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Old 06-30-2022, 08:59 AM   #1
Winilyme
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Default Deer repellents???

Woke up this morning to find our gardens - particularly hostas and annuals, torn apart from a deer. We only have a couple of small gardens, so it wouldn't be that onerous to spray them with a repellent of some sort.

Does anyone have any recommendations on particular repellents or products you've found to be effective? Or, other techniques - sprinklers with photo eyes, audible alarms, whatever?

We're going to focus more on deer resistant plants in the future but for our little areas now, a repellant could be an easy solution - if they actually work and if they aren't easily washed off in the rain.

What has worked for you?
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Old 06-30-2022, 09:50 AM   #2
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Hosta and annuals are major delicacies for deer. Your garden center probably sells coyote urine that purports to keep deer and others away. Some say you can just DIY, but you have to repeat every time it rains.
One really effective solution is to lay chicken wire on the ground--deer won't walk on it. You can let grass grow over it to visually disguise it for humans. Properly flattened, you should be able to drive a lawn mower over it. Some repellants can be poisonous to small creatures, mice and chipmunks for example, which are then harmful to the birds who feed on the mice.
I have some variegated Hosta outside the fenced portion of the yard. The deer don't touch it until September, and it grows back every spring. Otherwise, I keep everything inside the fence.
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Old 06-30-2022, 10:39 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Winilyme View Post
Woke up this morning to find our gardens - particularly hostas and annuals, torn apart from a deer. We only have a couple of small gardens, so it wouldn't be that onerous to spray them with a repellent of some sort.

Does anyone have any recommendations on particular repellents or products you've found to be effective? Or, other techniques - sprinklers with photo eyes, audible alarms, whatever?

We're going to focus more on deer resistant plants in the future but for our little areas now, a repellant could be an easy solution - if they actually work and if they aren't easily washed off in the rain.

What has worked for you?
On the island my wife has been using a product called "Liquid Fence" I call it Liquid Ass because it smells nasty but it works great! Actually it was the only thing we found that actually worked!! Its all natural non poisonous. You just spray it on the plants you don't want eaten. The deer eventually get the message and stay away. It smells terrible when spraying but the smell does subside. FYI...Hosta's are tenderloin to a deer!!

Good Luck!

Dan
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Old 06-30-2022, 10:42 AM   #4
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Liquid Fence does nothing for us. Especially if they are hungry.
For us, it is a waste of money.
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Old 06-30-2022, 10:58 AM   #5
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https://bonide.com/product/go-away-d...repellent-rtu/

All of them now use various repellents.
Sometimes odor or a barrier is not enough and unfortunately the deer will eat the cayenne - lesson quickly learned.

Before this we would use Foxglove... the digitalis in them would make the deer's heart race - unpleasant - but it could also hurt the unintended, sometimes permanently.

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Old 06-30-2022, 03:28 PM   #6
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I used netting over my hostas last year and it worked great. But I forgot to remove the netting and this year the hostas got trapped in the netting as they grew and I was unable to cut off all the netting. Otherwise, netting is simple and effective.
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Old 06-30-2022, 03:41 PM   #7
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That is a barrier method.
Usually the cheapest format.
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Old 06-30-2022, 07:00 PM   #8
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Thanks all. Dan, my wife went on a mission after your post and came back with the Liquid Fence. I was just sent on a mission by my wife, to spray it on all plants. I then sent her on a mission to close all the windows because it sure does have a strong and unpleasant odor. However, your experience and what it says on the container gives me hope that the smell will fade once the plants dry.

Two other questions:
- How often does your wife reapply it?
- Where do you purchase it? We paid about $50.00 for a 40 ounce container of concentrate. I've already used half of it in one application. That's not going to be sustainable if I have to reapply this stuff every week or after it rains.
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Old 06-30-2022, 07:12 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Winilyme View Post
Thanks all. Dan, my wife went on a mission after your post and came back with the Liquid Fence. I was just sent on a mission by my wife, to spray it on all plants. I then sent her on a mission to close all the windows because it sure does have a strong and unpleasant odor. However, your experience and what it says on the container gives me hope that the smell will fade once the plants dry.

