Deer Guard ~ 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 nowhere 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 repellent”. We thought, what the heck, we would use it on the “salad bowls” and leave the rest of the yard to the deer. That was on the weekend and low and behold….we still have flowers in the planters!!
I suggest labeling the bottle, as it looks very much like lemonade!
- 1 egg
- ½ 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 (DO NOT USE ON FOOD PLANTS) using a spray jug or bottle.
- Reapply every 2 weeks or after heavy rains.
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!
UPDATE – How did the deer guard work – Photos from one month later. I found this worked really well, the only downside was I felt the need to reapply after every rain, not sure if that was necessary but I did not want to chance it!
pam says
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.
Monica says
lol…sorry Pam, just the deer repellent so far!
Multi-Testing Mommy says
LOL I need cat repellent!!!!
Monica says
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.
Multi-Testing Mommy says
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!
Vonda says
Blood meal in the garden works in edible and non edible gardens just sprinkle it around the plants the rabbits cats dogs and rodents will stay clear I just moved to city where deer roam free so I’m going to try it for them too I would think it would work.
Jyl says
Cats don’t like citrus. Try orange, lemon, grapefruit, etc peels in and around your garden. Seems to work for me!
Monica Parlee says
Great tip Jyl. We have done this inside the house when we put up a real Christmas tree but never thought of trying it outside, thank you!
Vonda says
I will so much love it if this works because I love staying natural great idea thanks!
Judy says
Go to the Dollar Store & buy cheap cayenne pepper. Sprinkle around your flower beds. Cats, squirrels, dogs will stay out.
Jennifer says
wow great idea, they are so pretty those deer but how annoying is that!
Monica says
I know Jennifer, they are so beautiful and graceful.
ashley picco (mamawee) says
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
Monica says
Wow…I never thought they would ever eat a rosebush…they’re so prickly!
Christine (@chancesmommy) says
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!
Monica says
Wow Christine, 33 deer!! Do they bother your gardens?
Kathryn says
Now I just need one that can be used on food plants; the deer demolish my poor pitiful little garden every year! LOL
Nancy T says
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.
Monica says
Oh no Kathryn, that’s too bad. I shouldn’t be complaining that the eat my flowers, could be worse!
Sabrina says
Can you spray this around the border of your garden to keep the deer from coming around it? I’m just thinking since it says you can’t spray it on food plants. Maybe the smell will keep them away if you spray the grass or border of the garden beds.
Monica Parlee says
I don’t have much experience using it with food plants. If it was a root vegetable, that you wouldn’t be eating the leaves of, I don’t see why you couldn’t use it on the tops. As far as spraying on the perimeter of a garden, I don’t know. However, it is quite strong smelling, so it may work. If you give it a try Sabrina, let me know how it works for you. Monica
Kim says
Good You spray the mixture on a cloth and hang it on plants and fruit trees that way the smell is there but the food plants aren’t being harmed? Could you put moth balls in panty hose and tie them around so the animals can’t get to them? Thanks for all the comments
Monica Parlee says
I’ve never tried spraying it on a cloth, but that may work and moth balls are also a great idea Kim!
Vonda says
I going to try blood meal it worked for cats and rabbits and mice I hope to see if it works for deer soon when I plant some untended plants I will keep you posted
Monica Parlee says
Yes please, let me know how it works!
orangeheromama says
They’re so beautiful, but that would be seriously annoying/frustrating!! Hope it works!
Monica says
They’re so gorgeous to look at and I do feel bad for them, they really don’t have many options.
Kathy says
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
Monica says
Please Kathy, let me know how it works for you!
sandy weinstein says
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.
Susan says
Sounds like a great idea. Could you use on fruit trees?
Monica Parlee says
Susan, because of the egg in the mixture, I would hesitate to use it on fruit trees when fruit is present.
Keaven Wright says
go to my fb page lol, the deer have eaten everything in the yard so I gave up lol but i am trying this for sure, and i will have my husband put ina bit of ” man -scent” too for good measure!lol
Monica Parlee says
lol…well the man scent will definitely help too! Good luck!
