Until a couple of days ago, we had some pretty lush looking planters on either side of the garage door…notice my use of the word “had”. The poor deer have come to think of our planters and flower gardens as one big salad bowl. I don’t blame them, massive subdivisions have sprouted up overnight and the deer have no where to go.
This is part of the herd, sorry for the winter shot. The deer have been in stealth mode lately, hiding out and having babies!!
I don’t mind them grazing on my grass like small herds of sheep and munching the cedar trees clear to the trunk. I rarely complain when they empty the bird feeder nightly or even when they eat the new shoots and buds on our three big lily plants {honestly, I can’t even remember their colour it’s been so long since I saw a flower…lol} But please little deer, leave me just a few flowers..!!
My husband was listening to the CBC one morning and heard about a recipe for a “deer repellant”. We thought, what the heck, we would use it on the “salad bowls” and leave the reat of the yard to the deer. That was on the week-end and low and behold….we still have flowers in the planters!!
Deer Guard
1 egg 1/2 cup milk 1 Tbsp. cooking oil 1 Tbsp. liquid dish soap 1 gallon of water Beat egg and milk together, add cooking oil, detergent and water. Stir or shake well. Store in the refrigerator in a covered 1 gallon container. Apply liquid to plants (EXCEPT FOOD PLANTS) using a spray jug or bottle. Reapply every 2 weeks or after heavy rains.
I suggest labelling the bottle, as it looks very much like lemonade!!!
If you have deer who like to dine at your fine establishment, give it a try, my fingers are crossed and I’ll keep you updated!
Brilliant! We have deer at the end of the street, but they have never bothered us. Now, if you have a stray cat/raccoon/skunk repellent I would love to hear it.
lol…sorry Pam, just the deer repellent so far!
LOL I need cat repellent!!!!
I’ve never tried this, but my mom used to say if you put moth balls in and around your garden, they would keep cats away.
My Mom used to do that to keep the raccoons away – but man do they ever smell! Until my kids are older, I can’t do that, but thanks for the tip!
wow great idea, they are so pretty those deer but how annoying is that!
I know Jennifer, they are so beautiful and graceful.
that’s an awesome idea – we don’t have plants that get eaten anymore….we took out our rosebushes as they were deer food for awhile. Too bad I hadn’t known about this a few years ago
Wow…I never thought they would ever eat a rosebush…they’re so prickly!
WOW! I’ll have to bookmark this! We have LOTS of deer on our property. Last Thanksgiving we had 33 deer in our back field!
Wow Christine, 33 deer!! Do they bother your gardens?
Now I just need one that can be used on food plants; the deer demolish my poor pitiful little garden every year! LOL
Kathryn – my Grandma (lived in Muskoka Ontario) would tie hair (either human or from their dog – after a haircut of course) around the perimeter of her garden on a string that was attached to stakes. It kept the deer out of her ‘food’ garden.
Oh no Kathryn, that’s too bad. I shouldn’t be complaining that the eat my flowers, could be worse!
They’re so beautiful, but that would be seriously annoying/frustrating!! Hope it works!
They’re so gorgeous to look at and I do feel bad for them, they really don’t have many options.
I think I’ll use this on Bob’s Lily Trees, so they don’t suffer the same fate as last year from the deer.
I’ll let you know how it worked. They can graze on the other 6 acres of plants and grasses
Kathy at Oak Lawn Images
Please Kathy, let me know how it works for you!
i have tried something similar, but the dogs liked the eggs.
if you use mothballs around your house, make sure your pets cant get to them…can kill or make them very, very sick if eat them….i use them around my house outside, but put them in the little cages or plastic bags so my animals cant get them….they are supposed to keep snakes away as well as other insects, etc.