Deer

Question:

Deer are eating the leaves and buds off my plants--fruit trees, hosta, azaleas, tulips, phlox, lilies, etc. They even trample seedlings and shred the bark of young trees with their antlers. What is the best way to deter them?

Minnesota Master Gardeners say:


Most people who value their yards and gardens experience deer damage at one time or another. Deer numbers and associated damage are often higher in cities and suburbs than in rural areas.

Better products and strategies for detering deer may be available in the future, but using one or more of the follwing options could be enough to reduce damage to tolerable levels.

Fences
Altough building a fence isn't always feasible, fences are the best deer deterrent.

Many kinds of fences have been designed to exclude deer and each has advantages and disadvantages. Factors to consider include cost, appearance, the size of the area to be enclosed and the degree of control required. Few are 100 percent effective.

For a small garden patch, a four-foot high fence, or snow fence will work because deer avoid small, fenced-in areas. Circles of 6-foot chicken wire can also be staked around saplings and young trees to protect them from deer nibbling and antler damage.

For a larger lawn or garden, a fence made of wire angled away from the yard creates both a psychological and physical barrier. Deer hesitate to jump over something in which they fear they may become entangled. The fence should be six feet high and have a 30 degree angle to be effective. A fence angled toward the yard is no psychological barrier. Deer can jump a vertical fence eight feet high, and often will, particularly if it is made of wood.

Electric fencing is used frequently by orchardists and managers of tree nurseries. Strips of aluminum foil smeared with peanut butter affixed to electric fencing lure deer to the fence where they lick the peanut butter and get a shock. Electric fences attached to a higher voltage charger can deter deer because they can hear the hum of the charge through the wires without touching them. However, electric fences may not be suitable for urban uses, especially when children are present.

Check this link for a discussion of several kinds of electric fence and how to build them.
http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs/FNR/FNR-136.html

Eight foot plastic mesh fencing is also available to exclude deer. This fencing works especially well in wooded areas where it can be attached to trees. In this setting, from a short distance, the mesh is virtually invisible. The mesh is sturdy and lasts up to 10 years. However, a fast running deer can break through it , and rabbits and other rodents often chew holes in the mesh, especially in winter.

Repellents
Some people claim to get good results with repellents. But there are many kinds of repellents and results seem to vary from place to place and from year to year. Contact repellents are applied to the plants, causing them to taste bad. Some repellents are simply placed in the problem area where their foul odor has a repellent effect.

Six repellents were tested in a recent Connecticut study. Generally, repellents were more effective on less preferred plants. Here are the findings:
Big Game Repellent also known as Deer Away, made from putrescent (rotten) whole egg solids was 46 percent effective.
Hinder, made from ammonium soaps of higher fatty acids was 43 percent effective.
Thiram, a bitter tasting fungicide, now commonly used in repellents, was 43 percent effective.
Mesh bags of human hair, collected from hair styling shops, was found to be 34 percent effective. (Hair should be dirty, not collected after a shampoo.)
Magic Circle deer repellent, a bone tar oil which was soaked into 10 by 30 cm. burlap pieces, was 18 percent effective.
Miller Hot Sauce, containing capsicum, an extract of hot peppers, was 15 percent effective.

Repellex is another recently introduced deer repellent. It comes in two forms. One is a liquid which is sprayed on the foliage. The other is a dry product with a fertilizer analysis of 14-2-2. This form is a systemic repellent. It is worked into the soil surface and then watered in. The plants absorb the repellent, and one treatment is said to be effective for up to two years.

Some people believe the fertilizer Milorganite (from the City of Milwaukee sewage treatment plant) is an effective deer repellent.

Others claim to get results by tying pieces of deodorant soap on the branches of trees. A large bar is cut into about six pieces and each piece is placed in a mesh bag. Heavily perfumed soap is preferred. Non-deodorant soap does not seem to work as well.

Predator urine and manure are sometimes used to deter deer.

Here is a home made repellent to try: Blend two eggs and a cup or two of cold water at high speed. Add this mixture to a gallon of water and let it stand for 24 hours. Then spray the mixture on foliage. The egg mixture does not wash off the foliage easily, but re-application two or three times a season may be needed. (For a larger quantity, blend a dozen eggs into 5 gallons of water.) This mix is also said to repel rabbits.

Scare tactics
The effectiveness of light and noise scare tactics are usually temporary, but some people vouch for the "scarecrow" brand sprinkler which uses a motion detector to blast intruders (anything moving) with water. It costs $80-$100, depending on the source.

Hunting
Hunting is the primary means of controlling Minnesota's deer population as a whole. If hunting is allowed in your area, it may help to buy a deer hunting license and use it. If deer are abundant on your property, many hunters would welcome an invitation to hunt there.

Deer resistant plants
People often ask for lists of plants that deer will not eat. There are many such lists, but they are not entirely reliable because deer eat almost any plants when they are hungry enough. There may also be regional differences in deer food preferences.

Here are some links to lists of "deer resistant" plants:
http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/h462deer-coping.html

http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/pest/Nebline/deerplants.htm

Also, check this link for a fuller discussion of ways to control white-tailed deer:
http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/miscpubs/mp0685.htm