Bad Deer Year

Is anyone else having problems with deer this year?

We have always had some around but the damage has always been minimal; nothing I couldn't live with.

But this year has been HORRIBLE.

They devoured a nice stand of bush cukes, zucchini, okra and corn. And they are coming way up into the garden in areas where they never came before. In the past if they bothered anything, it was at the edges where the gardens meet the woods. They badly damaged a stand of french specialty melons which was located a good distance from the woods.

I've started spreading some rotted garlic cloves and cayenne pepper around. Fencing is not an option right now. I might have to resort to more drastic measures if they keep up the level of damage they have been doing.

BB

Count your blessings. My brother in law just totaled his Jeep last week after hitting a deer.

Have you tried bird netting over your plants? I had to do that to keep deer from eating all my hostas.

I hope your brother is ok.

That's a good idea. Where do I get it

BB

My brother in law is okay, a little sore, shook up (split the deer in half) and he is a big deer hunter, but his Jeep Grand Cherokee was all smashed up the way he described it.

Bird netting can be found at almost any garden center. It is usually used over strawberries and fruit trees to protect against birds but is also used as fencing (8 foot high) to keep deer out of areas. So I just spread it on top of my hostas to protect them and it worked well.

A hosta farm I visited last year uses a low (12 to 18 inches high) electric fence to keep deer out. The owner says it works real well. You'd think the deer would just step across it but I guess the first time they got zapped they stayed clear of the area.

Here are a few things you might try.
If actual fencing isn't an option, how about hammering in some wooden stakes and running some string between them around the perimeter of your garden. From the string you can hang cheap, strong-smelling soap still in the wrapper but with holes cut so the fragrance can get out. Plastic bags from the grocery store can be hung from the string so that they move in the breeze. Put them all around. Although the deer eventually learn that the soap or the bags won't hurt them and they start coming back, you can rotate the methods to keep them guessing!
Save your hair when you get a haircut, or even ask your barber to save you a sack full and spread it around the perimeter of your garden.
I have also used a product called "liquid fence" with great success. Of course you can also stir up about 6 eggs (minus the shells) into a gallon or two of water and spray it around the outside of your garden area, which is the basic ingredient of the liquid fence product. Deer and rabbits don't like the smell of rotting eggs.
Good luck and let us know how you fare.

Thanks Shadylane

I will give your suggestions a shot and let you know how I make out.

BB

Hi Brennan,

I've had more trouble with deer eating my hostas this year. Ones right by the house have been munched as well as some other perennials they don't normally eat. I think the drought has them eating anything that's green this year. I just planted squash and cukes (late I know). Guess I'd better get some temp fence up around them. I had bird netting over all my tomato plants until they got big (3+ feet) since dear had eaten off some seedlings right after they were planted. I can't fence that area either. I read somewhere that milorganite fertilizer will keep them away. I've used liquid fence on hostas but not on vegetables, since it gets sprayed onto the leaves. It works well on hostas.

I didn't make it to market on Saturday, got up too late. Saw Gwendolyn in the paper. Great picture and story.

Becky

Thanks Becky.

Some of the areas are a total loss. I strung some fishing line between some of the trees based upon a suggestion from a co-worker. And I will be incorporating some other suggestions such as those given by Shady.

Good thing we have a fairly long season

BB

I saw some motion sensing water sprinklers on E-bay. They turn on for a few seconds when something walks by. They sound like a great idea but I have not tried them yet. They are cute also, the sprinkler head is shaped like a crow (scarecrow, LOL).

Looked it up and got you a picture.

and another

Thanks Brad.

I saw these before.

I put some large bags of the prepeeled garlic in the sun for a few days. The I mixed it with some hot pepper and spread it around . Deters for now but I need to keep after it.

Some of the plants I thought were goners are coming back

BB

After living in the country for 13 years, we gave up last year and put in an 8' fence around our garden, but here is something that worked for 3 years for us before the deer got used to it / "over it."

We laid down, flat on the ground, hog wire fencing around the perimeter of our veg garden. I think the openings are about 6" and the fence was 4' high (Or wide in this case). We read the idea was that deer did not like the feeling of the fence riding up over their ankles as they stepped on it. The idea is not to flatten it completely; let it lie loosely on the ground.

The pain of this plan is that the grass /weeds grow up in the fence and you have to move it to mow.

But it was great, for a while. Liquid Fence does work well. Just follow the directions and don't miss your scheduled applications.

Ditto the perimeter fence. After years of losing the battle with hair, (ahem) body fluid, low fences, scary, noisy colorful deterrents and regular sprays of Liquid Fence we gave up and did perimeter fencing. Only 5', so it may not work in Fall, but for now that and the big dogs work. Liquid fence is good but diligence is critical. There's enough diligence due in the garden with other tasks that I wanted to do away with the deer issue. A relief from deer patrol is most welcome.

