Repelling Deer Using Irish Spring Soap - A Test
The "Battle of the Deer" at The Small House Under a Big Sky is an on-going one. And while you can try planting what are called “deer proof plants,” experience tells me a really hungry deer isn’t going to care what the nursery or catalog says about the plants; when they are hungry they eat. And they want my daylilies!
You’ll read that they don’t like leaves with different textures, strong smells or prickly plants, but beware this is what we humans have surmised. No one ever actually polled a deer!
There are organic sprays that are sold in garden centers that apparently put something onto the plant to deter the deer but when you have a large garden like we do, and frequent rain the act of spraying two and a half acres every few days just does not work without a paid gardener.
Fencing is ideal if you can afford it and have the right property for fencing. Through the years we’ve tried human hair and urine, a great product that is unfortunately no longer on the market called Deer-Vic. This year we are “testing” strong smelling Irish Spring soap cut in half, drilled with a hole and attached to a stake using a tie wrap.
Some Deer “Resistant” Plants to Consider:
Lambs ear (furry) hollyhocks, tansy (toxic), foxglove, oregano (strong flavored)boxwood, St. John’s Worts, Butterfly Shrubs, and leucanthemum. These plants are also resistant to pests and for the most part, are low maintenance. There are many other long lists of deer resistant plants on the Internet as well to peruse.
I’ll keep you posted as to what work best!
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We buy a box of cheap ankle length nylons & put a bar of Irish Spring in each one, then tie to wooden stakes & even tie to branches in our aborvitaes to prevent deer damage. Has worked like a charm for 20 yrs. !
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I just wanted to add something that I had done to save my tomatoes. The first garden I decided to do, also turned out to be the year that deer in my area apparently did not have enough to eat, and when THAT happens, they will eat ANYTHING! We spent almost 1k at the local nursery, buying flowers for the front yard, back yard, hanging baskets, and my now ex husband had hollowed out some tree stumps, because I wanted to fill those with flowers too. When I finally finished all the planting, it looked beautiful. Two weeks later, the deer had fed, eating just the flowers off all the plants they could reach...it looked like I had planted nothing but stems...rather than cry, I laughed, because I love animals. A few weeks later, you would think I would remember what happened...however, I planted tomatoes, hot peppers, cucumbers, three kinds of bell peppers. The deer ate all of them, except ONE tomato plant! I ended up reading that human hair on plants, will keep the deer away...so, I started cleaning out my hair brush, "sprinkling" strands of my hair on that last tomato plant. We did have about 12 tomatoes that year...lol. My take away...your hair works VERY well, and is as about as free as you can get. Plus, the hair does not cause harm to the animals, or environment! If you don't tell anyone that you use hair, they won't know...they don't see it! In the end, we told ourselves that we did our part feeding the hungry deer!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Does anyone have a remedy to keep cats away? My neighbor has about 10 cats and they like to camp out in my yard and front porch. I have tried citrus, coffee grounds, moth balls, cayenne pepper... nothing has worked yet. I am just sick of picking up their poop and the smell they are leaving around my house.