Deer in my garden at night...

Gen
by Gen
My roses were really full and healthy, filled with blooms and green leaves. Next morning I saw that all my rose bushes are bald and I am sure they're eaten by deer. They also ate all the leaves of my okra, hostas and other plants. I sprayed deer repellent on my roses but obviously the deer just ignored it. Any ideas how to stop this. I want to shoot them but my husband don't want me to do that.
  15 answers
  • Heather Bayliss Heather Bayliss on Oct 01, 2013
    Shoot em... and fill your freezer! I wish I could help - but the things I have read about I have not tried yet - sans one... collecting your pee in a cup and pouring it around the borders of your garden areas... I did this once and it seemed to work. They didn't come in my yard again while I did this.... the other options I have seen - putting bar soap on stakes at about the same height as your plants and near the plants - they don't like the smell of the soap and will avoid it.. have not tried it.
    • Gen Gen on Oct 01, 2013
      Thank you Heather...I will try both but I have so much plants that deer love, that means it takes a lot too!
  • The problem with deer are that any smells put out by soap or urine will not deter them after a while. Deer are grazers and short of a fence if they want your hostas they will eat them. Roses are a fave too. I live in a subdivision where deer are overpopulated and starving and DOES keep having twins and triplets. I have been wiped out before so I put up a wire along the back of my property and going up the side where they enter. It worked! Deer are grazers and if they hit the wire they tend to move on down the line. If you do things like soap, human hair, or even urine you will need to rotate. An ol' timer years ago actually peed along the borders of his beds to keep them out and it worked for him LOL I used to plant extras for the deer to eat but that backfired and they wanted more! If you live in the country you may want to incorporate different smells and sounds to try and keep them out. Good luck
    • See 3 previous
    • @Judy yes wrong word...
  • Gen Gen on Oct 01, 2013
    Yes, I would love to shoot them! Hopefully, I can convince my husband that. thanks, Heather!
  • Gen Gen on Oct 01, 2013
    My husband was talking about having a dog so deer will be scared to roam around my garden. I think I might take him on that.
    • Judy Judy on Oct 03, 2013
      @Gen We have a large outdoor dog (Siberian Husky) who keeps them run off here but a friend of mine has 2 large outdoor dogs who've made friends with the deer in her neighborhood. They pick up on what their owners want pretty quickly & after they see you chase the deer away a few times they'll start doing it too.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Oct 02, 2013
    If you have a significant deer problem the only solution is a tall fence. As C Renee says, scent-based repellents only work until deer become acclimated to the scent (or it washes off in a rain).
    • See 1 previous
    • Judy Judy on Oct 03, 2013
      @Gen If you put up a fence it has to be a really tall one...those suckers can JUMP!
  • I agree with Douglas, and by a tall fence we mean at least 7 feet:) This comes from years of experience.
  • Marilyn Marilyn on Oct 03, 2013
    I have had the same problem and i have tried just about everything. I did read about using red pepper but it needs to be reapplied after a rain. I just bought a bottle but it has rained so much here, I haven't tried it yet. I will be putting in a fence in the spring.
  • Shirley Shirley on Oct 03, 2013
    I have found that my deer even like my jalopeno pepper plants and the fruit. I've heard a few scraps of soap in a net bag tied around the area will keep them away. Will try it next year. It's too late this year. All my peppers are gone.
  • Alicia Alicia on Oct 03, 2013
    If you sprinkle human hair around your gardens, the deer WILL NOT go near it. I have a lot of hosta's and the deer love them and eat the leaves off. I missed only one hosta plant with the hair, and sure enough the deer found it. I live way out in the woods and herds of deer pass by almost every evening and just keep moving on on. I have been doing this for over 20 years and it WORKS! By the way, I am a retired hair salon owner/operator and cut my family's hair and save it up to keep the deer away.
    • Gen Gen on Oct 03, 2013
      I better start saving my hair every time I trim my hair and my husband's. Thanks!
  • Gen Gen on Oct 03, 2013
    Is it ground red pepper or sauce? Thanks!
  • Mikell Paulson Mikell Paulson on Oct 03, 2013
    Mix eggs, dish soap and water with mixer or blender and then spray it on your roses. Add just enough water so that it will spray! The soap will help it to stick to the roses. Reapply after rain! Works for our pet deer! We have 7 that roam our street! :)
    • See 1 previous
    • Heather Bayliss Heather Bayliss on Oct 04, 2013
      This is much like the "repellent" they sell at stores -- (which, imo, is wayyyy over priced.) This will work - and you need to apply it about every two weeks. or so... good luck!
  • Alicia Alicia on Oct 04, 2013
    You can also gather hair from you hairbrush.
  • Lisa Lobbes Lisa Lobbes on Oct 05, 2013
    cayenne pepper works best. The hair did not work for me. There are other options as well. Plant a garden strictly for their consumption, plant deer resistant plants; it's not just about the smell but what a plant tastes like...and last, but not least and this only works if you have an acreage with no neighbors close by, have your husband or male friends "water" the area...
    • See 1 previous
    • Mikell Paulson Mikell Paulson on Oct 05, 2013
      @Gen My neighbor has Hostas and the deer ate them. They don't like Lavender or Rosemary,You might try those!
  • Alicia Alicia on Oct 05, 2013
    Lisa is also correct...Urine works also quite well. Plenty of that around. As a hairdresser cutting hair all the time, I am able to get a lot of hair and sprinkle it ON the plants every month, so it works for me perfectly.
  • Use a vegetable peeler on the bar of Irish Spring soap and scatter shavings around plants and bushes. There's a product called Bobbex that works really well if you have something you want to protect though!


    I read this from Gma Kirk: A farmer gave me a gross recipe for repellent...but it works. cup or two of urine, tablespoons of crushed garlic, and cayenne pepper, two eggs in a gallon jug, shake well, fill rest of the way with water. Cap and let age a week. Then you drizzle small stream around the perimeter of whatever you want to keep them from eating