Deer can be a real problem to gardens and can cause a great deal of damage to crops and flowers alike. Young deer can be especially destructive because they are inexperienced and eager to try new things, and often eat plants that more mature deer generally leave alone. Whether you grow food for your own use, or flowers, deer can be a huge pain if they visit your plot. Some ways to easily keep deer from your garden, aside from covering your plants or erecting a giant fence, or installing a motion-activated system, include:
Deer hate the smell of detergents and soaps and avoid areas that have them. The best way to use this approach is to hang bars of soap so that they are suspended roughly 2-3 feet from the ground, directly where deer generally traffic. Make sure the soap bars are tallow based since this is especially noxious to them.
CD’s also help to keep deer back. If you have any old CD’s kicking around at home, string a few of them out in the garden where they can move in the wind. The reflection of light off the CD’s and the movement of them in the wind confuse deer and scare them off from your garden.
If your garden is a manageable size, one way to confuse deer and keep them out is to run a thin string of fishing line between two posts. The posts can be as far apart as you wish, so lone as the cable rises roughly 4 feet from the ground. While the fishing line will not keep deer from entering your garden with its strength, they will become confused and avoid trying to enter when they come in contact with something that they cannot see.
Planting flowers in your garden that deer don’t like can help to prevent them from being curious about what else you are growing, and will help to keep them away. While there are many varieties of deer resistant plants available, some plants that help to repel deer, like Bleeding Hearts and Crocuses, will help to keep them from coming near your garden at all. Other plants that deer cannot stand include: Catmint, Hyssops, Daffodils, Bluebells, Lavender, Rosemary, Oleander, and Lily of the Valley.
Creating your own homemade deer repellent spray is important for anyone wanting to use an organic method to keep deer back. This is especially important for vegetable and fruit gardens where you will be eating the foods growing in the garden. While there are many chemical deer repellent sprays, there are many organic versions too that can be made from common ingredients found at home.
While this last one sounds a bit strange, it makes a lot of sense. What are deer more afraid of than of humans? Ask your hairdresser the next time you go for a cut to save your hair clippings from the floor and take them home with you. Putting human hair in a mesh bag, or a dryer garment bag, and suspending it in the garden about 2-3 feet from the garden, makes deer think that someone is there when they smell it.
