Posted on 08/14/2022 5:07:03 AM PDT by GaltAdonis
Sunday morning 6:50AM -
Started my day by making a cup of coffee.
The blinds were slightly open - I could see out.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye -
Not A deer - BUT TWO young does happily munching my tomato plants.
DANG-IT!
In my current locale I am not going to open fire on them
and risk the neighbors calling law enforcement -
discharging a gun HERE is sort of illegal.
"BUT OFFICER, IT WAS SELF DEFENSE! The deer were threatening me!!"
No, no - not going to go there...
So I go out the door and yell: "HEY! GET OUT!!!"
One deer ran away immediately.
The other cocked it head to the side (with a tomato in mouth)
and stared at me.
I begin advancing, while yelling and waving my arms -
the deer drops the tomato, retreats 30 feet, stops at
the edge of the woods - and stares at me.
I advanced again - and the deer runs off to join the other one it the woods.
So - short of firearms/explosives/poisons/20-foot tall fences -
HOW CAN I REPEL THESE INFERNAL BEASTS?
Ideas anybody?
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.
Our neighbor's dog loves green tomatoes.
It'll eat ripe ones too, but not as much.
I put up an electric fence to keep the dog out.
The first contact with the fence was quite entertaining.
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.
Or a subsonic pellet gun so as not to draw attention. After a few shots in the ass, Bambi will learn that eating tomato plants is painful.
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
Yes - AND chipmunks.
I stood ten feet away from a deer this morning that had a
tomato in it's mouth - head cocked to one side staring at me -
if it could speak, I'm sure it would have said:
"What? What's your problem?".
And I recognize the chipmunk tooth marks on the half-eaten
tomatoes left on the lawn.
But I have been using a trap for them.
I've gotten two so far - one was a huge fat sucker -
I'm sure his belly was totally full of green tomatoes.
The deer won't quite fit into the bucket trap, however.
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!
😉
Subsonic 300 blackout with a silencer.
Irish Spring soap also works well.
There are certain plants that tend to repel deer, and I have found that planting the repellant plants around tomato plants and other kinds of "deer candy" will keep the deer away. Try surrounding your garden with rosemary, oregano, russian sage, lavender, and marigolds.
Get a dog.
https://countrypests.com/how-can-i-keep-raccoons-away-from-my-food/
"When you camp or go hiking, leave the scented stuff behind and bring odorless toiletries. Even toothpaste can bring raccoons near because they love the smell of mint. If you have things that you can’t leave at home, make sure that you store them with the same security that you store your food."
30-06
Analogous to leaving open paint cans out for the toddlers to get a hold of, and then eating the nuisance children.
There's a better way!
Oh, gotta run, to check up on the little red squirrel mom. She has her favorite sippy station and fuel stop! I'll snuggle a chicken or two while I'm out there... those girls need love too.
I use a lot of methods. It takes a combination of methods, you have to use them together, and use them religiously. You will find that no one method works and the deer get used to anything.
1. Repellants (Deer Out, Bobbex, Liquid Fence, Plant Sydd). You spray these on that’s. You have to apply them often (I do every three days, our max). The labels say they last a month, but that is fanciful. Plat Skydd is pure pig’s blood. I can mix a batch and spray all of our gardens in 15 minutes.
2. Deer Scram. You put these granules down on the ground in bands around the property.
3. Motion activated deer chasing sprinklers (Orbit’s “Enforcer”).
4. Fake animals. I use a plastic coyote and a couple of flamingos. Move them every day. I add coyote urine around the coyote. The neighbors are always looking for the coyote in new spots. I’ve forgotten about him, turned around and gotten startled myself.
5. Get a garden whirligig that moves in the wind. I got mine half off at an end of summer sale (already!).Deer don’t like motion. Get Mylar foil streamers for more motion.
6. Make an invisible fishing line fence. Look it up on the web. I haven’t tried this yet.
7. The Wireless Deer Fence socks the deer on the tongue and lips. The manufacturer says “It is a deer training system with a lasting effect, unlike sprays and smell deterrents that are washed away with rain or sprinklers. When a deer in the area is attracted by the sweet smell of the post it will touch the post and it will receive a startling shock on its very sensitive nose or tongue.” My neighbor objected because her young granddaughters were visiting, so I took them down. I don’t know if they work yet.
8. Whatever methods you use, start them early in spring. Once the deer have memorized their food locations and trails, it’s a lot harder to stop them.
9. Talk to your city council about thinning the herd. Our town does this every winter. Keep it quiet so people don’t object. A few years back we had up to 26 visiting our property. It is now down to about three does, one buck and then, and three fawns. The few we have left generally give our property a wide berth and walk past it.
10. I did find a few munched geraniums this week. Grrrrr!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.