Garden

[CJC]

Hostas are deer candy.....they love it, so not the best plant for yards where Bambi and friends are frequent visitors. Once they eat all the hostas they move on to other nearby plants, and so on. I have used Liquid Fence in SC with some success, but here in FL the daily rainstorms would make it much less effective, and I'd have to reapply way too often. What I use here is a very old fertilizer that's available at Lowes and probably other places. It's called Milorganite.  It's inexpensive and the large bag lasts for many seasons. It's usually applied to lawns but can be used anywhere on anything because it's organic and non-burning. Deer and rabbits hate the smell because it's made from sewage. You just toss handfuls of the stuff all around your garden, no need to water in. Bonus is that it's great for all your plants. Then wash your hands if you don't want to smell like a farm!

[skatting44]

@ValuSkr 

In my area there is a group " Hunters Feeding the hungry ". They process the deer meat then donate to local places that feed the poor.

[PA Mom-mom]

@CJC  Thanks for the Milorganite suggestion. They seem to have it at the local HD. I'll check it out.

[Still Raining]

I did battle for years until I realized I was not winning and it had become an obsession.

Came to be at peace with only having things they did not eat.

[bmorechick]

@PA Mom-mom   Went through this last year. They destroyed my hostas and made a mess trampling through the mulch.  They are a nuisance around here and there's too many of them.  DNR has asked people not to encourage them by attempting to feed  them or leaving food for them. They say it does them more harm than good. They are wild animals...not pets. They will find food on their own. Hopefully they have moved on from my area because my hostas are still intact.  

[RedTop]

Once again we are overrun with deer, and brother decided to plant a large garden.  The garden is full of deer tracks; they pass thru it going to and from moms yard and the  next hayfield, as well as jump the fence into the garden.  I doubt anything makes it to harvest.   

[jlkz]

@skatting44 

We saw a deer up at our former mountain place run down our next door neighbor's driveway and jump over a stopped motorcyclist at the bottom of the drive.  They can jump very high !

I have seen them stand on their hind legs and eat tree branches.

They half devoured a very prickly short holly bush there also.  I finally removed my iris and sedums and took them back home to recover.  Then I fairly recently discovered the recommended product below to protect my hostas from the rabbits at home.

[ValuSkr]

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@jlkz wrote:

@skatting44 

I have seen them stand on their hind legs and eat tree branches.

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@jlkz I've seen that too - it's a strange sight!  In my case, they were reaching for acorns on a low-hanging branch.  They must have exhausted the supply on the ground!

[ValuSkr]

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@bmorechick wrote:

DNR has asked people not to encourage them by attempting to feed  them or leaving food for them. They say it does them more harm than good. They are wild animals...not pets. They will find food on their own. Hopefully they have moved on from my area because my hostas are still intact.  

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Amen to that!   It's been a problem at different times in my condo community, with people feeding the wildlife.  My neighbor finally stopped feeding the squirrels so I'm glad about that.