topic Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year! in Garden

Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

PA Mom-mom — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 19:44:53 GMT

Two years ago I lost ALL of my daylily blooms and buds, as well as all the hosta blooms and even some tomatoes to the many deer who made our back yard their personal spa. I'd show you pictures, but I deleted them to avoid additional trauma. Well, last year I had NO DEER! Why??? I did plant lots of smelly deer repellent plants, but that wasn't it. I just found out that our neighbors, about 5 houses down and across the street, were actually feeding the deer! and also placing salt licks for them! Wow, just wow! They intend to continue on with this practice. I feel like I should pay them, or at least contribute to the feed fund. We are so looking forward to a deer-free Spring and Summer!

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

kitty60 — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 19:57:54 GMT

You are lucky. In my neighborhood they make the rounds. They always stop by for a little snippit of bud!

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

Mz iMac — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:11:36 GMT

In my community the deer do not mess w/flower beds. The landscapers use some deer repel stuff. The housing developments around us must use the same landscapers cause they all have beautiful flower beds. I am going to take some pictures one day & post them here.

Now the community gardens which are winter & summer useage are surrounded by 8-9 ft steel fences which are spiked. White tails can jump 6 ft at a stand still so we were told. Some areas have some sort of mesh type fence surrounding their property to keep away the deer who are free roaming. These fences are almost invisible to the human eye as they blend in w/the vegatation.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

KingstonsMom — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:14:43 GMT

Back in the day when my Mom was a hairdresser, many people would ask her to save the hair that she cut off of clients, so that they could spread the hair in their gardens to keep the deer away,

Apparently deer don't like the smell of human hair, LOL!

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

PA Mom-mom — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:36:51 GMT

@KingstonsMom We have tried hair in our garden for deer, groundhogs and raccoons. It doesn't work for us. We have tried dried blood and tobacco as well. We finally strung a battery operated electric fence outside of our fenced-in veggie garden. That worked for the groundhogs and raccoons. My cousins breed daylilies, and they use the high fences and Irish Spring soap bars hung from all the shrubs.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

KingstonsMom — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:49:22 GMT

@PA Mom-mom

I've heard of using the Irish Spring soap too.

Funny I love the smell of Irish Spring, DH uses it!

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

rockygems123 — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 20:49:59 GMT

@PA Mom-mom wrote:
Two years ago I lost ALL of my daylily blooms and buds, as well as all the hosta blooms and even some tomatoes to the many deer who made our back yard their personal spa. I'd show you pictures, but I deleted them to avoid additional trauma. Well, last year I had NO DEER! Why??? I did plant lots of smelly deer repellent plants, but that wasn't it. I just found out that our neighbors, about 5 houses down and across the street, were actually feeding the deer! and also placing salt licks for them! Wow, just wow! They intend to continue on with this practice. I feel like I should pay them, or at least contribute to the feed fund. We are so looking forward to a deer-free Spring and Summer!

@PA Mom-mom

That's great, hopefully this season will repeat last year's! You'll have to keep us updated.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

Lucky Charm — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 23:12:33 GMT

Although I think deer are beautiful animals to look at, they are the last thing I would want to see in my yard.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

Sweetbay magnolia — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 23:34:47 GMT

Don't breathe a word of it outside or the deer with thwart you!

I use Liquid Fence.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

Carmie — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 01:30:27 GMT

We have neighbors who feed the deer and we have used human hair, dog hair, Irish Spring soap, moth balls, and many other things including a liquid deer deterent sprayed at least once a week and the deer still eat everything.

They even came up to my front door and ate the wreath off of it as well as my decor pumpkins. We have pine trees on the on one side of our property and they lay under the pines and leave ticks behind.

I hate deer. They ruined my veggie garden and flowers. Every year, every female has a baby and we have a huge herd roaming my neighborhood.

Now, they are jumping out in front of cars and walking the streets at dusk. I do not live in a rural area. Every morning, I can see their hoof prints in my tan bark right by my front door and if it snows, there are hoof prints everywhere.

