I think its called a scare crow. Its a water sprinkler with an electric eye. It sprays the deer when it detects the motion.
A .22 with a suppressor and subsonic rounds.
No the most humane solution, but the population will run off and die.
I have heard that they don’t like strong odors and some have suggested using Irish Spring soap placed at intervals around the garden.
I never tried it.
Rumor has it if the men in the family water the perimeter of the garden, if you get my drift, that is supposed to be effective.
Dilute Murphys oil soap + 1 egg, let ‘mellow’ in the sun, spray on or around plants. Nasty, nasty smelling stuff. Keeps the deer from eating our daylillies. You have to reapply after it rains.
My dad’s Browning......
Build a tree stand.
Tgree ways that work, use them seperately or all together:
1) An old folk remedy that works.
Save human urine and place in a clean discarded milk jug. Do not dilute. The urine, when sprayed or sprinkled around plants weekly will prevent them from eating the plants.
The rain wasjes it away and does not harm any plants that may be harvested, a simple washing cleans them up.
This has worked in Canada, USA and in Japan against deer that enter gardens to eat produce.
2) The other thing that works is to put a dog in your garden at night, if it is fenced in , this works quite well.Even if the dog is little, the bark simply puts the deer off their food.
3) Finally there is the ancient remedy that worlks quite well. It a small clicking fountain called Shishi odoshi. It spooks deer and keeps them away. Shishi odoshi can be ordered in online.
https://www.amazon.ca/Aquascape-78306-Shishi-Odoshi-Inspired-Poly-Resin/dp/B07NQR4G88
https://www.amazon.ca/Bamboo-Accents-Rocking-Fountain-Shishi/dp/B001CS4S0W
I have also had success against critters by wrapping chicken wire around the tomato cages. I make sure to bend the loose points outward in a direction that will be sure to greet the critter if they try to snack on the garden.
A friend had this problem and installed a motion activated sprinkler. He also put a camera in place to watch what happens, and it definitely works….when the sprinkler goes off right next to the deer they bolt and then stay away for many days.
Bags of human hair that you can get for free at barber shop or hair salons.
Are you sure the deer are eating the tomato plants?
My experience is most animals don’t eat tomato plants. Usually insects, large tomato worms.
If you’re sure it’s deer, buy some coyote piss.
Another suggestion...
Visit YouTube and search for “deer fence fish line”. Look for the videos that detail the use of 30lb fish line.
I’ve used 30lb fish line on those green steel fence stakes successfully around our bushes in the front yard. Something about 30lb specifically. Deer can’t see it and it spooks them when they press into it. They won’t jump over it because they don’t know how high it is. It’s strong enough to not break. The fence is also somewhat invisible to the neighbors.
Did I mention...I hate deer?
Just be careful not to take all advice given here.
Apparently some here think Poaching is ok.
You need a hunting license and only hunt during the correct season.
Here in Northern Michigan, if you start shooting deer eating from your garden that you can secure with chicken wire, you’d be run out of town.
People hunt up here for meat, for their food.
Killing deer and letting them go to waste gives real hunters a bad name.
Coyote urine works, but it’s expensive. I have a neighbor who supposedly collects his own urine and uses that. I will never eat any tomatoes from his garden..
I was told Bloodmeal works. Smells like a predator to them.
Used it once, and it did seem to work.
Around your garden put chickenwire face down. You can use old 2X4s to keep it from rolling up.
Deer HATE standing on it. Will leave your garden alone.
For my vegetable garden, I bought a 1 gallon sprayer, fill it most of the way with water, put in a few squirts of dish soap. If you put the soap in first, you get too many suds and it is hard to put the water in later. Then, I had some tobasco sauce and a blended egg. Blend the egg well or it will stop up the nozzle. Use it all up and then clean out the sprayer well. Re-apply periodically or after a rain.
The fence only needs to be eight feet high, but seven may work. Understand that if the deer smell food, they will try to get under the fence, and they are known to be good at doing that. The problem in suburban areas is that an eight foot fence likely violates zoning codes. To avoid problems with the code enforcement nazis, its best to categorize an eight foot fence as a “deer exclusion device” rather than a fence. Another option I found online was to string up monofilament line that the deer won’t see, but it will spook them when they try to cross it.
Unfortunately, over development means the deer stop being hunted in suburban areas, and they lose their fear of humans. As a result, coyotes become their only natural predator, and the excess population get hit by automobiles. Local governments need to understand that feeding the deer, and allowing them to eat the garden, can result in injuries and fatalities from car crashes, and stop contributing to the problem.
30-30
Mind shift. No longer will they be infernal.
This year one doe who just a wee fawn herself a few seasons ago, is now a first time mom!
I'm so proud of Lulu, all grown up. I leave the lower sprouts on their favorite bushes and they do the clipping for me.
Oh, the fawn's name is Jubilee. Such a precious little dolly.
Jubilee... when folks are all gonna get back what's coming to them!
😉