For while I thought the deer were gone. Then this spring we saw the telltale signs of the whitetail deer. The hoof prints, the nibbles and the um...other signs. Then came the sightings. A single doe came strolling through the backyard taking nibbles of various plants. Fortunately most of the plants in our garden are deer resistant so the deer stayed away from those. Eventually she found the vegetable garden. In one evening most of the remaining spring greens were gone and a small sample of strawberry leaves was taken. This is where I became wise, or maybe just determined, and I found a solution - animal netting. I posted posts around the garden and hooked 7 foot mesh all around the garden. There were a few stretches I ran short of mesh and substituted strands of garden twine in between the posts to give the illusion of an obstacle. I'm not foolish enough to think this solution is 100% deer proof but when easier pickings are available elsewhere (like a neighbor's vegetable garden down the road) it seems to work out just fine!
Now there are three deer to worry about. A doe and two fauns, just take a peak at the video as they wander through our backyard.
A while back when I was looking into deer-in-the-garden solutions I contacted the
Havahart company who specializes in animal safe repellents. I found a really interesting device and requested it to try out in my garden. It's a sprayer that is hooked up to a motion sensor. When the animal is in range it sets off the sprinkler the animal gets a surprise bath! The idea is that they won't like the bath, will get scared off and will avoid the area in the future. I received the spray device about 6 weeks ago but haven't been able to test it yet due to the unpredictable events of life. I'll set it up this week and see how it functions - I'm sure my kids will enjoy giving it a test in the hot and humid days of summer. After that I'll arrange it to see if I can spray and repel the wandering deer.
Have you ever tried Spray Away? If so how did it work for you?
A while back when I was looking into deer-in-the-garden solutions I contacted the Havahart company who specializes in animal safe repellents. I found a really interesting device and requested it to try out in my garden. It's a sprayer that is hooked up to a motion sensor. When the animal is in range it sets off the sprinkler the animal gets a surprise bath! The idea is that they won't like the bath, will get scared off and will avoid the area in the future. I received the spray device about 6 weeks ago but haven't been able to test it yet due to the unpredictable events of life. I'll set it up this week and see how it functions - I'm sure my kids will enjoy giving it a test in the hot and humid days of summer. After that I'll arrange it to see if I can spray and repel the wandering deer.