Keeping Deer Away from Your Plants

If you have mature plants in your garden or landscaper that are being eaten by deer– it’s time to take action! But, doing so, we like to use a solution that is humane as well as effective. There are several deer repellents that can be effective and as well as easy to use.

The most effective strategy to control deer is the use of repellents that offend two or more senses. Therefore, if a plant both tastes and smells offensive to the deer they will avoid the general area.

The folks at Yardiac.com recommend using two deer deterrents together (choosing one that offends the sense of smell and another that offends the deer’s sense of taste).

Here is one combination they recommend:

Tree Guard or Hot Pepper Wax used in conjunction with Coyote Urine.

Using two products will activate the sense of smell and taste and encourage the deer to move on to another area. You can learn more about these products at Yardiac.com’s animal repellent department.

Deer hate hot and spicy foods

One particularly effective approach is the use hot pepper wax. Hot pepper wax combines hot cayenne pepper extract in a food-grade wax. Unlike many solutions, this wax will not wash off of your plants for several weeks.

Applying hot pepper wax to the surfaces of your plants and then hanging dispensers filled with Coyote Urine is possibly the most effective method of protecting your plants from deer browsing. Why do predator urine and hot pepper wax work best when used together? Predator urine works on the sense of smell, alerting the deer to possible danger, while hot pepper wax is offensive to the sense of taste. The combination makes a powerful one-two punch that is often quite effective in getting deer to move on to another grazing area.

Click here to see Yardiac’s Deer Repellent Department