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Deer Repellants
Deer repellants are those chemical compounds with which gardeners fool themselves into thinking they are actually controlling the deer. :-) So much for definitions.
Here’s the deal. A hungry deer is a tough animal to stop. A really hungry deer will eat any kind of vegetation up to and including material it would not normally eat (like yew trees) There is no material that will stop a really hungry deer from eating a shrub to the ground. Sorry about that – but that’s the truth. A fence will stop a hungry deer and a shrub wrapped in chicken wire or aluminum foil will work as long as the deer can’t see any woody parts showing or can’t reach through the wire to get the foliage. Here on my island, wrapping shrubs and evergreens has been perfected for this purpose.
But there are deer repellants that will stop slightly hungry or browsing deer from eating your prized plants.
There are deer repellants that contain foul tasting chemicals. Bitrex is one such chemical and if you’re shopping for a deer repellant, check out the concentration of bitrex in the mix. The higher the better. Some repellants contain fungicides that also have deer repellant tastes. I’ve seen these work quite nicely in the nursery industry where growers spray the winter crop for fungus as well as deer protection.
There are deer repellants that contain foul smelling chemicals. The favourite here is sulphur dioxide or the down-to-earth fragrance of rotting eggs. The smell is a little whiff when you first apply it but then it pretty much disappears to human noses. A deer that is not hungry will avoid this “fragrance.”
There are home-made recipes galore. I love ‘em. Guys can urinate around the shrubs or to be more effective on the pathways the deer tend to use. Actually, you might want to do it slightly off the pathway if you use these as well. You can collect human hair and scatter it around the property or hang bags of it on your plants (very, very attractive!) You can do the same with dog hair. Hang bars of soap in the trees or shrubs. I’m told that Irish Spring is a real favourite of the soap-crowd. Spread blood meal about. Again, this does really nice things for the garden but do check to ensure the blood meal is the stinky kind. Modern blood meal has been “antiseptic’ed” so that it doesn’t smell all that bad (same with bone meal by the way) Spread rotten eggs around. You can let some eggs rot yourself (pretty easy – put them into a bowl and add a touch of milk and vinegar with a pinch of garden soil) Do this outside where you don’t have to smell it. Takes about 24-hours to brew up into something really foul. Figure out what you consider foul smelling and put it there as well. The deer might avoid it or they might be amused.
There is a device called a “scarecrow” that is a water sprinkler controlled by a motion detector. You can build your own or you can purchase the gizmo already constructed. It will certainly startle a deer (and the postman or neighbors) when it breaks the beam. Fences work. Solid fences over 6 feet tall (so the deer can’t see over or through) it work well. Deer fencing – plastic woven material works as well if installed correctly. Electric fences – two-strand – smeared with peanut butter are effective until the deer learns to jump it.
I thought I’d end this little rant with some thoughts on deer behavior instead of deer repellants. If you’ve ever watched a deer move onto your property – it does it by careful stages. The ears swivel around, the steps are tentative while it scopes out the scene. If there are no people, dogs or unusual smells, the animal will move slowly but surely towards the food source. Anything out of the ordinary – and the deer hesitates. This can be a fragrance, a sound, a burst of water – whatever. A deer that isn’t hungry will move on. A hungry deer can still see the food and it will continue to move towards it until it really perceives danger. Then it will bolt.
So – I’m not trying to sell you deer repellants but they do work if your local deer aren’t too hungry. The best advice I can give you is to use several different kinds and do not rely on a single type – do not let the deer become used to a fragrance or taste. Vary them – do multiple applications of fragrance and taste materials to keep the animals wary. And good luck. Click here for free newsletter or to ask about deer repellants
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