How do I keep deer out of my garden?

I would like to know this – we were never able to have hydrangeas, or apples or peaches on the trees due to the deer! I’m not sure there are many effective ways, other than errecting a prison fence around your property…. they are very good at jumping over most fences! at least they are extremely cute, I always loved seeing them, albeit they ate all the flowers!.

This is going to sound… unusual… but I’ve heard that urinating around the plants that you want to protect is effective. Deer are repelled by the scent of humans, so more or less marking your territory is one method.
This solution depends a lot on how comfortable you are with pissing outside, though. :) Just saying.

@ANef_is_Enuf I have no problem peeing outside, just that it’s a pretty big garden!

@Cruiser you could always invite some buddies over for a few beers. ;)

Over the years, I’ve heard all sorts of ideas for deterring deer. From human hair in little packets made of panty hose to @ANef_is_Enuf ‘s urine plan. But honestly, the best method is the old fashioned scarecrow and aluminum pie pans strung along the perimeter of your garden. You have to move the scarecrow every week or so. Also, put the scarecrow on a stake so it can spin in the breeze.

Collect hair from a barber shop or stylist, lots of urine, the Hinder liquid repellent, or plant one garden for them and one for you.

@bkcunningham‘s right about the pie pans. That’s very good advice.
It also makes me nostalgic. Takes me back to being a kid and sitting on the porch with my grandfather (who really didn’t speak any English), and he would hold a string attached to the pie pans strung around the fruit trees and their huge garden. Then he would tug the string anytime crows tried to land, so that the pie plates would rattle and make noise. OT, I know, but just made me smile and thought I’d share. :)

I’ve heard that not only does it make great fertilizer, but elephant poo from the zoo tends to repel deer and squirrels and stuff. I think you can also get big cat pee from the same source. Probably marking the boundaries yourself will be more cost-effective, though. I know I wouldn’t invade a garden that smelled of @Cruiser pee!
Or maybe just sprinkle fruitcake crumbs around the perimeter? ;-)

People around here do what @Adirondackwannabe suggested regarding collecting hair from salons.

@Cruiser Second thought: Tons of garlic. I used raised beds with garlic plants on all four sides of the bed. One clove every three or four inches and the bed was enclosed in a wall of garlic. It also kept other insect pests away and you also get to use the garlic as well. I had deer walk by the garden and not bother anything.

Deer are a problem here, too. You need an 8 ft high fence and even that does not guarantee success. The only method that I’ve seen work is the use of an electric fence with peanut butter spread on strips of aluminum foil spaced about about 6 feet apart. The fence does not need to be high. 18” is plenty. You will need to leave it on for the first month or so but after that, they learn – and tell their friends.

Top the fence with netting.

Thanks @worriedguy It looks like there is the makings of an electric fence already there and when I fire it up I will try the peanut butter trick.

There are commercial preparations of deer repellent that I’m told work fairly well, but you have to re-apply often. I have no idea how cost effective it may be.

My grandfather told me that he takes hot peppers and boils them in water to make a super concentrated spray. Then sprays this around the outside perimeter of the garden. Im told it works well but i have no first hand experience.

Yep, the electric fence is the best option, of course, if you’re anything like me you will shock yourself the most. haha

I live in a deer park myself, everyone around here and all the vineyards have 8–10 ft. fences and hotwire around their gardens and grapes.

Years ago I ran a hotwire around a flower bed that bordered my house, I finally gave up and just planted herbs the deer wouldn’t eat after shocking myself in the armpit every morning reaching for a flower and getting zapped. lol

Or…you could take a tip from my avatar…order Mtn. Lion pheremones and spray them around the fence line. ;-)

One year I grew and strung hot red peppers and hung them on the fence, I saw one deer take a bite and then go nuts shaking it’s head and running away. Hot pepper spray on any exposed plants works too.

Now all of the plants surrounding my deck and patio are deer proof. Bamboos, Zebra grasses, and japanese willows, although they will nibble the new growth on the willows.

The neverending battle of hooves and antlers.

Thanks @Coloma Sounds like I have my work cut out for me.

@Cruiser Sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns so to speak. Deer can be relentless. You have to hit them hard and fast so they learn. They lick the peanut butter and remember.
In my area, repellents did nothing. Even the 8 ft high fence was breached. Besides, who want’s to look at that ugly fence out back. Even though the fence is only 18” high they do not step over it.

For close to the house I use a motion sensitive deer sprayer. Scarecrow
Or Havahart’s copycat version

They also work for neighbors and their pets. And forgetful gardeners. ;-)

A Benjamin 1000 pellet gun works too – but only when you are awake (and the nieghbors aren’t looking.).

Once I went crazy and chased several deer through the woods in my bare feet shreiking like a mad woman after they ate all my morning glory vines off the back of the house. Grrrr!

