Hostas Question

coffee drinker · ‎03-21-2010

How can I keep the critters from eating my hosta plants? This happens every year. Seems like mine are the only ones in the neighborhood that serve as a buffet. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@coffee drinker I wish I had a photo of the gorgeous hostas we had just a few days ago!!!....I say "had" because these two very healthy and lush plants were feasted on by the deer one evening! They left a single leaf behind!

I honestly don't know what to do except plant new things that deer don't like. My DH just purchased a motion detector light and installed it this afternoon. We'll see if that startles them away.

fthunt · ‎12-24-2010

What or who is doing lunch? My neighbor lady has dozens of "H"plants and chipmunks/squirrels are a constant here. They don't seem to be interested -

Moles - deer - rabbits ? You have to identify the chewer - are the bites high up in the plant or ground level?

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

Do you know what is eating them? We've had a dramatic increase in rabbits due to building projects knocking down the woodded areas. Some swear by milorganite which is a fertilizer, but it smells and apparently deer and rabbits don't like the smell. I have used deer and rabbit sprays, but most require reapplication after it rains and we have a sprinkler system so that means every other day. Finally found a brand called Bobbex ready to use Spray which is water resistant. I'm also using some tablets that are a systemic you put at the roots and it acts systemically to make the plant bitter. It's called Plant Saver and you still need to protect the plant using other means for at least 2 weeks while it gets in their system. Not cheap, but neither are hostas.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@fthunt wrote:
What or who is doing lunch? My neighbor lady has dozens of "H"plants and chipmunks/squirrels are a constant here. They don't seem to be interested -

Moles - deer - rabbits ? You have to identify the chewer - are the bites high up in the plant or ground level?

@fthunt Chipmunks & Squirrels may not eat them, but they will dig around them and even dig them up.

jlkz · ‎12-02-2013

@haddon9

Believe me, if the deer are hungry, even plants on the deer resistant list will become dinner. We had then eat our prickly-leaf Hollies up at the mountain place when we had it.

I have recommended Plantskydd several times on this board. Tried to upload photo to no avail.

it really works: spray bottle ran about $20 at the nursery. After using, be sure to rinse out the sprayer. There is no bad odor to it.

Good Luck !

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.
Sir Winston Churchill

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

Years ago, I raised bromeliads and had dozens of them. They are occasionally eaten by insects and other things. The bromeliad society recommended spraying them with Sevin which is one of the least lethal insecticides. I found it worked great on my whole garden, even vegetables. It kept those nasty big catepillars off of my tomato plants. The trouble is it's a spray you mix from concentrate and it washes off in rain so you have to respray often. I don't think it would deter rabbits or deer, however.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

haddon9 · ‎03-09-2010

@jlkz I never heard of it but will look into Plantskydd.....thanks!

My concern with a lot of the different animal repellents is that there usually is an awful smell to them. I don't want that in my yard either!

It seems like the deer population has been growing larger every year in my area.

On It · ‎03-15-2021

I have never tried it, but one of my acquaintances told us that deer are repelled by human hair. He told us to have a salon save the hair they sweep up and put it around the plants we are trying to protect. I was a little put off by that idea, but he assured us it works.