# Oh No Not my Garden!!!!



## razorback

Dh came in last night and told me I needed to see the garden!! 

Me thinking we had new growth got all excited. Nope we got invaded, the deer came and took the tops off of everything except the corn (go figure) and the peppers. 

My tomatoes look like someone came by with a weedeater and just topped them. My beans, my poor, poor beans are just stalks now.

And I have dogs, I have my dogs, the neighbors dog, the across the highway almost a mile away neighbors dog. (I give treats LOL!!) I'm sure they just sat back there and watched as the deer had their little open buffet. Not making a sound. Heck everytime we're in the garden the dogs are all playing in the dirt, laying this way and that way. Knowing my luck the hounds where probably out there with the dang deer.

So now I have to get creative and come up with a way to keep Bambie out of my beans and tomatoes LOL!!!


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## Roslyn

I know your pain!! Early Spring I was admiring my beautiful garlic, it was a healthy 10-inches high with thick stalks. Then deer mowed it to the ground, supposedly deer won't touch garlic. Except when it was young and tender I guess.

I covered it with bend heavy wire and floating row cover and a heavy thunderstorm helped it pop back up thankfully. 

If you can't fence, then get some bird netting and lay it over the tomatoes and keep moving it as they grow, at least deer can't graze through the netting. That's what I do with my strawberry patch when the garden fence is down in the late fall and early Spring.

Good Luck, it's a never ending battle, you plant it and they will come to dinner.


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## LincTex

60" (5 foot) tall welded wire fencing with a single electric wire running a few inches across the top of that, all the way around. Good luck!

The plants might come back if they have strong roots already developed.


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## Sparky_D

You can use a liquid repellent like this:

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Liquid-Fence-Deer-and-Rabbit-Repellent/1255984.uts

My Father-in-Law uses predator urine. He takes an old prescription bottle, drills a few 1/4" holes in the bottom, puts a cotton ball inside soaked with either cougar or mountain lion urine (he gets that from a feed store) and hangs them on the fence around his property.

I've seen deer wandering the greenbelt behind his place take off at a full run when they get to within 20' of his fence.


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## haley4217

Like you I live in an area where I have to deal with deer and other critters getting in to the garden. As Sparky_D stated predator urine works well for scaring off the deer. Here are a few other things that I've found work I believe equally as well.

1. Cheep highly scented bath soap cut up into quarters and hung out on the fencing or on posts around the garden. Lasts a long time and is re-vitalized by rain instead of washed off like the urine or other products. I've found that deer hate the smell and will keep away.
2. If you can't buy predator urine then human urine that is soaked into a piece of sponge and tied again on the fence or on posts will help to keep the deer away.
3. In lieu of urine then ammonia soaked sponges will also give them urine like smell that will help to keep them away.
4. If you have a fence around the garden and can determine which direction the deer are coming into the garden you can; 
a. put some of the plastic ribbon along the fence so that it blows and streams in the wind
b. put a few temporary poles about 2 or 3 feet away from the fence running parallel to it and then put some of the 
aforementioned ribbon along the top of the poles running from pole to pole next to the fence. Deer do not have
depth perception that lets them make the jump over the first and second barrier. They will usually turn around
and not try to jump.
5. Human hair from the barber shop will create a smell barrier for the deer, but it won't last long in wet rainy climates.


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## PipLogan

12 gauge seems to work best


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## CrackbottomLouis

They will be back. Get a compound bow. I wonder if pepper spray traps set up on a trip wire would work on deer? Good luck.


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## Davarm

I put up a couple of poles(landscape timbers) and mounted lights with motion sensors on them. At the base of one pole, I plugged in a "boom box" playing talk radio and I turn it all on at night.

It solved the issue for me, havent had deer or even rabbit problems since I started using it, about 5 or 6 years now.


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## helicopter5472

Davarm said:


> I put up a couple of poles(landscape timbers) and mounted lights with motion sensors on them. At the base of one pole, I plugged in a "boom box" playing talk radio and I turn it all on at night.
> 
> It solved the issue for me, havent had deer or even rabbit problems since I started using it, about 5 or 6 years now.


 "oh deer" not talk radio, I won't be by either.....


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## biobacon

That stinks. I live in a small city so I don't have to deal with deer but the stray cats just love to leave deposits for me.


