My friend is having a hard time controlling deer and is not allowed to put a fence up around her property-does anyone know any ways to keep the deer away from her plants that is cost effective and not something that has to be applied to the plants every day? Any suggestions welcome!
Recommendations to stop deer damage
I swear by "Liquid Fence". Yes, it does need to be applied, but not daily. You spray it on once a week for three weeks to train the deer, then once a month. After an extremely heavy rain I might spray again.
It's non-toxic & can also be used on vegetable plants. It stinks the first day if you're near the plants, but after that the smell fades & only the deer (or squirrels, etc. smell it). It only needs a very fine spray. If you spray it too heavily it sometimes leaves white spots.
It's cheapest if you buy it at places like Meijer's, Farm & Fleet or Menards. Try the small spray bottle first then if your friend likes it, it's more economical to buy the gallon or concentrated sizes & transfer to the original spray bottle or another spray bottle that has an adjustable nozzle.
Another option is to just avoid plants they like, but that's not always easy.
A few years ago I was having trouble with rabbits. I was pruning our yews which I knew were poisinous to cattle so I laid a few sprigs around my plants and no more problems! Yews seem to take a long time to lose their green color so they blend in with the rest of the garden.
Last year my husband was having big problems with deer in his edemame bean patch. I suggested he try sticking sprigs along the rows. It worked! He had a nice crop even enough to take to the local Farmers Market.
Hi skovener - That sounds like a great idea. Maybe it's a good reason to plant some Yews.
Some of my MGOSH friends heard of a deer determent that is in granular form and you don't have to worry about when it rains is suppose to last several months but nobody can remember the name. Anybody heard of it and where can I get it?
I've heard of this stuff - plantskydd.com/ - but have never used it. Heard it mentioned on Ken Druse pod cast. The deer formulation can be purchased as both a liquid concentrate or a soluble powder. I did see a warning on the liquid that it should be used within 3 months of opening. There's a granular form too but for other smaller critters.
Well I found the Deer Scram and it WORKS and if rains, not a down pour, it works even better. I love this stuff. And the smell is not to bad. I got the granular form.