deer repellent

What is a good method or repellent to keep deer from damaging ornamental shrubs ? Thanks .

Bow or Rifle season. All kinds of crap on the market for the job, none work particularly well.

Yeah they live in the middle of the woods and have trouble keeping the deer out of their shrubs . I say just one of the things you have to put up with living in the country . I did'nt know if anybody had any success with any type repellents or knew of any deterrents .

SFE spray, but wouldn't want it too close to my house.

OR.... brush/baste with a paint brush....plants/ bushes with a ground up jalapeno and water mix or really anything like a super spicy mustard. Only real issue is after a rain....re-apply.

I use IRISH SPRING SOAP due to them Eating all the Wifes Flowers....Put the Bar of soap in a old sock put by Flowers....I also use Human Hair from a beauty Shop that works also....Just spread the Hair around....DEER HATE THEM BOTH.....Works for me...Good luck .

The only thing I heard that work is a sprinkler with a motion detector on it, the spray when the deer get close, pricy.

Thanks for the tips guy's . I seen the sprinklers and they seemed like a pretty good idea but they are pricey .

This thread makes me think about a video a colleague took years ago on a research project. The field was being
protected by propane canons.

In reviewing the footage, it was possible for them to see that right before the firing of the timed blast, there was
an audible sound the deer could hear.

They would simply brace themselves for a moment and once it blasted, they'd go back to grazing.....

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Any deterrent is only as good as it can be when facing not only species who learn quickly and adapt and adjust, but also
what is the pressure level in terms of how many similar food items are available in the area? Is every house on the street lined with similar tasty foliage, or are you the only ones? If you are the only ones or one of few, then that pressure may be high enough that even being physically assailed isn't going to stop them from raiding the yard.

For some animals, some types of deterrents are offensive enough that they can have enough impact to scatter them or keep the pressure off.

I like the water scarecrows for animals who don't want to be wet or hit with water (skunks) but for deer, raccoon, etc... I'd keep my cash in my wallet!

The most foolproof long term option is to adjust what you plant to unpalatable items, native plants who have evolved with the local wildlife and have developed nasty bitter tastes they don't care for, etc...

Or, adopt a rescue dog, install a good invisible fence and let the pup do the work! There are a fair amount organic and other farms who have trained dogs to a perimeter and allow them to do the work of hazing and harassing the wildlife.

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Lots of cash going into deterrents, every day, all over the country... Somewhere there is a guy on a private island built on plastic owls, mothballs, and of course sonic deterrents!

Their house is smack dab right in the middle of the woods with acres and acres of woods . It's kind of joke to me that people live in the woods and then complain when the wildlife come in their yards .

We live "with " the deer and my wife uses Milorganic fertilizer . It's made from the sewage plants in Milwaukee I think.. Anyway it doesn't smell like what you think it would, but the deer DON'T LIKE IT !!! It works for us very well >

This works for me.

I have a garden 30 feet from a deer trail. Each year I put Irish Spring soap bars, regular, in cloth scraps and hang them on a wire about 8 - 10 feet apart around my garden. This is going on the 4th year. They will penetrate in December if not renewed but garden finished by then except onions and they will eat them off below the ground.

If I had shrubs I would hang it inside the shrubs with the same spacing.

TrapperKent