Deer look innocent and enchanting, so it’s no surprise why first-time gardeners or people who are new to the neighborhood are excited to see them in their yards. On the other hand, as deer decimate their fruit and decorative trees, shrubs, and garden, these people will regret letting them enter their yards.
Most gardeners living in areas with a number of deer has a history of being challenged to control them. You may see these gardeners clapping their hands to scare them away from their vegetable garden.
While deer find a garden full of vegetables tasty, your daisies, geraniums, and roses are the perfect desserts for them. So, if you will not visit and check your yard more frequently, you’ll feel devastated after seeing the damage they have done to your property.
Although you can use commercial products to keep deer out of your yard, trying natural methods is a better decision. Besides, spraying chemicals can harm your family members and pets.
If deer are pestering your yard, then try the following methods:
Some Methods to Keep Deer Out of Your Yard
Add Thick Layer of Plants with Strong Aroma
You can add a thick layer of plants with a strong aroma to your garden. Spring is the best season to plant marigolds and lavender. You can mix them with other fragrant herbs such as catnip, oregano, and mint.
They will hesitate to walk through these plants because the scent will stay on their legs. As a result, it would be hard for them to assess their environment and spot predators. The unusual smell of these flowering plants can hinder their ability to find their food.
Install a Motion-Activated Sprinkler
If the budget allows, you can install an underground sprinkler system on a timer like the motion-activated water sprinkler. This kind of sprinkler system is helpful in keeping deer away from your yard.
There are plenty of motion-activated sprinklers that are specially designed to repel animals. You can go for the one that can detect movements through infrared technology, be it during daytime or nighttime. Plus, the sprinkler should also be environmentally friendly, easy to set up, and adjustable.
Sprinkle Soap
Are you familiar with the Irish Spring soap? You use the bright green one and cut it into small cubes, or the size should be small enough to be sprinkled easily into the ground. Make sure to skewer it around the plants. This will interfere with the deer from munching the early plants.
Meanwhile, when using a wooden skewer, you can adjust its height to just above the budding plants. This will interfere with the deer from munching the early plants. You can also try shaving the soap using a long-grain grater and spread it around the seedlings.
The soap will only disintegrate when it rains so that it will last for about a month. Don’t worry. It will not negatively affect your plants. Instead, it will dehydrate bugs or aphids lurking in the soil.
Spray Something Stinky
Like other animals like squirrels, deer dislike any unpleasant smell. To deter them from destroying your property, especially munching on your garden, you can make a homemade spray that is smelly or stinky. This spray is effective in keeping them out of your garden as immediately as possible.
To make this homemade spray, mix 1 tablespoon of dish soap, 1 egg, and a cup of milk in a gallon jug. Fill the rest of the container with water. For extra deterring power, you can mix it with hot peppers. Keep it out in the sun during the daytime to ensure that the aroma is flowing perfectly.
The best time to spray this homemade repellent is during nighttime. When your yard smells the worst, you are out of the way. The good thing about this spray is that it will not harm your plants, instead, it protects them against ground critters.
Add Levels to the Yard
Keep your yard difficult to navigate by adding levels to it. Since deep don’t feel like climbing up or down slopes or steep, you can easily deter them by adding stacked chopped wood, terraces, or sunken beds to your landscape.
Deer are known to be afraid of climbing and jumping on these added levels. As a result, they will go somewhere else. You can also keep your potted plants up on the porch or deck. Then, expect that deep will not attempt climbing just to reach them.
Conclusion
If you keep your yard a comfortable to visit, deer will keep on coming back. So, it is best to make your property less appealing to them. They prefer areas that are easy to reach and navigate and easy to find food. Do not let them enjoy hanging out in your yard and destroy your property, especially the garden area. Consider the above simple methods, and deer will not attempt to comeback in your yard.