Deer in the GARDEN!!! Get the firecrackers!!

I have a serious deer problem here.  Usually at this time of the year the deer are laying low and don't seem to "usually" cause the problems that they do in the spring and fall, you know when there isn't PLENTY of food in the woods.

This is the scene of the crime this morning:

Sempervivums torn out of their containers-

Pansies ripped out of their bucket

 Astilbe with their little blossoms MISSING!

 Previous crimes include:

Munched on Monarda

Attacked asters and deflowered Phlox

Even my poor agave wasn't safe!

 It is very discouraging to have spent a lot of time and money making your summer garden into something worth lingering in, only to have it ruined by lazy deer.  Our deer get fed next door, so they first of all have few hardships in life and secondly, are really not afraid of people- or at least weren't before. After all, many of us live in an area with precious few gardening months and have to wait a long time before we have another crack at it.


There are a few techniques that do work to ward off these four legged vermin.

1.  Physical barriers

I lay wire/mesh over my rock garden at night to keep the sedum and sempervivum safe.  It is obnoxious and ugly, but it works.

 Again, this is obnoxious and ugly, but a temporary fence is useful to keep little gardens safer from heavy browsing.

 Vegetable gardens call for more permanent and serious fences.

 Even a little Tigereye Sumac is not safe and need it's own little fence.  I am not sure if this sumac will ever have a chance to live without a barrier!

2.  Chemical deterrents:
There are many things to spray on, sprinkle around or dust your plants with that work through the use of bad smells, bad tastes or a combination.  I use two things regularly:  Milorganite, that is supposed to be absorbed and make the plants smell bad to deer, and "This one works", which is to spray on the plant to make it taste bad!  The spray is not water soluble, so make sure you wear gloves!  It does not come off with soap and water, trust me.  You have to reapply when there is new growth, though!
Some people swear by the use of homemade concoctions that may work just fine, but need to be reapplied frequently.  I do not have the patience to make my own, but lots of people prefer it.

3. Wise plant choices:
Let's face it, I gave up on things like roses years ago.  My hostas and asiatic lilies are huddled behind chicken wire, nestled up by the house.  There are places that I have planted deer resistant plants and don't get too upset if they are nibbled a little.  Deer do not eat daffodils (well once in a while will chomp a bud, but spit it out) and decorative grass.  That is all I can think of that they have never nibbled!  Seriously!
But they tend not to eat fragrant plants like monarda and catmint (nepata), usually avoid poky things like Sea Holly (eryngium) and cactus, and usually avoid fuzzy leaved plants like Lamb's Ear (Stachys) Someone needs to tell the deer around here that.

4.  Fear/startle:
They say deer can get used to anything, and will eat almost anything if they are hungry enough.  That may be true, but I have found that the deer are a little more antsy when I come out of the house now that I have been using more intimidating methods of deterrent!  I have recently been lighting one of these when there are deer hanging around and looking strangely at me when I am yelling obscenities and chasing them around the yard-

I am not recommending use of any explosive!*

They may get used to it, but right now it makes them run like the wind!  They don't go about 15 feet and stop and look at me anymore, either!  Hehehe, at least it's a minor victory for me!

There are other devices that set off a sprinkler when the deer are near by, and others use materials that are supposed to smell like blood or predator urine, but I have not tried these.

What do you do to keep your most persistent pest at bay?  Feel free to continue this discussion in the comment section or by going to the Sprout-off Garden forum where you will find this and many other topics of interest!

*Note: do not use if these are illegal in your state!!