Keep Deer Out Of Garden

Gardeners employ home remedies to curtail nuisance urban whitetails

Home remedies for keeping nuisance deer out of a garden are plentiful.

Human hair strewn throughout is supposed work. Hanging a scented bar of soap is another option.

Although, according to Debbie's Greenhouse and Lawn Centre operator Debbie Schatkowsky, the animals can get used to almost anything. She said she's even heard reports of deer licking the very bars of soap they're alleged to despise.

She noted some people moved to laying powdered soap throughout the lawn but said that only results in mass bubbles come rainfall.

She used to sell an egg, milk and pepper concoction but too many people were altering the recipe at home and burning their gardens.

The best bet, according to Schatkowsky, is liquid bloodmeal. She uses at her Redditt Road greenhouse and claims it's kept the nuisance at bay.

She said it's organic and called it a safe product that adheres to the plants and leaves. She admitted it looks like "Freddy Kruger came by" at first but before long the bloodstain wears off and the scent, while potent enough to keep away deer, doesn't overwhelm the garden.

She recommended spraying not only gardens but creating a perimeter and spraying trails leading to the yard to turn the animals away before they even enter the property.

As the urban deer population spiked in Kenora in recent years, she said the number of bedding plants and vegetables sold from the greenhouse dropped 40-50 per cent as customers move to buying potted plants that can be hung out of reach of the deer.

Schatkowsky has started collecting names on a petition looking for the City of Kenora and the Ministry of Natural Resources to get a hold of the deer population within the city so people can get back to planting vast gardens.

"Nobody's doing big beds, she said. "If they are, they've got seven foot fences. You build a nice house and then you've got a big fence all the way around it, it looks like a jail... People are wrapping chicken wire around everything and it takes away, obviously, from the aesthetics.

How to keep deer out of your garden

Photo from Alberta Home Gardening

Ever-Increasing Deer Damage

Deer are one of the most widely distributed mammals, inhabiting every continent throughout the world, except Antarctica and Australia. As the human population increases, the natural habitats of deer continue to decline causing deer to have no where to go, but developments and suburban areas. The result is a continual increase in property damage caused by deer. Not only is property damage an issue, deer harbor diseases that can be passed to humans, pets and livestock. Finding an effective deer repellent is crucial to protecting your family, pets and yard.

There are many ways to control deer from entering your land and destroying your property. Some are effective and others are not. One method that is not very effective is planting “deer proof” plants. The label “deer proof” is in fact a misnomer because a hungry deer will eat any plant when preferred food sources are scarce.

Another option is installing a fence around your property. This method is also not the best deer repellent as deer can jump over fences, even as high as 8 feet. Installing a fence is not only ineffective, it is also costly and detracts from the look of your landscape.

There are more effective and cost-efficient methods to stop deer from entering an area. They include motion detector sprinklers, liquid deer repellents and electronic deer repellents. These methods harmlessly condition deer and other wildlife to stay away. (Preventing Deer Damage)

A Motion Detector Sprinkler – An Innovative Deer Repellent

An effective, cost-efficient, and safe deer repellent is the innovative motion detector sprinkler . This type of deer repellent utilizes water spray and noise to create a humane and highly effective solution to property damage caused by deer. Not only is it effective on deer, it can protect areas from all types of destructive animals, including cats, dogs, raccoons, groundhogs, opossums, skunks, squirrels and geese. The motion detector sprinkler keeps cats from using gardens as their litter box, prevents dogs from digging up recently seeded lawns, and keeps rabbits from feasting on gardens. Moreover, it is the perfect way to prevent cats, raccoons and birds from eating fish out of a decorative pond. A safe, effective alternative to chemical repellents, the motion detector sprinkler is also a highly economical solution in place of fences, perfect in those areas where fencing is not an option due to aesthetics or local land ordinances.

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