Deer eating in my garden - argh! Tips?

LittleSweetie

Any tips to keep the deer out of the garden?  Pretty sure it's deer, since the tops of most of my plants are being eaten.  It/they also ate my pepper plants and beans before they even flowered (grr), right down to the stalk.  We have a wire fence about 2ft tall up around the garden on 3 sides, the 4th being a chainlink fence/12ft tall hedges on the other side of the property line.

I read that deer have acute smell and hearing senses and that 1" strips of dryer sheets tied around the fence/plants may work. I may also put bird netting above the fencing.  Any other good tips?

~NB~

Can you eat the deer?

Okay, j/k...

maybe not. How big is your garden plot?

LittleSweetie

If I saw him, maybe haha!

About 4' deep by 10' long. 

sarahmf13

Liquid Fence...  I swear by it!  The only thing is you have to respray the perimeter every few weeks.  It could also be bunnies that are eating your stuff...  They can easily jump through chain link fence.  I've had problems with bunnies biting off the tops of my Asiatic lilies and zinneas this summer.  But once I spray this stuff they stay away for at least a good 2 weeks (unless it rains a lot).  You don't have to spray the plants themselves, but around the garden.  Since it is the smell that keeps them away it should work just fine.  http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Garden-Center-Animal-Pest-Control-Animal/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh7Zapzy/R-100344322/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

LittleSweetie

I thought it might be bunnies, but all my lettuce is still there, and the fence gets majorly bent (like, more than I could bend it myself) - I don't think bunnies could do that much damage!  Thanks for the liquid fence tip - I'll see if I can give that a shot.

~NB~

Can you buy or construct something like this?

http://www.dogrunkennel.com/files/1919916/uploaded/K9K-Group.jpg

VAL215

If your pup(s) don't mind camping out few nights per week, that has been our one and only cure.  Of course, our chocolate labs are like watch dogs and they'll bark at a toad if they see one.

mrs.rescue4

I also use a liquid fence type of product.  I have SO many deer it's absurd.  Literally, they are feet away chomping down on anything and I can scream at them and they just look at me.  My veggie garden is fenced in; so, they don't bother that but they do come up to the front walkway and eat all my flowers/shrubs. 

Anyway, thus stuff we use is all natural...called Deer Away or something and purchased at TC.  It smells horrid (blood, eggs, etc) but works wonders!  You just need to remember to apply after heavy rains. 

littlemissflip

I've used Liquid Fence to prevent rabbits from eating my garden plants and shrubs, and it seems to help a lot.  I spray the ground around the perimeter of my garden, and between the plants, rather than directly onto my plants, because I want to feed my garden greens to my pet bunny  

Haven't specifically tried it for deer, because we don't often get deer in our yard.  But I have had to fence research plots in the woods to prevent deer herbivory, and for a 4X10 foot garden, you'd probably ideally want fencing that's at least 4 feet tall to keep the deer out, if not higher.  They can jump very high, but they're less likely to jump into a small, narrow space.  Of course, sometimes they just push the fencing over, which is why we have to used galvanized steel fencing to keep them out...

Good luck!

RachieT09

I might be a little late for this post, but something to keep in mind. Grab some crushed red pepper or cayenne pepper spice and sprinkle it on the leaves of your plants, lettuce, anything the wildlife is eating! They'll get a sniff of that and wont come back! It's much easier than trying to construct something, and it's probably something you may not even have to go buy. Also, you'll wash whatever you bring in, so don't worry about having your veggies taste spicy. Just get the leaves! Good luck!