One of my neighbors has a four ft. fancy, expensive metal fence around their property. About two years ago, the deer knocked down two sections and ruined it.

I wish I could get rid of them by having them moved to the woods somewhere.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

blueroses47 — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 14:30:42 GMT

@Carmie wrote:
We have neighbors who feed the deer and we have used human hair, dog hair, Irish Spring soap, moth balls, and many other things including a liquid deer deterent sprayed at least once a week and the deer still eat everything.

They even came up to my front door and ate the wreath off of it as well as my decor pumpkins. We have pine trees on the on one side of our property and they lay under the pines and leave ticks behind.

I hate deer. They ruined my veggie garden and flowers. Every year, every female has a baby and we have a huge herd roaming my neighborhood.

Now, they are jumping out in front of cars and walking the streets at dusk. I do not live in a rural area. Every morning, I can see their hoof prints in my tan bark right by my front door and if it snows, there are hoof prints everywhere.

One of my neighbors has a four ft. fancy, expensive metal fence around their property. About two years ago, the deer knocked down two sections and ruined it.

I wish I could get rid of them by having them moved to the woods somewhere.

My situation is very similar to yours. The deer come right up to my front porch and eat anything they can reach that's on the porch. They do everything you've described.

I've tried everything, but nothing works for more than a brief period....then the deer must acclimate to the scent or whatever. Fencing, well it's not always pretty or practical, and they can often get around, or over.

I used to love deer, but now I often say I'd love to see them "become extinct in my lifetime". Well, I don't really mean that, but Id love to see them gone from my yard.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

PA Mom-mom — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 18:03:43 GMT

@Carmie and @blueroses47 What a nightmare! I didn't have as much destruction as you do, but they definitely lounged under the arborvitae and ate everything they could reach. I didn't see one deer last summer! It was a first. I live in a development, but there is a wooded area and stream across the street. It's not a good situation for the deer or the humans.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

Sooner — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 18:11:08 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:
Don't breathe a word of it outside or the deer with thwart you!

I use Liquid Fence.

@Sweetbay magnolia Does it keep rabbits out? I need something to keep rabbits out. And an opossum--but I don't know anything that will stop them!

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

JustJazzmom — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 00:48:32 GMT

Opposums eat things like slugs & snails.

Plants loved by rabbits can have rabbit fencing put around them as a deterrent. The Liquid Fence needs to be applied after heavy rains as it loses its effectiveness.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

AngelPuppy1 — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 12:05:49 GMT

I think they are beautiful creatures and I never want any harm to come to them. We live in the middle of a small town and very close to a road with heavy traffic. The deer roam all over and criss cross the road and it gives me heart failure. Several of them have been hit and hurt or killed. I have to say that they are destructive, as well as a lot of other animals that are all around us. We have deer, rabbits, groundhogs, squirrels, skunks --- you name it!

Our bulbs get dug up, our potted plants which are on the porches getting dug up and toppled over, other plantings in the yard get eaten or destroyed! It's very discouraging! I mean, you want to have a nice looking yard, but after awhile, you think --- what's the point????

I used to see neighboring yards that had not one plant or flower planted and think --- how sad! Now I know why! We're getting to the point where we're too old to keep worrying about all of it and trying to find ways to prevent it!

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

Sweetbay magnolia — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 00:11:48 GMT

Dont know, @Sooner - I haven't had a rabbit problem (yet) - in regards to the Liquid Fence.

Re: Revealed! Why The Deer Ignored My Flower Beds Last Year!

GinaV24 — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 16:52:04 GMT

Well that's great if your neighbors want to feed them, they stay out of your yard so it's good.

I've got herds of them in my yard because we live in a rural area. Last spring when I was first working from home, I had gone to get in the car for some reason and there were two of them standing there looking surprised to see me! LOL

Yes they eat my hostas! very annoying.