Deer in my yard. eating my holly. How do I get rid of them ?

[surfgirl]

The cat/neighbor thread had some great creative suggestions so I've been inspired.

There is a herd of deer that travel through our yard. Our back yard is fenced in and while they can jump over the fence, they haven't been recently. The front yard is the problem.... they eat the holly next to my front door, they eat the skip/cherry/mountain (not sure which one?) laurel hedge between my neighbor and I. (but I get the benefit of them pooping on my front yard since that is the only way they can access the laurel).

There are too many to hunt and they keep having babies. How do I encourage them to eat someone else's plants ?

There is the 'deer away' spray, but I can't spray the entire row. (and it gets expensive since you need to do it after every rain). These deer are so tame that when I pull up, they stand there about 15 ft away and watch. Would the super spray water gun work ? I don't think deer have the same aversion to water...

thanks for the ideas!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think you can use urine, maybe? However that is probably expensive.

It probably will be cheaper in the long run to plant a deer resistent plant in place of the holly.

 

[padams]

You can send the deer to my yard. My dog could use some playmates.

Search around on the web. I bet there are some deer repellent "recipes" that you can make yourself that would cost less than the commercial sprays.

 

[happygirl]

This might look tacky, could you tie a plastc grocery bag in a tree. When the wind blows it will make a noise and scare them away

 

[foolishmortal]

put a tv back there looping bambi over and over again!

 

[wdwmom2]

I think you can use urine, maybe? However that is probably expensive.

It probably will be cheaper in the long run to plant a deer resistent plant in place of the holly.

Try using fox or coyote urine. You should be able to get it at any local hunting store.

Check out this site http://www.deer-departed.com/deer-repellent-recipes.html

 

[shrubber]

Animal control falls into four catagories

#1 Make the plant unpalatable......There are hundreds of sprays and such on the market as well as homemade recipes. Most use capsacian pepper, fatty acid from eggs( rotten eggs) or soap. All may or may not work. One might work for a few weeks and then the deer get used to it. Repellants are more effective when you switch them out every few weeks. I have had success with small hotel sized soap bars, leaving the wax paper on, drilling a hole through them, hanging them on the plants, every 3 to 4 foot or so.

#2 Make the animal scared.....Urine, decoys, motion sensor sprinklers,blood meal, all are meant to scare the animal. Hey, I might get eaten myself if I hang around here. These in my opionion are the least effective, the animal usaully learns that nothing bad is going to happen pretty quick.

#3 Prevent them from eating it in the first place.....deer netting falls into this catagory. fine mesh plastic 'fencing' is available at most big garden centers. It does work, but see number four below.

#4 Deer will eat anything! Think of your yard and your neighbors yard like a buffet line at the Mirage in Vegas. That is how the deer sees it. If there is a big pile of Snow Crab and Strip steak and chicken nuggets, the chicken nuggets will remain untouched until the crab and steak are gone.
Same with your yard, the roses may be left untouched until the skip laurel is gone ( or unavailable as in deer netting) When that happens, they go on to the next most delicious plant. Will the deer move on to another plant in your yard or onto another yard altogether? Something to consider. I know people who go the extent of placing field corn cobs on the perimeter of their property to feed the deer the 'crab legs' so they leave their 'chicken nugget' plants alone.

 

[shrubber]

Try using fox or coyote urine. You should be able to get it at any local hunting store.

Check out this site http://www.deer-departed.com/deer-repellent-recipes.html

Fox do not eat deer and therefore it would not be an effective repellant. Fox urine is labeled for little critters like rabbits and such. Depending on the OP's location, coyote urine may or may not be.

 

[wdwmom2]

Fox do not eat deer and therefore it would not be an effective repellant. Fox urine is labeled for little critters like rabbits and such. Depending on the OP's location, coyote urine may or may not be.

Being an avid hunter, I realize that. Just a suggestion of something to try! That's why I posted the website, many different things to try!

 

[C.Ann]

I've heard of people using Ivory soap shavings.. Can't say for sure if it works, because I have never wanted to discourage deer from being on my property..

 

[joyah]

We use irish spring original soap. drill a hole through the center and tie a string the tie it to the bush. I've also just put in on the ground. this works in our apple orchard and out veggie garden. Hopefully it will work for you too.

 

[jjarman]

Shoot em.

 

[barkley]

my hairdresser has clients who ask her to save the sweepings from her haircuts. apparantly the deer don't like the scent it gives off (too much human????) so people scatter it around the areas they don't want the deer getting to (primarily ornamental and vegetable gardens).

 

[Best Aunt]

#3 Prevent them from eating it in the first place.....deer netting falls into this catagory. fine mesh plastic 'fencing' is available at most big garden centers. It does work, but see number four below.

I've tried this because deer eat my holly, too. The problem is, at least one bird and one chipmunk got stuck in the netting and died. I felt really guilty about that (and didn't enjoy removing the bodies).

If you're ever looking for alternatives to plant, I've had good luck with Boxwood. It looks like holly, but so far (2 years) nobody has eaten it.

I dug up all the lilies in my yard and gave away the bulbs. I think lilies are like cupcakes for deer.

 

[MAKmom]

I think you can use urine, maybe? However that is probably expensive.

It probably will be cheaper in the long run to plant a deer resistent plant in place of the holly.

Some lady on this Board a while ago said she gets her DGs to pee around her yard....he is very happy to do this for her.

 

[minniecarousel]

I bought something called "Not tonight deer, I have a headache" because the deer were feasting on my roses. It STINKS (it's dry and you mix it in an old 2 liter soda bottle with water) but it did the trick.

 

[MM27]

Shoot em.

 

[surfgirl]

Shoot em.

Well, actually, I have. No not me directly, but a friend who is a bow hunter sits in my back woods. He's taken out one (has tags to take out more). Unfortunately, one is barely a blip. (yes, it is all legal and safe. I've checked into it.)


thanks for all the ideas... I will do some selective testing - you know, like the fields with the different numbers. One patch will be ivory soap shavings, and another will be the stinky pepper spray. I can't really go for the peeing in the yard - my neighbors wouldn't be pleased about that

 

[Wis2InTink]

We have used a product purchased at Home Depot. Sorry that I can't get to our garage now to check. I believe it was called "Deer Off" -- a blue plastic quart size bottle, about $18. The deer were eating my tulips and hibiscus, but when I sprayed this on, they stopped. I purchased it in the spring. Good luck!

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

I had problems with deer eating my sunflowers this past summer. What seemed to work best was leaving the porch light on and putting dog hair on the ground around the base of the plants. A friend told me that actually feeding the deer in a place away from the plants (putting feed corn in a back corner of the yard) also helps.