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## LincTex

Davarm said:


> I mounted lights with motion sensors on them. At the base of one pole, I plugged in a "boom box" playing talk radio and I turn it all on at night.


The radio powers up the same time as the motion sensing lights?


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## rawhide2971

Yeah I feel your pain, the deer got into my Cucumbers and beans last night. Time to break out the Crossbow....nahhhhh we will get our Hair person to give us a bag of Human hair and we will put out the Buzzard bait again...Lowes sells this stuff that you can spray on, I forget the name, it does the job to keep the deer away but every time we use it the Turkey Buzzards land in the back yard and hang around for a few days...its pretty foul, but the rains make it pretty expensive to keep putting on and once you staart to harvest, well it makes stuff taste pretty foul if you dont wash it really really really good....


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## Davarm

LincTex said:


> The radio powers up the same time as the motion sensing lights?


I tried it both ways, when the lights trip and playing all the time. It didn't seem to make a difference, the critters stayed away in both cases.

It was likely just the lights but I felt better with "Coast to Coast" out there for extra measures!lol


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## JayJay

razorback said:


> Dh came in last night and told me I needed to see the garden!!
> 
> Me thinking we had new growth got all excited. Nope we got invaded, the deer came and took the tops off of everything except the corn (go figure) and the peppers.
> 
> My tomatoes look like someone came by with a weedeater and just topped them. My beans, my poor, poor beans are just stalks now.
> 
> And I have dogs, I have my dogs, the neighbors dog, the across the highway almost a mile away neighbors dog. (I give treats LOL!!) I'm sure they just sat back there and watched as the deer had their little open buffet. Not making a sound. Heck everytime we're in the garden the dogs are all playing in the dirt, laying this way and that way. Knowing my luck the hounds where probably out there with the dang deer.
> 
> So now I have to get creative and come up with a way to keep Bambie out of my beans and tomatoes LOL!!!


When we leased a few acres in the country to a farmer for tobacco, he grew blackeye/purple hull peas between every 4 or 5 rows.
Enough for the community--a lot!!
ONE night..just one night, and every pea on those plants was gone!!:gaah:


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## JayJay

CrackbottomLouis said:


> They will be back. Get a compound bow. .


OOH, OOh. I have a really nice new, never been used Ruger air pellet gun for sale w. a box of 400 pellets.
I can't cock it!! No one told me.


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## Magus

razorback said:


> Dh came in last night and told me I needed to see the garden!!
> 
> Me thinking we had new growth got all excited. Nope we got invaded, the deer came and took the tops off of everything except the corn (go figure) and the peppers.
> 
> My tomatoes look like someone came by with a weedeater and just topped them. My beans, my poor, poor beans are just stalks now.
> 
> And I have dogs, I have my dogs, the neighbors dog, the across the highway almost a mile away neighbors dog. (I give treats LOL!!) I'm sure they just sat back there and watched as the deer had their little open buffet. Not making a sound. Heck everytime we're in the garden the dogs are all playing in the dirt, laying this way and that way. Knowing my luck the hounds where probably out there with the dang deer.
> 
> So now I have to get creative and come up with a way to keep Bambie out of my beans and tomatoes LOL!!!


Save up some pee for about a week, get about a gallon.let it ferment until the very thought of it disgusts you.place the foul yeech into a garden sprayer and make a line about deer nose high around your garden on trees, posts etc, repeat after ever rain.you won't have any deer come near you.


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## PipLogan

Magus said:


> Save up some pee for about a week, get about a gallon.let it ferment until the very thought of it disgusts you.place the foul yeech into a garden sprayer and make a line about deer nose high around your garden on trees, posts etc, repeat after ever rain.you won't have any deer come near you.


This method also works for disgusting Mother in laws.


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## Davarm

Magus said:


> Save up some pee for about a week, get about a gallon.let it ferment until the very thought of it disgusts you.place the foul yeech into a garden sprayer and make a line about deer nose high around your garden on trees, posts etc, repeat after ever rain.you won't have any deer come near you.


It'd probably keep me out of my own garden too!


