Posted: 6/8/2001 7:03:44 AM EDT
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How the HELL do you keep deer out of your yard? Correct that - they can hang out in the yard all they want - but how do you keep them from eating your rose-bushes and day-lillies? I live pretty far out from the city, so deer are pretty plentiful herabouts. I've heard of a motion-detecting sprinkler that would probably work, but I'm hoping for something a little more low-tech and inexpensive. I'm sure there's some local ordinance that would prevent me from blowing them away with my Garand (I do live in a subdivision)- and they always eat my stuff while I'm asleep anyway. Any ideas? Help me! |
| My folks string some type of device up that is almost transparent from a distance. It simply consists of stringing fishing line on posts around the bush at certain heights. The theory is that deer don't like sticking their heads through it. I don't know if it works or not. |
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You have 2 choices. 1. Build 8ft. tall chainlink fences. 2. Give up. My parent have fought the deer for years. They have tried every gimmick and recommendation from the "experts". In the end the deer will jump, walk through, or ignore anything you try. We would make venison but the neighbor across the street is the county sheriff. [sniper] |
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Bow and arrow, or colibri .22 rounds. For when you're not at home, I heard that salt licks repel deer. Just post them around your perimeter and it's deer-b-gone! [;)] Electric fence? They look a lot easier to install than an 8' chainlink fence. Just pound in the posts then loop the electrified wire along. To protect shrubbery from moose in the winter, people around here wrap the plants with chicken wire. That would look like crap though, wouldn't it? |
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Quoted: For when you're not at home, I heard that salt licks repel deer. Just post them around your perimeter and it's deer-b-gone! [;)] Electric fence? They look a lot easier to install than an 8' chainlink fence. Just pound in the posts then loop the electrified wire along. Salt licks are you kidding me?! |
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Sounds crude but urine (either k9 or human) will deter WILD deer. If these deer are suburban deer (read: tame) not much will stop them short of a bullet. They're like overgrown rats. I have heard of some success with those ultrasonic sound generators. We have a major deer problem some places here too. BTW - the sprinkler thing works pretty well also, and isn't really that expensive. You can also make your own deterrent by using a store bought motion detector hooked up to some sort of noise making device (sounds stupid but a fan w/a playing card in it like on a bike works pretty well), and will shut off automatically. |
| The only thing the deer won't get used to and ignore (other than bullets) is a low-powered electric fence available at farm supply stores and maybe lawn/garden shops. They make small, cheap ($30.00) units for home garden use. The wire needs to be about waist high or a little less. It works great for neighborhood kids cutting through your yard too. Signs to provide warning are available too, for those not attending public school and, hence, literate. This is not overly unsightly and does work. Good luck, they really are like overgrown, long-legged rats in town. |
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Soap shavings work real well. Get a deodorant soap, take a cheese grater to it and spread it around - the deer hate, and so do alot of other varmits (may not keep the neighbors out though). The other night I had 8 deer in the yard, not one came anywhere near the gardens. |
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Quoted: How about those motion detector-flood light combos they use to scare off burglars? I can't imagine that Deer would like to be in a sudden flood of light. They always startle me when I go for a run at night. Should be able to get these at Home Depot. But you still go running and it didn't take long to figure out they are harmless. Same with deer. I agree with the bow and arrow or dog idea or a bucket of tasty anti freeze "accidently" left in your garden. |
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I'm into organic gardening, which, basically, means the avoidance of any manufactured chemical insecticides, pesticides, fertilizers, etc. To keep deer from eating your roses and other plants, the leaves should be sprayed with a 'garlic-pepper' tea concoction. It's a mixture made by boiling cloves of garlic and hot peppers together, making a 'tea', and spraying it onto the plant's leaves. It will not harm the plants in any manner, smells kinda like 'Momma Hun's' cooking, and should make these plants less enticing to the deer, as well as other pests. Lord, now I'm hungry for some pasta! Eric The(Naturalist)Hun[>]:)] |
| I have heard of people spreading cat chit around the perimeter of their yard.(note- it has to be the type of cats that eat deer) Go to local zoo and see if they will give you the poo-poo from the Big cats. You might also try spraying Pepper Spray on the plants being victimized... |
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We suffered with no plants and deer droppings on the lawn for the first two years we lived here. Nothing worked. Then a deer was hit by a car and keeled over in our side patio. It was during the winter so I never went out there. I think it was there for a few days before I found it. Never had a deer problem since. Do you have an old car with strong bumpers? [;)] |
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Thanks again, everyone! Lot's of good (and/or funny) ideas. I think I'll try the motion detector sprinkler thing - and maybe buy some kind of deer repellant (couldn't find any in the stores - but all thise hits Crookshanks pointed to will be useful). I'll try one in front and the other in back and see how well they work. If that doesn't work, then maybe one of those "home" electric fences might be worth looking into, but hopefully it wont be necessary. |
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How the HELL do you keep deer out of your yard? Correct that - they can hang out in the yard all they want - but how do you keep them from eating your rose-bushes and day-lillies? Don't plant flowers. Ok, so maybe I'm a neanderthal. My father does the same thing though - plants flowers for a month and then spends the remaining 11 months of the year fighting the deer, moles, beetles, rabbits, birds, crappy weather, and every-other-damn-thing under the sun that kills the stupid flowers. Hell man, screw the flowers, grow grass, mow it and forget about it. |
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Beerslayer, you da man! I like the idea. Sick, but I like it. Seriously though, I second the dog suggestion. We have a 90lb yellow lab, and he LOVES to chase the damn things out of the yard. It's kinda funny during the rut, as the bucks don't like to give up their territory. They'll snort as he charges them, but they'll eventually puss out and high-tail it outta there. Aside from that, do a little bow-hunting (be sure to hang the thing from the nearest tree to butcher it, so everyone can see!) If that's not your style, you can always chase them off yourself by whacking at them with a big stick. -Gloftoe |
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My grandparents used to have a large gardens and a deer problem. They tried a few things. They got some government agency (I can't remember which) to give them explosive noisemakers to scare the deer off. It didn't work very well, but I got to play with M80s [:)]. My grandma finally found a method that worked well. She would pee in a bucket then soak rags in the pee. Then she would hang the rags around the gardens. It works. |
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My mom has the same problem, but I'm sure she hasn't tried the piss rag trick. She lives in town but it's not as populated as DK-Prof's subdivision. We live in a city and the deer haven't bothered any of the stuff in the yard in 6 years. I have seen them looking over the fence though. It's only a 4 foot high picket so I don't know why they haven't come in. Fred |
| Hi DK. The pepper spray and garlic tea will help. You don't need to use P-rags, just answer the call of noture by whizzing around the perimeter. Human hair works also. If you are having a drought, and forage is scarce, the repellents lose their effectiveness, and about the only thing that will work is 60 grain Sierras on top of 20 grains of 4895. |