Laurel

Thanks Laurel

BB

BB, 330 ft of 6x6 pasture fence is a bit under $120. It's a twisted wire as opposed to welded so no broken welds. Also, it flexes and is easier to maneuver. The bottom spacing is closer and it graduates to 6x6 so it deters rabbits as well. DH did permanent posts every twenty four feet and used two t posts in between.

I have designed a new, collapsable tomato cage with this wire. Cheaper, lighter and easier to store than CRW. I'll let you know how it works out.
L

Laurel

Where do you buy it?

BB

Bronx, Lowes carries it up in Cornelia, but sometimes the big boxes carry different products in rural areas than closer in. You can go on line and there is a store locater at the top of the site. I think it lets you check product lines at individual stores. It's called either 'woven pasture fence' or 'woven field fence'.

We believe having the dogs within a fence line as opposed to running the entire property has let the deer know that inside the fence is our space and outside can be their's. You might want to try a section and then cross fence if it's effective. We enclosed about an acre running up and down hill as well as through woods. Our challenge has been that the garden is in a direct line from the wooded hillside above and the pond where the deer water below.
The garden became the Stop and Shop.
L

Thanks

The issue with my dogs is that they are in the house at night. And thats when the deer come out.

I made the mistake of going to the Pet forum and asking if I could get outside dogs with my inside dogs. Well you wolud've thought I said I was going to scald the dogs alive. I was luck to escape with my life.

It was traumatizing. Very traumatizing

BB

Our dogs are in the house at night too. A Plotthound baying is not exactly conducive to peaceful sleep. :) Our senile, deaf old lab just stands out in the dark and barks. When we found him and had him neutered, many years ago, he would still climb our five foot, electrified fence and escape. Then he'd go to the front door and bark to be let in. Forgot why he wanted to get out, I guess. Still, we think the dogs running and marking the fence line are giving a clear signal to the deer. We have seen the deer up on the hill and down by the pond, but the fence has made them rethink their route

Cyber-bonding can be challenging. We have all had, as Andy Warhol might have said, our fifteen minutes of flame.

Laurel

The deer visited my wildflower meadow-ette a few days and ate all the Butterfly weed -- flowers only. It's amazing that stand of Asclepias is there at all. But the plants have already put out new growth at the bite point.

At least I got to see them bloom. The coneflowers or black eyed susans never get a chance.

Overall the deer have actually been LESS active here than usual. Maybe they're all at your house Bronx Boy! :)

Yep

PARTY AT THE BRONX HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOT WOOT

LOL

BB

Has anybody tried solar lighting to deter the deer? We moved here in November of last year and I tried and tried to get flowers to grow in containers around our property. I found out the only ones that had a chance of survival were the ones that were near the solar lighting. I am now trying some solar lights between my hostas on a pathway going down to our pond, as they have been chewed to almost nothingness in the last month. it seems to help, as there are new leaves peaking out of the hostas since I put the lights in. We have a mama deer that wanders around in the day light, so it may not be the complete answer....will keep you posted.
Sue

Hi Suz, My experience has been that lights are not a deterrent. We have motion detector flood lights around the house and shed. When we first put them in, the deer moving close to the house would 'turn them on' and run away frightened. But just like squirrels at bird feeders, they quickly learned that nothing bad happened when the lights came on so they now ignore them.

Another thing I've noticed: I often put plastic flags (like utility companies use) to mark new plants on our rural property to remind me to water them. Also because in a wild garden, you can totally lose small plants. The deer seem attracted to these 'new' things and will taste plants near the flags that they don't even like.

As you can imagine, orange and blue and hot pink plastic flags everywhere are very attractive!

Liquid Fence (what a pain; my sprayer keeps clogging) works as mentioned before and we also use "plant prisons" - 5' fencing made into a circle and anchored with rebar. Not so great for you gardeners with civilized gardens. These are usually temporary - maybe years - to allow the tree or shrub to get large enough to withstand grazing and antler rubbing.

whoops/ sent2x

This message was edited Jul 19, 2008 7:42 PM

Well, I guess I'd better get to work with the Liquid Fence again....darn, I was hoping I might had an answer for my poor plants!
Thanks for your advice.
Sue

I can't fault them as I've been known to go to extremes for a good meal myself. We have tried flashing them (with lights, that is). Unless you have dogs that actually chase them, dogs don't work either. Our dogs tree possum, squirrels, raccoons, and chase rabbits. We have watched the deer stroll within twenty feet of the dogs and the dogs just yawn. Our garden begins about thirty feet from our bedroom window. I have opened the curtains in the morning and had them look up at me, then continue grazing. They are very adaptable.

Sue, maybe you know a hunter (or two)? ^..~ I'm running a little low on venison in the freezer. I'll cook it and split it with you.

Laurel

Laurel,
Just thought I'd let you know I am Cheryl L's sister (the gal you used to board your horse with)...I DO know a hunter (my husband), but when he asked me if I wanted that mama deer in the freezer, I just couldn't do it! Mama's with babies are a protected species in my book ...
Maybe we can fill your freezer this fall???
Sue

Sue, thus the ^..~. I finally figured out it was you!
L