Keeping out the deer

[curly_kate]

We are moving in several weeks to the farm of our dreams! (Yay!) For some unknown reason, deer have not bothered us at our current place, but I'm certain that luck won't hold at the new place. What do you recommend as the best way to keep deer out of our garden? We have resigned ourselves to spending some money on it, if it means the deer will stay out.

 

[4grandbabies]

I sure look forward to hearing the answers to this one.
Deer are very intelligent..so I hear. I have heard of tying bars of soap around the garden, the smell is too"human for them" but actually I think after a while they figure most things out. One possibility, is a good dog!

 

[patandchickens]

If it is a small area e.g. a 20x20 veg garden, your best bet is a very visible, fairly strong fence at least 7' tall (higher is better but engineering becomes tougher)

If the area is too large for a mesh deer-fence to be feasible/affordable, your best bet is to probably ask around locally and see what works for people *locally*. I know of no absolutely sure bets (except maybe for certain very serious configurations of electric fence, which can still fail if they don't see it and accidentally crash through). In many areas, tying little sachets of Irish Spring or Cashmere brand soap to individual plants can give you some protection for those particular plants. Other options exist but are unreliable or their results vary from place to place.

Best of luck,

Pat

 

[wsmoak]

We installed deer and orchard fence around the garden. Fairly light gauge wire, very small openings at the bottom to keep out the rabbits and chickens, graduating to larger openings towards the top.
http://www.redbrand.com/Products/DeerWildlifeFence/DeerOrchard.aspx

If the deer become a problem I'll run electric tape about 3' outside the fence on step-in posts (about 3' tall). I think there was an organic gardening article that pointed out deer don't have good depth perception and won't try to jump a fence with both width and height.

-Wendy

 

[CountryGirl]

When we had a dog we had no problem with deer. Now that we have no dog we have had to resort to an electric fence. If I ever get chickens I would like to try a chicken moat. That's a chicken run that surrounds your garden. It's about 6 feet high and about 4 to 5 feet wide. The chickens eat the bugs before they get to your garden and the deer can't jump something that is too wide.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've tried a few things. Cutting Irish Spring soap into small chunks and scattering it through my sweet potatoes. They were back two nights later and finished wiping them out. Scattering dog hair from brushing the dogs around young trees. That may have deterred them a few days, certainly not effective after a few weeks. I grew hot pepper, dried it and made a powder, then mixed that with water in a blender. I sprayed that on some stuff. It may have helped, until it rained. Their visits are irregular so I am sometimes not sure if something worked or they just did not come by.

I finally wound up putting a 10' high fence around the 50' x 75' garden and a smaller fence around any fruit, nut, or maple tree I want to grow. If the deer are truly a problem at your new place, I suggest standard sized fruit trees, not dwarf or semi-dwarf. At least some of the fruit will be up out of their reach once the tree is grown, but you may need a fence around the tree to allow it to grow big enough before they eat it and kill it.

It is not unusual during winter and spring, until the herds split up for the does to drop their fawns, for us to see a dozen or more in the pasture across the road during the middle of the day. In the evening, we have counted over 50 visible at one time. The gentleman that owns the land only allows trophy buck hunting; no does or young bucks. The herds are never effectively thinned out.

So for us they are a problem, but a friend that lives in what I would call an equally "country" area a couple of miles away, hardly ever sees one. Here's hoping you fall in her category instead of mine.

 

[Collector]

GOOD LUCK, the only thing That is 100% that I know of is a high fence. Anything less is flirting with disaster IMHO. Maybe you can start collecting supplies now to build a fence. Finding things on CL and yard sales and stuff just a thought.

 

[lesa]

Congrats on the farm!! I am green with envy!
I am right next to a highway, in the middle of the city- and deer are a big problem. The first year I gardened, I just had a small fence. Every morning I would go out and examine the deer prints and the damage. Now, whenever I plant- I plant a fence first!
If I lived in the country- I would try to afford the deer fencing that Wendy mentions. It really doesn't show up, and it keeps everything safe.
They are such beautiful creatures, but such a menace in the garden!
Good luck!

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

When we had a dog we had no problem with deer. Now that we have no dog we have had to resort to an electric fence. If I ever get chickens I would like to try a chicken moat. That's a chicken run that surrounds your garden. It's about 6 feet high and about 4 to 5 feet wide. The chickens eat the bugs before they get to your garden and the deer can't jump something that is too wide.

I want a chicken moat as well - I think they are so fun!!! But a major one won't be happening anytime soon with the way the chicken house and yard and garden are configured currently.

So, I am considering taking back a spot (maybe 8x8) in the center of the 30x30 chicken yard and putting a small garden area there. It would be a good place to use the duck pond water, and talk about prime soil!! I just can't decide what to plant there. Haa!

 

[journey11]

Rural deer are not as determined as "city" deer because food is so readily available. So this is what has worked for me..... My 2500 sq. ft. garden is not fenced at all. I use this effective and economical homemade version of Liquid Fence once things really get to growing in the garden. Last year I had no deer problems at all, but in the past, when I observe that they've been nipping at things (usually they go for the tomatoes first), then I set up a perimeter using 30 lb. test fishing line strung tightly between stakes. One line out low about 18" off the ground and another line about 2-3 feet inward from that at 3 feet high. They can't see it and it freaks them out to think their feet will get tangled and caught.

Now city folks require more desperate measures! A combination of electric fencing usually, scare tactics and a physical barrier. I don't know why, but they'll eat things in the city that they're not supposed to eat and won't otherwise bother in the country.

Around here, my own chickens are a bigger threat to my garden than the deer! Anything small like rabbits and whistle-pigs , we can just shoot them and be done with it.