How to keep the deer out
Deer are cute and almost everyone loves them — unless those same deer are destroying their gardens and champing on their trees and shrubs.
Even the renowned Albert Schweitzer, who maintained all life was sacred, was reported to employ a double standard. Supposedly, the man who wouldn’t take medicines that would kill germs kept a shotgun next to the door of his house to deal with invaders of his garden.
People get testy when you mess with their horticulture.
Deer don’t discourage easily. A dog in the yard will keep deer at bay, but even gardeners without canines have options.
The first step is to make sure you’re not the problem.
• Don’t feed deer in your yard. A bird feeder low enough for deer to raid is enough to get deer to regard your yard as a restaurant. And once the deer are coming in regularly, a mountain lion might recognize your yard as a diner, too.
• Permanent fencing is a proven deer-proofing method. Traditional chain link is dependable, but it must be at least 8 feet high. A shorter solid fence that blocks view of the garden can work since deer usually won’t jump a fence if they can’t see the other side.
• Electric fencing is effective, less obvious and relatively inexpensive, especially after the initial investment of a solar power supply. Try spreading peanut butter on foil strips and hang them on the electrified wire. Deer will lick the peanut butter and get a mild zap. After a shock or two, the deer will avoid the wire simply by the smell of peanut butter.
• Temporary fencing can be as simple as pounding re-bar or metal “T” posts and wrapping the posts with mesh wire to shield anything from single trees or shrubs to full gardens.
• Consider planting vegetation that the deer find unpalatable, including succulents and almost anything that’s fuzzy and aromatic. During severe drought and hard winters, however, deer will eat almost anything.
• Repellents, including commercial chemical solutions or one of the increasingly popular organic substances, can be effective — until it rains! The solutions have to be reapplied after a storm or after irrigation.
Some gardeners have had success by shaving flakes of Ivory bar soap among their plants, reapplying when the shavings disappear in the soil.
Dennis Flynn of Valley Farms in Helena recommended a 5 percent solution of Tabasco in water. He said research by the University of Colorado demonstrated this solution very effectively when applied directly to the foliage. After tasting the Tabasco solution, just the smell was enough to repel deer.
Here’s another solution that’s had some success:
Mix two well-beaten eggs with 2 ounces of onion extract. Add to 2 quarts of water. Add 1 cup Ivory liquid soap to the mixture and allow it to stand in the sun a few hours. Spray directly on the plant and reapply after rain or watering.