This is the first time I will have to contend with deer in the veggie garden. I’ll fence the bunnies out, but a deer-height fence is not a viable option. I was wondering what type of repellents/deterrents you have found successful?
Our neighbor mentioned human hair (she cuts hair and said she would share with me). I am not opposed to that, but I’d like to play it safe and use multiple methods.
Thanks!
I’d use a 30-06.
I’d use a 30-06.
Yeah, I don’t think that would fly in suburban Maple Grove. 
And I’d have to see the buggers, too. So far, I’ve only seen what they leave behind!
I was thinking Bow and Arrow…but that is only acceptable in Woodlawn I think 
In suburbia, good luck! They aren’t going to fear human hair when you have idiots who have feeders set up to feed them 
When I used to work at the hardware store, I recall a product called Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent. It comes in a spray or granular. I don’t remember how well it works, I just remember the product display on the end cap. We also had a video set up with one of those motion-activated sprinklers that would quirt the deer if they got too close. Fun video to watch, but I’m not sure of the effectiveness.
Put in a couple fence posts and then tie plastic bags over the top of them. My dad used to have perennials spread out in an area with deer and this helped a lot. We called them ghosts
We used to have a big problem with deer getting into our silage bags on the farm. Theres a lot of different deterrents out there, the thing is no matter what the deer will get used to whatever you are using, so switch it up a lot. We used to stick wooden stakes in the ground and smear them with the strongest deoderant you can find. go into the store and start smelling, and if you find one that really stings your nose, thats the one to use.
As others mentioned, the Liquid Deer & Rabbit Repellent works, but so does human hair.
No, they don’t fear it, but when spread around the plants, on the leaves, etc. the Deer don’t like inhaling the hair nor eating it. We human would not like tasting/eating hair along with our meals either.
Easiest way is stop at a local Barber/Beauty shop, cost cutters, etc. and ask if they fill a grocery bag with hair for you, pick it up the next day. The Barber shop is best as most Barbers are cutting hair in shorter pieces.
Another option is along with your Rabbit Fence, get some Nylon Netting and string between fence posts. Pretty much invisible, butkeeps deer away.
Try peeing on you garden soil. Might not work, but there is something satisfying about wizzing in your backyard. .
While at work I have seen numerous outdoor marijuana grow operations where they surround the grow with horse hair on stakes. They say it keeps the deer away.
DT
While at work I have seen numerous outdoor marijuana grow operations where they surround the grow with horse hair on stakes. They say it keeps the deer away.
DT
Question….
If a deer eats a pot plant and gets the munchies….What does it eat-Cheetos or corn chips???
^ evidently, from Bill Koepke’s (BK?) post, they tear into a bag of silage
I put moth balls around my garden and Irish spring soap on stakes in the corners. It works great and I live right next to a corn field with lots of deer.
FYI.
Deer + garden = venison
The slam dunk, bottom line fix is to buy an electric fence charger, some fece posts, wire, and fence it off like a cattle pasture. As a bonus, run two strands of wire down low, one about 3-4 inches off the ground and another one at 6-8 inches off the ground so the bunnies get zapped too. Obviously, no wire can touch the ground.
My parents tried every folksy bad smell/taste deer repellent on Earth. Nothing worked and all of them involve endless faffing around. They got the electric fence up and within 2 weeks no more deer. Once the deer get zapped a couple of times, they avoid the entire area because they don’t know what hit them, they only know it happened somewhere near your house and it scared the #### out of them, so they just stay away.
I bought an electric fence charger off of Craigslist for $20. It’s called the BullDozer and it does a wonderful job of protecting my grape vines from raccoons. It zaps them so hard there’s a bright blue flash. I love the smell of singed raccoon fur in the morning.
Obviously, with children you should put it on a timer so it goes on at night when kids aren’t in the yard and shuts off in the early morning.
Grouse
The only thing I have found to work is fencing. Metal fence, not plastic.
What ever repellants you use, you need to rotate there use. Put dog poop on the list.
I love the 30-06, bow, electric fence and other ideas. But in town, not go’na happen. There is a police cuffing or a lawsuit waiting to happen!
What, seriously, what would a motion detector light coupled with a noise maker of some type do?
Now if I can just keep that wild coyote around…
Motion activated tripod sprinkler?
Motion activated tripod sprinkler?
Oooh, you might be on to something there!
Might work on a deer but I had a dog that loved taking showers. 
Seriously!
….electric fence and other ideas. But in town, not go’na happen. There is a police cuffing or a lawsuit waiting.
What’s wrong with an electric fence? I’ve had one in town for years.
I keep it on a timer so it’s only on at night. But even if someone were to touch it it’s not going to hurt anyone.
Grouse
Nobody’s goi
Heck I don’t know Grouse,
just seems like in town on a garden up next to the public side walk (or at least at my house) there would be a risk of a law suit. Besides I would forget to reset the timer after the power went out, lol! That already happens with my exterior low voltage lighting.
I think an e-fence would be fine at my locale, provided I had it on a timer. Our yards are pretty big and private as suburban lots go. I’ll keep that on the back-burner if it really gets to be a problem.
They do make motion-activated sprinklers. I have a friend whose in-laws went that route. He said that it worked for a bit, but the deer eventually got used to it.
Pug,
Peeing on your garden might work to keep the deer away….but might not be a good idea if used in conjunction with the electric fence suggestion.
Donkeys are territorial pluss you get free fertilizer.
Alpaca are used for guardians for cattle and sheep and you get material for all the sweaters you want to knit and fertilizer to boot. Though, alpacas are a heard animal that may backfire.
H’mmm, now that I think about how does one keep them from eating the veggies.
Nevermind. 
The deer here feast on Ma’s tulips at this time of year. Right nowI have a cat that has decided that my garden isits personal sand box. The live trap goes in action tonight. If there’s a paddy tat in it tomorrow that’s not wearing a collar it’ll probably be lights out. I’ll take a collared cat to the pound and they can deal with it.
I think an e-fence would be fine at my locale, provided I had it on a timer. Our yards are pretty big and private as suburban lots go. I’ll keep that on the back-burner if it really gets to be a problem.
They do make motion-activated sprinklers. I have a friend whose in-laws went that route. He said that it worked for a bit, but the deer eventually got used to it.
The maddening thing about deer and other animal pests for me at least is that they seem to know exactly what and when the worst time is to eat something and then they do so.
Tulips, for example, are best eaten right before they bloom. With tomato plants, it’s the blossoms that are the most tasty. Raccoons LOVE grapes, but they will ignore them until they are at the peak of ripeness, then clean out the entire vineyard in one night.
Bottom line is that I wouldn’t spend a dime on water spaying solutions that the deer will learn to ignore. The electric fence is a tried and true solution and the cost is reasonable. Deer do not get used to an electric fence and over time they learn to give it a wide berth.
My grapevines are protected by 6 posts and 6 stands of wire. I have 3 strands down low and closely spaced to zap the bunnies and raccoons and then 3 more in the usual spacing to keep the deer away. The fence charger unit stays high and dry on the wall of the garage where a timer unit turns it on at dusk every night and then off at 7 AM, An overhead wire goes from the peak of the garage to a high post out back by the vines. My dad has a similar setup, but he trenched in a single wire underground to get the juice back to the garden.
Total cost for the whole setup was less than $200 and if you shopped around on Craigslist you could probably get it cheaper.
Grouse
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