I need help with deer

[formariz 11,987]

I live in one of the last areas in town where there are woods left half of my property being wooded. Because it is their last refuge, I on a regular basis have herds of sometimes 15 to 25 deer rummaging through the property.They are eating everything except the lawn. Plants that they never touched before like Hollies and Hydrangeas are merely skeletons now. I have tried everything short of a shot gun, hair,soap,pepper, deer repellent, deer Zappers (it shocks them), coyote urine, you name it. I am at the end of my wits here. Does any body have any suggestions beside the shotgun? :)

[300zx 7]

I feel for you. We have the same problem here in Central Virginia. There was a time they didn't leash the dogs in our neighborhood and we didn't have any problems. Now the deer are so plentiful and tame, they sleep in our mulch beds. I use Deer Off on our hostas, monkey grass and other sensitive ornamentals. It is made up of rotten eggs, red pepper, etc. If I spray once a week during the growing season and once a month during the hot season, it seems to work. For my vegetable, I have an electric wire every foot up to 7 feet. I keep the fence electrified from dusk to dawn. I typically put peanut butter on tin foil and attach it to the wire at two places on each side to train the deer about the fence. If I don't, they will bolt through it before they know it is there.

Good Luck!!

[sawhorse 0]

I am guessing that eight foot high game fencing is not an option for you because you live in town. It appears that you have tried all the antifeedants and repellants. Perhaps a single wire or clothsline around your plantings or your entire property, with pieces of cloth tied on intermittantly, soaked with a deer repellant every week. But, like every other system used to repel deer, it is bound to be defeated by a determined deer. Even the fencing will not keep them all out as they are known to jump over objects in excess of seven feet high. Perhaps a dog such as a collie could be permanently employed on your property.

If archery hunting is allowed in your town you should seriously consider employing it on your property. The safety zone for archery hunters hunting out of tree stands in New Jersey has been reduced from 450 feet to 150 feet this year. Lethal control may be your only viable option. Good Luck.

[ol550 830]

30 06!! :)

[Raider 2]

Motion detector sprinklers might scare them off. Milorganite fertilizer seems to repel them from my place (I have had bad deer problems in the past but not so much the last few years). Animals don't seem to like being peppered by paintball guns either but the deer are usually working when most people are fast asleep.

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

Electric fending works well. Here are some tips

1) Fiberglass rods with metal adjustable clips for everything but the corners are fast to put up and easy to take down. The corners need to be surdier, of course

2) 5-6 foot high is ideal. We used to go 5 foot high and every 4th post 6 foot. The top strand we used "tape" which would flap around.

3) Connect every second wire to ground. This will give them a shock even when the jump through the fence. Even better, if you buy a fence charger with both high and medium outputs you can alternate high and medium which means the'll get a shock jumping though or touching any wire. These are very expensive chargers though.

4) Use the poly tape (has metal strands as well) for the top and at least one middle strand. This makes the fence look more obvious.

5) If you want to keep out other critters have the first strand down at about 4 inches. This means that grass and weeds will need to be controlled or they will short out your fence. The better the fence charge the less these weeds will reduce the shock.

6) When you put up the fence bait it with strips of peanut aluminum foil wiht peanut butter on it. Do this at 5 feet and at 6 inches. This will encourage the animals to mess with and get a shock before the weeds grow up and short it.

7) If your Zoning limits you to 4 feet you will want to build an angled fence. For each main post (4 foot hight) you will lie a 6-7 foot post from there into the INSIDE of the fenced area. The wires run along the angled post. The deers first instinct is to go under and once they start to they'll get tangled in the wires. They then see there is depth and don't try to jump it.

The angled fence is a lot more hassle, but does work very well.

8) Don't skimp on your ground system.

Best of luck. This year I will need to go this route on my home garden. Years ago I learned all about it when growing commercially and we did keep them out (and wood chucks and racoons too).

:ychain:

[puddlejumper 67]

A dog named gittem and a underground fence to keep him from roaming around town.

[wh79d160 52]

Sorry I didn't see your post in October. By then I was out of the garden mood. My wife & I have a garden here on our place. I am a life long archery deer hunter so I have food plots & feeders here also. (about 80 yrds from the garden) Being an archery guy, I know the importance of scent control. So the fix for me was pretty obvious. When my wife goes to Bath & Body works, she just picks up a variety of the bottles of body spray thats on clearence.(usally the nasty scents that no one wants) I just keep them out by the garden during the season & every night or so , I just walk around the garden & spray the fence post ect. I rotate the different scents so they don't get used to the scent. Then when we're done with the garden for the season, I stop spraying & let them eat all they want(another food plot) before we clean everything up for the winter. Give it a try. :banghead:

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

I just walk around the garden & spray the fence post ect. I rotate the different scents so they don't get used to the scent. Then when we're done with the garden for the season, I stop spraying & let them eat all they want(another food plot) before we clean everything up for the winter. Give it a try.

Hmmm

Very interesting. I am quite sure rotating the different smalls is part of your success.

:thumbs:

[6wheeler 603]

I do the same thing, And as an archery hunter myself, after the crops are done. Let em in, my freezer doesn't mind. But, I have seen a rather strange thing happen as of late. We aquired an Austrailian sheperd Border collie cross around thanksgiving. He is a runner so I take him out on a lead and he marks alot. A friend told me to take him around the perimeter of our land and let him do his business. Since I have been doing that, NO DEER. And strangely enough, No Coyotes or stray cats either. This may only last til they figure out our routine, but it's working for now. The reason I think this is strange, my neighbor is a half mile away. And he is complaining about all the deer and coyotes and strays in his yard now. Hmmmm.

