Keep Those Deer Out Of Your Yard!

We never like to think of nature as a nuisance, but every gardener has experienced the aggravation of Mother Nature’s creatures in the prize-winning vegetable garden – deer especially.

It seems that the only way to successfully deter deer from your backyard would be to build a 20-foot fence armed with barbed wire and trip alarms. This, in turn, might not only anger the already peeved neighbors, but also drastically bring down the value of your home… and possibly neighborhood.

There have been myths about deer being attracted to only certain plants in the garden, but as many avid gardeners can tell you, this is simply not true. Although deer are grazers and somewhat choosy eaters, they will consume just about any plant that is soft, young, and delicious. Therefore, opting for plants that are thorny, fibrous, and overly fragrant may reduce the number of deer invading your landscape. One point to remember, of course, is the fact that deer will adapt quickly to their environment. That is to say if all of their favorite plants around the neighborhood are either dead or have already been consumed, they will have to modify their eating habits to survive – even if that means eating Aunt Judy’s beloved rosebush.

You may now be asking yourself, “What the heck can I do to stop these deer from eating my yard without having to build a 20-foot fence?” Here are a few ideas:

Get a dog: You might not be keen to this idea at first, but unless you have the laziest dog in the world, your canine friend will protect your yard from deer, groundhogs, rabbits, and other pesky pests. If you are fonder of felines, a cat can function as a noble guard of the yard.

Soap: Although this trick may only last until the deer catch on, it works every time. With a knife, shave slivers of Irish Spring® soap and scatter them around your garden. The potent scent of the soap will deter any animal from getting in your garden and eating your vegetation. You can also scatter hair (a good excuse to give an at-home haircut) around your garden; the human scent from the hair will serve as a silent alarm to any pest.

Motion sensor security lights: Purchased at any home improvement store, motion sensory lights scare off deer upon entering your property. These lights can be affixed to almost any garage, tree, or home. But as always, once deer become keen to your strategy you’ll have to move onto bigger and more creative ideas.

Chimes: The sound of chimes or pie pans hung cleverly from a mobile have been known to ward off pesky deer. Also, the glare created by the sun during the day can divert deer from entering your yard. Think of this as a shiny and noisy scarecrow.

Deer repellant: There are products on the market that meddle with a deer’s olfactory system; these products smell like rotten eggs and coyote urine. Yes, coyote urine. This delightful concoction can be purchased at hunting stores; this method has had a high success rate in deviating deer from yards and gardens with just a sprinkle around the lawn.

All in all, Mother Nature has provided all us gardeners with many creatures to keep us on our toes whether we like it or not. Instead of building a fence this fall to avoid deer from getting in your backyard, why not opt for an inexpensive alternative. Who knows, perhaps you can outsmart a deer this year.