Betty819 says
No garlic in this solution? Anytime you have rain, you will need to respray, regardless of what type or brand of deer deterrent you use. We’ve had good luck with Liquid Fence but this year, I was not able to spray as often as I should. Never got an hydrangea blooms, they ate them all off. I try to have flowers that they are not known to eat but hey, if they are hungry enough, they’ll eat anything. So much new construction around here and they are being run out of the habitat so they walk right in the gates of our Sr. Citizens community when they are open..They’ll walk right down our street and when you go outside, they stand still and look at you as if they are thinking” Hey lady, hadn’t you ever seen a deer before; stop staring!”
linda says
Thank you so much !!!!! I have tried everything else and nothing has worked. I walk out there at 3 A.M. , when they like to feed, and turn on all the porch lights and they look at me like what is your problem ? I rush toward them and they just look at me again !!! I can’t even scare the dang things. I sure hope this works. They have eaten everything in my yard. If this doesn’t work, they will probably knock on my door and ask what’s in your fridge.
Monica Parlee says
hahaha…I hear you Linda! Our deer will come right up on our deck…we joke that they will soon be knocking at the door! I found this worked very well. My only caution to you is to reapply after rain.
Lori says
I have a remedy that actually improves with rain. We live in an area WITH LOTS OF WILDLIFE, ESPECIALLY DEER. I
DON’T MIND THEM EATING SOME OF MY BOUNTY BUT i REALLY HATED IT WHEN THE DEER ATE MY TULIPS BECAUSE THEY ARE MY EARLY RESPITE FROM WINTER. THE TULIPS WOULD BUD BUT AS SOON AS THEY OPENED THE DEER WOULD EAT THEM UP. (I hate caps lock) I found that a bar of Irish spring soap protects tulips within a circle 36″ in diameter. They do not like the smell. It smells even stronger after a rain and the bar lasts a long time. Soon the neighbors were asking me how I managed to have tulips blooming in my yard. Now so many of us use the soap the deer actually go elsewhere to dine!
Monica Parlee says
Oh my goodness, that is so good to know Lori! Like you, I don’t mind them eating many things in the garden, but I would like to have just a little bit of colour! I had heard of using Irish Spring soap but never knew anyone who tried it. I am definitely going to buy some and put it around my garden. I had given up on tulips so don’t have any of those, but last evening I noticed the little deer had eaten my lilies right down to the ground. I will be trying your trick.
Thank you so much!
Monica
Rachel says
Do you spray this on the plants or just on the planter?
Monica Parlee says
I spray the plants themselves Rachel.
Kristi says
And refrigerate the unused portion I assume?
Monica Parlee says
Yes Kristi, definitely label and refrigerate the unused portion.
Eileen says
We love our deer and have very few plants that are outside our deer fenced garden area. They do not eat Pompous Grass, Rosemary, or Red Hot Pokers, but they will keep day lilies from blooming, even though they won’t eat the whole plants. So I am hoping I can save my daylilies with this.
Monica Parlee says
Give it a try Eileen, it should work, good luck!
Barb says
I started using this recipe this year and so far so good even with the fawns, I reapply once a weeks
Monica Parlee says
That’s excellent, Barb, thanks so much for letting me!
Brenda Farrell says
Hello everyone! Just moved to a heavily populated deer resort :-p. Like most on here, I love them, they are beautiful but would like to have some color. Has anyone had any issues with flies after using this recipe? Just wondering if the egg + heat will bring them out or if the dish soap deters them as well?
Thanks.
Brenda
Monica Parlee says
Hi Brenda, I have used this many times and have never had an issue with flies. However, I do live on Canada’s east coast, which is not super hot in the summer! Monica
Jan Kasuboske says
We put pieces of Iris Spring soap around our hostas and that seems to work. One year before I started doing that, the deer ate the hosts all the way to the ground. Of course they did not come back that year but they were fine the next year. Been using the Irish Spring ever since. I am sure they don’t like the smell but it smells better than mothballs
Monica Parlee says
Great tip, thanks so much, Jan!