Comments on: The Desperate Gardener and the Homemade Deer Repellent

By: Micah

Micah — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:22:31 +0000

The best way to keep the Deer Off your Land is to have a Bowhunter to take care of it . Deer are very domestic now .and the ones who are doing it are the Does . i have people ask me to help out with the deer all the time but only in season and i use tags . More or less it’s going to be the Doe’s that i take because i use it for food no waste and i share the meat to .. well hope this was some info for everyone..

By: domestika

domestika — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:26:01 +0000

@Brenda, thanks! I’d forgotten all about this one – strong-scented deodorant soap (Irish Spring brand gets mentioned a lot ) does work well, but you may find (as we did) that the deer get used to it in about a week. I’m beginning to believe that the key is rotating through different methods every couple of days, to keep the deer guessing!

@Gary, what a great name for a product! I’ll definitely try something called “This One Works”! My mother also recommends Plantskyd, and I don’t mind the odour of blood meal too much myself – my issue is that it attracts all the barn cats (not to mention foxes and coyotes and other predators) to the garden – and they do just as much damage with their digging as the deer do with their nibbling… “This One Works” sounds like its worth a try, however – and thanks for the tip on diluting it! With a couple of rural acres to protect, I’d probably go broke before I even got out of the store!! But still, to keep even just those precious Asiatic lilies safe, I think it would be okay to splurge!

By: gary lubbes

gary lubbes — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:21:17 +0000

there is a topical product that does work called “this one works”. it must be reapplied after every rain or sprinkling, but if you have plants you really love, you will add it to your daily regenime.

i have used it along with plantsykd in the past, but the dried blood order of plantskyd is quite repulsive.

i would recommend “this one works” but go ahead and dilute it at 1 to 1 or you will go broke in the process. daily applications at 1 to1 1 dilution will do the trick.

By: brenda

brenda — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:21:38 +0000

I use a scented bar of soap inside a knee-high stocking. I just hang it it up. The deer hate the smell

By: domestika

domestika — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:12:36 +0000

Thanks, Olivia. All info is welcome, as we begin to head towards spring once more and the deer are starting to come out of the winter deer-yards in the deep woods…

Just last night, I heard a dreadful ruckus of coyotes hunting in the woods across the road – for sure they were after a deer. Deer drive me nuts in the garden and orchard, but they are such beautiful animals… it’s bone-chilling to hear the coyotes in full pack howl, chasing a deer, and then that sudden total silence…

By: Olivia

Olivia — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:35:37 +0000

If you want to see some more recipes and charts of deer resistant plants, check out my site. I am ading to it every day.

By: domestika

domestika — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:12:19 +0000

@kellypea, I wish your sister good luck with her beautiful Bambi beasts!

@Chico, it couldn’t smell any worse than a chemical, could it? Seriously, though… My little spray bottle doesn’t hold the smell after washing it out, but I would think that it would depend how soon and how thoroughly you cleaned out your spra yer after use. I’ve never owned a backpack sprayer so couldn’t say for 100% sure one way or another, not from personal experience…

By: Chico

Chico — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 20:52:08 +0000

I have a solo backpack sprayer; you think the eggy concoction would make the sprayer smell bad forever and ever?

By: kellypea

kellypea — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 16:41:48 +0000

I love the deer stories. My sister just moved to VA and is loving her deer. Of course, she hasn’t begun to slave in the yard yet, and isn’t into some of the very lovely flowers you’ve described here. I’ll pass on the recipe just in case!

By: domestika

domestika — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:02:31 +0000

Fresh cow manure might freak out a suburban deer, for sure! We’re in a dairy farming area and the deer hang out with the cows quite often, so not sure that would work for us… My garden has been safe from deer the past 3 days because a coyote killed a rabbit in the yard one night and left disgusting entrails all over the place. Talk about off-putting! My dogs are the only ones who think this is remotely cool… think I’m going to stick with the rotten egg spray, which seemed to be working well before The Night of Carnage.

By: L. Shepard

L. Shepard — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 11:23:53 +0000

I hear cow manure, as a mulch repels them. Not horse manure, just cow manure. I think I read about it in motherearthnews.com. I’m a city girl, so I haven’t put it to the test.

By: domestika

domestika — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 02:34:48 +0000

I swear, Neena, after the rotten-egg potion dries you really can’t smell a thing – just the pretty flowers!