Two other questions:
- How often does your wife reapply it?
- Where do you purchase it? We paid about $50.00 for a 40 ounce container of concentrate. I've already used half of it in one application. That's not going to be sustainable if I have to reapply this stuff every week or after it rains.
She told me she sprays approximately every week for a couple weeks at first, then tapers to once a month after. She pays $36.00 for 40 ounces on Amazon. Make sure to mix 12 ounces of concentrate to 1 gallon of water. She uses a garden sprayer and it lasts quite a while!

Yes definitely close the windows when spraying. The smell does fade quickly thank God!

Good luck!

Dan
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Old 06-30-2022, 07:22 PM   #10
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The smell should be a rotten egg.
Different formulas are a bit different, but that seems to be the common ingredient... that an oil that helps it adhere to the plant surface.

Reapplication varies, but usually about once a week for a couple weeks and then every month.
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Old 06-30-2022, 07:31 PM   #11
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The smell should be a rotten egg.
Different formulas are a bit different, but that seems to be the common ingredient... that an oil that helps it adhere to the plant surface.

Reapplication varies, but usually about once a week for a couple weeks and then every month.
Yup, the main ingredient is “putrified eggs”! I actually have a camera setup in my yard and watch them at night. They won’t touch the plants after they have been sprayed! I wouldn’t either!

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Old 06-30-2022, 07:38 PM   #12
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Damn! They just got some of my hostas last night. I had put wire fencing around the perimeter of the garden and deer repellent in the Spring. They sneak in at night little buggers! So, today, everything on the edge of the garden got a good dose of "Deer and Rabbit Eco-Friendly Repellent" made by Everguard. Hope it helps
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Old 06-30-2022, 08:36 PM   #13
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Yup, the main ingredient is “putrified eggs”! I actually have a camera setup in my yard and watch them at night. They won’t touch the plants after they have been sprayed! I wouldn’t either!

Dan
The rotten egg is a olfactory stimuli; but you will also generally see the addition of either garlic, cayenne, white pepper, etc... these can also affect the mucus lining in their throats should they sample the coated plants.
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Old 07-01-2022, 05:07 AM   #14
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My spouse advises me that deer hate the smell of marigolds and planting them around the hostas works great without the undesirable side effects of certain other options.
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Old 07-01-2022, 05:22 AM   #15
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motion lights also scare them away at night


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Old 07-01-2022, 10:40 PM   #16
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Default Milorganite

Is a fertilizer, and deer hate it. I put it on my hostas and lilies at home, and flowers at the lake and they leave it all alone! I forgot earlier this summer and they ate the geraniums, but they are growing back now that I spread the Milorganite.
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Old 07-02-2022, 07:12 AM   #17
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motion lights also scare them away at night


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Lights don’t work on island deer. It only helps them see what they are eating! They are pretty tenacious!

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Old 07-03-2022, 02:44 PM   #18
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Default liquid fence

We have tons of rabbits and they are fun to watch and loved. Problem is they love to eat the plants and flowers. I can walk up to them asking them to stop and go eat the other edibles available and they just move a few feet away.
Bought Liquid Fence (garlic, onion, egg solids) and really stinks. So far so good.
Cocoa bean shells are said to deter deer and it only takes a few disbursed about.
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Old 07-03-2022, 03:13 PM   #19
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After a few applications, I've found the deer will become conditioned to leave your plants alone and you can stop the application. The stuff is pricey.

I hate to cover my plants because I like looking at them. That's why they're their.
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Old 07-07-2022, 08:37 PM   #20
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Foreground: Large hostas eaten down to the last leaf.

