There is a peaceful co-existence between the people of the suburbs and the critters of the woods. So it is not uncommon for us to glance out of our windows and catch a deer staring back as
Deers love to mess with your garden.
(John Hudson at flickr.com)
they seek food. It is a tranquil sight that most people like to experience until they start thinking about their garden tucked into a corner of the backyard. All of a sudden, Bambi is no longer a cute creature that causes us to smile, but a possible threat to our way of life. All of a sudden we prime for battle to do whatever we can to protect our flora.
Actually, it doesn’t have to be a war between mankind and nature in order for you to enjoy a garden. It simply takes a little cunning and an understanding of what deers do and don’t like.
If you fear that there are deers roaming your neighborhood waiting for an opportunity to chow down on your plants, then here are ways to deter them.
· Don’t use plants in your garden that attract deer including tulips, chrysanthemum, hyacinths, roses, apples, beans, peas, raspberries, strawberries, sweetcorn, hosta, dogwood, fruit trees, Norway maple, yew, and azaleas
· Include plants that deers don’t like to eat including ornamental grasses, iris, foxgloves, and herbs.
· Include pungent scents that deers don’t like including sage, chives, lemon balm, and bee balm.
· Plant thorny, hairy or prickly foliage in the garden.
· Plant varieties of thick hedges of boxwoods or short needle spruces around the border of the garden.
· Deer love to bed down in tall grass. So cut your lawn short.
· Deers don’t like to climb. So create terraces and stack pallets around your property to deter them from coming on to your lawn.
· Strange objects like scarecrows, sundials, garden ornaments and objects with moveable parts, noise-making items like wind chimes, and bright lights make deers skittish.
· Whitetail deer are good jumpers, so surround your property with an 8-foot tall fence or an electric fence.
· Cover plants with nets.
· Create an odor that deers don’t like with deer away repellent, ammonium salts, or mothballs.
· Apply bad tasting capsaicin or spray urine on ground and near plants.
· Hang fabric softener strips and wrapped bars of soap from trees; apply hot pepper spray, garlic and rotten egg mixtures on to plants. Lay out ammonia-soaked rags and bags of hair or blood meal around the garden.
· Surround prized plants with fishing line.
· Place motion-activated sprinklers on your lawn.
