Help! Deer are eating all my...

Hi Everyone,

I love the deer at the cabin (there are lots!), but lately they've taken to eating all the buds off the top of my roses!  

Any suggestions on how I can get them to stop thinking of my rose garden as their special salad?

There are a couple of brand names; I don't recall the names now, that are spray products that repel rabbits and deer.  I've seen it in department stores and hardware stores.  It smells awful until it dries and has to be applied again after a rain, but it works very well.

I have had luck with spraying on dish soap diluted with water in a spray bottle that repells deer from my apple tree also.  That also had to be applied again after a rain.

Hope that helps.

Yes, I know what you mean, I've tried some of those too.  But they smell terrible (Do not spray it on your flowers on the deck - oops!)

For low-growing plants like hostas, I've had some luck with Irish Spring soap.  Apparently deer don't like the smell. You just take bars of soap and ring your garden with bars of soap, say every two feet.  It seems to have worked on my deer at least for the low gardens.  And your garden sure smells FRESH after a rain.

But my roses are quite tall and the deer just clip the tips and buds right off. 

Anybody have any luck with some of those cayenne pepper mixtures?

heard two ways to keep deer away on the radio yesterday. 1.   bars of irish spring soap placed 2 to 3 feet apart around the area.  2.  coyote urine from a hunting supply store.

A barking Irish Setter helps keep the deer away too!

I've been caging up all our vulnerable plants, shrubs & saplings. Recently, I planted a couple sunflowers. I thought they'd be immune to the deer, but the deer are munching on those too! So now, I've caged up our sunflowers too. 

I just planted a flowering crabapple in my front yard. I should probably look into whether or not deer find them delicious.

Last summer, I was sitting on the deck, on a perfect summer day, while I was visiting my sister in law's cabin in the woods. I noticed  a bunch of fabric softener sheets around the yard and wondered what was going on. Well, I found out that she used them to ward off deer away from her garden and flower beds! I don't know if it works since I did not try it myself but it might it worth trying. She swears by it...let me know if it works!

Our place is located on a giant tree farm.  Not Christmas trees but timber trees.  We have deer galore and even a vast garden.  We struggle every year with this problem.

Here is what I have learned.

If you cannot repel them successfully over an extended period of time you might consider taking-up hunting and cultivating a taste for venison.

Seriously, it's healthy for both you and the environment.

I am no fan of venison but I couldn't agree more with your suggestion Swamp Gas. Hunting will probably help keep the deer population down and reduce the increasing spread of Lyme Disease.

Whether we drive up the shores of Lake Superior to my family's lakehome or to our friend's cabin in Wisconsin, deer are ubiquitous. You can't sneeze without seeing one bouncing on the side of the road, or in front of your car, or snacking on plants in your garden! I even see them on my running trek, early in the morning, unafraid by human presence.

I feel concerned about the exploding deer population and the prevalence of Lyme Disease. I know several people in my social circle who have been exposed to it. Fortunately, some of them found the tick early enough and got treatment to counteract the effects of the disease. However, one of them is now unable to work because he did not notice the tick early enough.  After several testings, he found out that it was not MS, as he was told by one doctor, but full blown Lyme Disease. He's been living with the adverse effects of the malady for a couple of years.

I have become more careful and maybe a little bit more paranoid about the risks I must admit, but I am always cautious  and check the whole family whenever we go hiking in woodsy areas or whether we simply relax at the cabin or the lakehome. 

I don't mean to go on a rant about Lyme Disease but the risks are more prevalent than we think nowadays, and I strongly believe controlling the deer population may help limit the spread of the disease. Not to be cliché, but prevention is the best remedy!