Good thing I have no neighbors within sight, but, if anyone heard me they probably wondered what the hell my problem was. haha

My husband did this (behind my daughter to the left) with our garden. He put deer/bird netting around the entire garden, leaving a section that he could open so we could get in. We also planted marigolds around the perimeter. Never had a problem with deer once this was done.

@jonsblond Great idea with the marigolds. Plus there’s a little evidence they help with nematodes.

@Coloma Thanks for the laugh and crazy woman visual! XD

@Cruiser

When my daughter was small she once said to guests admiring my yard and garden..” the only time my mommy says REALLY bad words is when the deer eat her flowers! lol

What doesn’t work:

Male and female urine
Human hair
Tabasco, hot peppers, cayenne peppers
Dirty kitty litter
Aluminum pie plates on strings
Attack cat
Rushing outside and shrieking

What works much of the time:

Netting
Choice of shrubs, perennials and bulbs.
Winter fencing of the more delicious stuff, like rhododendrons and azaleas. Once the shrubs flower, you can remove the fence. The deer eat the buds only

And don’t forget the squirrels, voles, chipmunks, birds, rabbits and mice.

The hot pepper spray only works until the animals get used to the peppers. I had one family of rabbits that only ate the jalepenos out of my garden.

Personally I don’t mind the wildlife feeding in my garden too much. I figure if I feed them all summer, it is only fair because some of them feed me over the winter.

I wonder if a strategically placed salt block would help or just lure them to the garden.

@gailcalled Are you certain about the “Rushing outside and shrieking” not working?? I saw this on a website just now….

“Scare tactics, like throwing rocks, spraying water, running after the deer through the woods like a mad man, yelling out wildly, can clearly convince the deer that you are quite off your rocker, and can possibly deter them until they believe you might be back on your meds.” XD

Plant a food patch a short distance from your garden. The deer will go to the plot instead of the garden, especially if you create a mineral lick at the food plot.

Your local conservation officer or ag agent should be able to tell you the best mix for your area.

This will sound gross, but if you can get away with it, pee all around the garden for about two or three days.

@WillWorkForChocolate: Pee early and often but expect no results except some burns on the grass.Neither male nor female urine is effective, unless you happen to be a great cat.

@Cruiser: Sadly, the deer are shriek-proof. They hold their ground until I get within 15 yards and then leisurely stroll into the wood margins. When I go into the house, the deer return.

@gailcalled Darn! Thanks for the honest answer. I went for a walk in the woods across the street and saw a family of 3 deer so I know I have them to deal with right off and there seems to be a deer trail that cruises right down the side of my yard right past the garden as there are lots of tracks in the snow.

@gailcalled Until the deer see you as a danger they won’t flee from you. In fact during the rut they may decide you are trying to steal their mates and may charge you if you get that close.

More people are seriously injured from deer attacks than coyote or wolf attacks every year.

Get a dog.

I originally said bear but that got moderated. Seemed perfectly reasonable to me!

@markferg I liked your bear answer and trying order one off Amazon but they say they are on back order

I’ll second the garlic thing. My partner’s mother uses garlic spray around her garden.

I also recommend a twelve gauge slug gun. (Edit: if you’re too close to neighbors, a longbow works with a bit of practice)

Permaculturists often plant walls of trees that produce fruit not too valued by humans, but plenty tasty to deer. The basic idea is to distract them.

If they were legal, I’d send you instructions on some neat deer snares, but they shall have to remain novelty and emergency knowledge.

I have heard that bars of Dial soap, tied into pantyhose and hung every 4–6 feet around the perimeter of a garden keeps deer away, but I don’t have first hand experience with this.

Thanks @BarnacleBill Soap sure sounds better in the hot July sun than pee everywhere!

Why not be neighbourly and invite them round to a screening of ‘Bambi’.

@BarnacleBill: Take a minute to drill holes into bars of Dial, thread with string and hang from bushes. Then check the next morning; you will probably see little teeth marks where creatures have been gnawing. The small predators like soap; I think it’s the fat content.

I dunno, but the deer out west are crafty. haha

I have tried over the years just about everything and the best thing was the electric hot wire.

I tried scattering 50# sacks or cracked corn along the perimeter of my fence line, I tried a bale of alfalfa in the woods, salt licks, and you know what?

They ate the birdseed, the garden/yard AND, they LOVED chicken food!

I actually had one doe that would come into my garage and paw at the container til the lid flipped off.

The deer in this area are seriously delinquent. lol

A propane gun may work but they are loud, spendy, and not guaranteed.

I wonder if you pelt them enough with a potato gun, would they stay clear? Hang up deer hobo markings that say “Lunatic with potato launcher. Stay away.”????

@BarnacleBill only problem with that is using a potato gun on an animal is a crime in most states. Potato guns can have enough force to knock holes in steel buildings, I have done it.

@WestRiverrat I agree! Potato guns can crack ribs and take an eye out at the same time!

Deer me…........hummmm try a dog…..to roam the back 40….Teach him to run the deer off… What’s wrong with that? Sounds good to me….

@chelle104 That option is on the table.