn the whole set-up on & off. A modification I added was to put a small light on the post where the switch is, so I can tell from a distance if the system is on or off. Peace, poor_old_dad
I have deer, but they don't mess with my garden much. Something ate the tops out of my Cayanne peppers, but I'm not sure what it was. They did horn some trees I planted two years ago as a windbreak. Killed several of my nieghbors fruit trees, too. Do they get used to that stuff? I've heard they do.
the motion senceing things and the noise etc they all get used to,, 3 fer sure fire tecniques folks use here,,.. 1 an 8 foot fence, 2 electric fence coated with peanut buttter,, problem with that is sometimes they get tired of peanut butter,, 3 shoot them...
I don't have a problem w/ that. Like I said, it's been no big deal so far. I re planted my peppers (a buck twenty and a week's time lost). We moved in two years ago October and last spring and summer I shot 19 (!) groundhogs off 5 acres. There were so many because (I guess) they developed some land around me and nothing had been done to control them for about 10 years. Haven't seen any so far this year, but I'm ever watchful... If the deer became a problem, I'd certainly shoot them.
pissing is also a good natural deterent. deer don't like to venture into the marked territory of a carnivore
Thanks for these! and thanks to everyone else. i love deer, i dont want to hurt them, so will check out these links right now.
To "StraightOldHippy": Thank very kindly, Namaste There are some folks that mail order things like "lion urine" (I wonder whose job it is to collect that?). One thing about using pee (other than mail ordered) is it's cheap to try, and I guess the "urine deterrent" works in some places, for some gardeners, some of the time. From what I've heard it needs to be re-applied after each rain, and that makes sense. I think a lot would also depend on the size of the garden. My garden's perimeter is 540 feet and that's just the veggie garden. Where I am it can rain every other day (if we're lucky). And frankly, I can't pee that much, no matter how much beer I drink. Also, I think my neighbor, over on the other side of the kudzu patch, "hippiehillbilly", has a really, really good point. They (the deer, rabbits etc) get use to what ever we do. Trying different things and changing deterrents may be the answer. And, like he said, an 8 foot tall fence will keep out deer (and rabbits, and the next door neighbor's cow and horses and goats, etc). But the cost, compared to the damage done, for me, wasn't in the budget. I started planting a privet hedge around the veggie garden. Around here, privet will grow over 15 feet tall and so thick a bulldozier can't pass through. I never finished that project, for the reason, see the getting rid of rabbits thread. Personally, I think sharing what has and hasn't worked for deer and rabbits and about composting and etc., is very helpful. Peace, poor_old_dad
A friend told me that an old trick to keep deer out of the garden is to hang pieces of white fabric in the trees. Appearantly the deer think it is the white spot on the bum of another deer running away and see it as a sign for danger. I must admit I haven't tried it, but if it works it would be a cheap alternative to buying repellents.