[kyhorse 1]

Have you tried your own urine? (assuming you eat meat) I think a spray bottle would be the civilized way to do it, but unless they are used to it, they should not like the smell of a carnivore. And it's free! :thumbs:

[jmunzke 1]

If you can plant poppies with your other plants, that may deter them, they hate the smell.

Also, they tend not to like herbs. So plant rosemary, basil, etc....

The liquid fence stuff works but IT STINKS to us too.

Thorny plants like barberry, they seem to stay away from.

Urine will work for a day or too. Try blood meal as well. You can add it to the soil. It will need to be replenished after the rain but is a great source of nitrogen. It does, however, attract carnivores. So if you have dogs. They will dig in it.

Obviously the fool proof is a minimum of a 6' fence. I would go 8

[IthacaJeff 151]

Nothing stopped the deer last year on our garden. Bloodmeal, deer-away, our dog

urinating, me urinating. . . .nothing.

Just finished a fence yesterday. 5" welded wire, topped off by three rows of straight

wire to add another two feet. 4x4 PT posts are set 3' into the ground. Water table

is about 1 ft below the surface so we backfilled the holes with rocks. Garden is

54' x 76'. We'll see how it works. Will likely add some sort of visible markers for

the top row of wire. Total fence cost, including 1 day rental of an hydraulic auger,

not including a fancy gate that I'll make, has been about $700. Not cheap, but

was made to outlast me. Note in pics below that the plants are already grown in

some cases. We had them in the house until planting yesterday.

Finished a temporary fence of 7' of plastic netting around a small orchard we are

trying to start. Deer ate every bud on the saplings and small trees before the

fence. (10 trees total) I put of plain PT 2x4x10s at the corners (2.5' deep),

propped up the middle section with long sticks I cut down from trees on the

property. Sticks are about 8 feet long, pushed into the ground about a foot or so.

We are in a very windy place and so far they are holding up. Use GOOD plastic

netting. Costs a lot than the thin stuff. Trees are thriving.

Jeff in Enfield NY

[farmer 1,075]

Hi Jeff,

You've took your crop protection to a whole new level

I hope your rewarded with some good eating...sometimes the maths for growing your own Vs buying from the shop just doesn't make sense But when "Er indoors" sends me out to dig veg for dinner, and around the table I see the clean plates, then I know its worth the effort

(except for shelling peas, I grow the ones which you can eat the pods too ).

[stoneman 10]

I saw a video the other day where some deer were in someone's back yard, and suddenly the sprinkler system went on and the cleared out with a quickness. I wonder if you could rig up motion activated sprinkler heads. :hide:

[IthacaJeff 151]

Rex;

Trust me in that we discussed the economics of a fence vs. buying veggies. But we

wanted a garden and the only way out here is with a fence. The deer in central NY

are as thick as flies. Plus, it is a great way to get the kids involved, a hobby for my

wife, and well, with 6 kids, hopefully will pay off financially. Also, straight from

the garden to the plate is an awesome thing!

Jeff in Enfield, NY

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

A dog named gittem and a underground fence to keep him from roaming around town.

Gittem needs to be out 24/7 or that won't work :D

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

Will likely add some sort of visible markers for

the top row of wire. Total fence cost, [...] has been about $700. Not cheap, but

was made to outlast me.

Nice fence

Nice garden.

Electric is cheaper and less work to construct (but more work to maintain).

[littleredrider 409]

I don't know where to get it, but there is a repellent called Scram, it's supposed to keep just about everything where you put this stuff. I used to pick it up when I was local, (I work for Fedex Freight) and when putting it in the trailer, couldn't get the smell off me!!!! The stink that I recognize is garlic, but more to it than that. Think the company is EPIC.

[IthacaJeff 151]

Electric fences are not necessarily a good idea. . . too many kids, too many balls

flying around, too enthusiastic a dog! Plus, the fence also keeps out other critters.

Just tried a concoction (DeerAway?) made from rotten eggs and pepper (capsacian

oil) on our blueberries that are not in the fenced garden. Tried it after the deer

ate every last berry on one of the bushes. So far the other bushes are deer-free.

Jeff in Enfield NY

[AMC RULES 37,130]

Found this little guy lying in the middle of the road on post yesterday morning.

Waited about 20 minutes, momma was no where to be found.

I couldn't leave him lay there with cars passing within inches of him. Picked him up and set him off to the side of the road.

Left him bleating for his momma, looks like you not the only one trying to get rid of them. :woohoo:

[Cody 276]

We had a deer problem this year also. We took a radio and placed it in the center of the garden. the radio plays all day and we have not had a deer problem yet.

[WheelHorse_of_course 99]

Electric fences are not necessarily a good idea. . . too many kids, too many balls

flying around, too enthusiastic a dog! Plus, the fence also keeps out other critters.

Just tried a concoction (DeerAway?) made from rotten eggs and pepper (capsacian

oil) on our blueberries that are not in the fenced garden. Tried it after the deer

ate every last berry on one of the bushes. So far the other bushes are deer-free.

Jeff in Enfield NY

A proper electric fence (e.g. not some do it yourself electrical parts) is perfectly safe. The kids and dogs will learn to leave it alone! :D

[Forest Road 594]

Lead poisoning? Anyone, anyone?

[mid60's 93]

Getting close to that time of year again. I've used a product called "Liqued Fence" for a few years now. It seems to work and here in the Ozarks of Missouri you need you NEED something that works. Early spring is the time we have the most problem, before the woods green up but it keeps the Deer at bay year round. Good Luck.

Larry