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## Dixie

I have never had the trouble with deer that my neighbor's have. I think the deer netting I have around the garden is the reason. Last year I had one make two holes in the netting, perfect size and spacing for antlers. I repaired it and no more trouble. Today was a different story. I noticed my sweet potato plants pulled up, I thought squirrels!, until I saw the hoof prints. Then I noticed some of my beans topped off and peas. Very randomly selected and thank goodness not too many. 
This year my neighbor used some chain linked fencing that we had lying in the backyard and installed it around the road side of the garden. (sometimes we have two legged varmints walking up our street) then finished the rest with the deer netting. I thought, " well, I'm going to have to spray all the plants with soap to keep the animals away". Then while watering the pumpkins I noticed how they got in. A branch had fallen and torn down a section of the netting. Boy I was happy to know the netting still worked! It does make you sick to see all your hard work taken away in a matter of minutes. I think I have a picture of the garden.


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## Davarm

JayJay said:


> When we leased a few acres in the country to a farmer for tobacco, he grew blackeye/purple hull peas between every 4 or 5 rows.
> Enough for the community--a lot!!
> ONE night..just one night, and every pea on those plants was gone!!:gaah:


Back before I put up the lights, my black eye peas were the constant targets of the deer, thats what prompted me to put them up. Now about all that gets after them are the grasshoppers and brown blister bugs, if I can figure out how to keep those away I'll have it made!


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## Gravlore

Magus said:


> Save up some pee for about a week, get about a gallon.let it ferment until the very thought of it disgusts you.place the foul yeech into a garden sprayer and make a line about deer nose high around your garden on trees, posts etc, repeat after ever rain.you won't have any deer come near you.


Too funny. I saved a jug of pee for a month and a half now and was told to spray ant hills with it. Think it might be better for what you suggest. Yeah its nasty but I am guessing that spraying old pee carries the same rule as peeing into the wind.

Thanks for the tip!


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## LincTex

Davarm said:


> Now about all that gets after them are the grasshoppers and brown blister bugs, if I can figure out how to keep those away I'll have it made!


Guinea Hens?


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## LincTex

Gravlore said:


> Yeah, it's nasty but I am guessing that spraying old pee carries the same rule as peeing into the wind.


You can dip little cloth pieces in it, hanging from a small wire. That way you don't have any danger of having the wind change direction!!


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## Magus

Whizzing near a tree stand is a sure way to wreck your hunting area[or someone Else's!]


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## LincTex

Magus said:


> Whizzing near a tree stand is a sure way to wreck your hunting area[or someone Else's!]


I know some folks that dug a deep pit, ran a length of PVC from the stand/blind down into it, and filled it with sand and gravel, to make stand urinal.That way they don't have to whizz near the stand.


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## neldarez

Davarm said:


> I put up a couple of poles(landscape timbers) and mounted lights with motion sensors on them. At the base of one pole, I plugged in a "boom box" playing talk radio and I turn it all on at night.
> 
> It solved the issue for me, havent had deer or even rabbit problems since I started using it, about 5 or 6 years now.


Well, last year we had 3 motion light sensors and 3 boom boxes set up-1 in each garden. At first they worked until the deer got use to them and I truly believe started using them for DATE NIGHT!!! I swear, I think they started coming so they could dance to the music in the spotlight and then go through the all you can eat buffet! This year, we built a fence.........vract:


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## razorback

Sorry I was MIA, it was a crazy weekend!!!

Thank You for all the suggestions!!! Not sure which way we're going to go yet, but yesterday late I noticed the dogs finally got wind of one of the little theives and chased it away. =D

But sadly over the weekend they hit the pepper plants and they hit them hard =( We're going to try and nurse everything back from the grave so keep your fingerscrossed for us. So far we still have watermelons, cucumbers and corn (for crying out loud corn, they ate one plant and I swear spit it out on the ground LOL!!!)


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## Grimm

Now I don't feel so bad about my dog digging up 1/3 of my potato crops!


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## brucehylton

When I was a child, we used quart canning jars to keep the deer out of the garden.


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## gabbyj310

I've heard that old fashion VHS tapes and old CD's work, works for birds during the day. A friend goes by the local "beauty shops" and collect hair to spread around too.That is suppose to help keep the deer out at night.


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## Davarm

LincTex said:


> Guinea Hens?


They are on my list of "Gets", a neighbor down the road has a bunch and some lay in my fence line where I have grapes growing. Thinking about gathering the eggs! That would be better than running them over with the lawnmower after they're rotten.


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## razorback

It looks like the garden might be making a come back 

And I saw the hounds chasing a deer the other day!! Still looking at fencing the garden though, can never be too careful.


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