Something that deer hunters will tell you is that different species of deer behave differently. So in a lot of cases, what is true of one kind of deer, isn’t necessarily true of another.
For instance, Black Tailed Deer are tremendously observant of their surroundings. If something is out of place, they know it, and act much more cautiously than they otherwise would. Flags tied in the garden may actually deter these deer, if they are rearranged often enough that they don’t start becoming just the same old thing. On the other hand, mule deer are not easily deterred by something that simply looks different. They are much larger than most other deer, so they don’t bluff as easily.
This presents a special problem in areas where there is more than one kind of deer, and if you aren’t sure what their habits are. This may make it difficult, but it isn’t insurmountable.
In order to do so, we need to concentrate on what is common to all deer, rather than just the behavior. One thing that they have in common is that all deer have a very good sense of smell. This gives us an excellent weapon for keeping deer out of the garden, and here are three ways we can use this:
Deer are very offended by the scent of Irish Spring brand soap. (Deer hunters, take note if you wash with Irish Spring. It may smell good to us, but it doesn’t to deer.) Take a bar of Irish spring and a potato peeler, then between the rows of the garden, and around the edges, peel thin strips off of the soap and leave them on the ground. This does not harm the vegetables, nor does it give unusual flavors, but it will repel the deer as well as a few other animals that can cause damage to a garden.
Deer are purely vegetarian, so they tend to be offended by the aroma of cooked meat or fish. If you are a fisherman, when you catch trash fish, rather than just chucking them, put them in a pot, cover with water, and boil them. After about an hour, stop cooking and allow cooling. If you have cats, ladle out the fish meat. This is a special treat to most cats. If not, the meat, buried, makes excellent fertilizer for roses and other plants. Pour the liquid that remains, between the rows of the garden. Not only will this repel deer, but it will also fertilize the vegetables. Do you like 1 pound tomatoes and heads of lettuce the size of basketballs? It is possible using this method. Note however that the effects are usually not long lasting, on the order of a week at best. Of course, that also gives you an excuse for doing more fishing, if you need an excuse.
Mothballs are offensive to humans. Imagine how they are for any animal with a good sense of smell! Deer, skunks, dogs, cats, and many other animals are repelled by the smell of mothballs. Place mothballs around the perimeter of the garden (not between the rows). This produces an aroma barrier that the deer hesitate to cross. The down side is that the mothballs will dissolve over time, especially with rain or sprinkling, so they will need to be replenished.
I’ve used all of these methods to keep deer out of my garden, even when they were common in my front yard and were decimating gardens that were fairly nearby. They all work. I won’t say that they work perfectly, but losing one or two plants is preferable to finding that every vegetable in the garden has been eaten to the ground.
The question is, which one are you going to try first?
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