Background: The culprit

Name:  Hosta-loving deer.jpg
Views: 1040
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Old 07-10-2022, 08:10 AM   #21
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Default Liquid Fence Let Down

Quote:
Originally Posted by Winilyme View Post
Thanks all. Dan, my wife went on a mission after your post and came back with the Liquid Fence. I was just sent on a mission by my wife, to spray it on all plants. I then sent her on a mission to close all the windows because it sure does have a strong and unpleasant odor. However, your experience and what it says on the container gives me hope that the smell will fade once the plants dry.

Two other questions:
- How often does your wife reapply it?
- Where do you purchase it? We paid about $50.00 for a 40 ounce container of concentrate. I've already used half of it in one application. That's not going to be sustainable if I have to reapply this stuff every week or after it rains.
Well Winnilyme,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but for the first time in a dozen years or so, liquid fence has let us down! For the past couple nights we have had one deer come in to both my yard and my neighbors yard and completely devastate our plantings. This occurred AFTER spraying liquid fence! I watched this one deer in my security cameras chow on our plants completely unaffected by the spray. In years past, the deer were completely deterred by the spray. Not sure why this one deer thinks it’s salad dressing!!

I do hope it works for you as it has for us for many years and maybe it’s just this one insane deer who likes it!

Dan
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Old 07-10-2022, 03:02 PM   #22
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Gulp!

Actually, so far so good here. Seems to be working. We’ve used two weekly applications and the deer came back for a few nibbles several days after the first one. It/they left though with no major damage.

My ‘gulp’ is because I just placed an order for two more 40 ounce containers from Amazon. The only thing worse than our gardens getting destroyed by deer would be those gardens being destroyed along with my $125 investment in putrified egg cocktails.

Keeping my fingers crossed that our deer aren’t as hungry as the ones on Welch.
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Old 07-12-2022, 09:10 AM   #23
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The deer on Bear are very bold. We have 6 that spend their time behind us all summer. They will walk right up to you, in fact one of them ate out of my neighbor's daughter's hand last week.

Over the winter they wiped out the lower sections of our green giant arborvitae, which is a deer-resistant species. If they manage to survive the summer (the bushes, that is) we are going to use snow fence for the winter season.

As you can see, they aren't very tall!
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Old 07-12-2022, 03:33 PM   #24
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But they can jump very high.
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Old 07-12-2022, 06:07 PM   #25
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Codeman, that's what they did to ours during the winter.
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Old 07-12-2022, 06:27 PM   #26
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I will be trying the marigolds next year, around my berry bushes as well as the hostas.
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Old 07-19-2022, 03:30 PM   #27
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Bought a bottle of liquid fence to try. Only one word to describe that….Nasty
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Old 07-19-2022, 03:44 PM   #28
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Default Spawn of Satan

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Bought a bottle of liquid fence to try. Only one word to describe that….Nasty
LOL! Told ya!!

We probably have a half a dozen deer right now on Welch and there is only one zombie deer who still eats through the liquid fence. All the other deer don't even try! They take one sniff and walk away...

This Zombie deer who I call "Spawn of Satan" is driving my wife crazy! It actually walks out on my breakwater to eat the flower baskets my wife has out there lining it! The liquid fence is nothing but salad dressing to it! This deer is definitely not right in the head!!

Dan
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Old 07-19-2022, 04:30 PM   #29
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My advice…don’t put it on when wind is blowing! I think I got as much on me as the plants. Now my dog is intrigued by it. I hope she doesn’t roll in it
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Old 07-19-2022, 05:21 PM   #30
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LOL! Told ya!!

We probably have a half a dozen deer right now on Welch and there is only one zombie deer who still eats through the liquid fence. All the other deer don't even try! They take one sniff and walk away...

This Zombie deer who I call "Spawn of Satan" is driving my wife crazy! It actually walks out on my breakwater to eat the flower baskets my wife has out there lining it! The liquid fence is nothing but salad dressing to it! This deer is definitely not right in the head!!

Dan
Maybe it has some damage to its olfactory that causes less of a reaction to the smell?
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