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hendi_alex
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Deer found my garden plot.

Not much damage so far, but once they find a location, the deer can be fairly persistent, and love to eat most everything that both flower gardeners and vegetable gardeners tend to grow. Think I'll buy a couple of those motion ativated sprinkler devices. Anyone have success with those?

kylie77
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Oh no, I hope the sprinklers work :(.

2cents
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An uncle lives in deer country.
Swears to human fecal in the 4 corners of the garden.
Has a 5 gallon bucket in the garage with a seat. Keeps it clean.
Once a week picks a corner and rotates once a week.
Deer rome the neighbor's gardens, but stay out of his.
20 years of success, says he's sticking with it as long as he has a garden.

We just don't have as many deer in our area. I have't had the problem, but my compost has human urea. Don't know if it is having any affect.

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applestar
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Oh dear. ( :oops: that was unintentional :lol: ) Hope you find a good solution.

I keep expecting my nemesis the groundHOG to come back. I've been pondering some ideas -- how about motion activated/heat sensor security light and I'm wondering if there's such a thing as a motion activated siren burst? If I was clever, I would like to rig a motion/heat activated switch to turn on a radio tuned to a news/talk station for a few minutes, but I've no idea how to go about it. :idea:)

I've heard that those sprinkler/scarecrows work. Good luck!

ecofarmer
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applestar wrote:I keep expecting my nemesis the groundHOG to come back. I've been pondering some ideas -- how about motion activated/heat sensor security light and I'm wondering if there's such a thing as a motion activated siren burst? If I was clever, I would like to rig a motion/heat activated switch to turn on a radio tuned to a news/talk station for a few minutes, but I've no idea how to go about it.
So you need to wire a motion detector into an outlet to plug in an old radio. If you have a radio then I could wire up the rest for about $20.00 in an hour.

When we gardened we used an electric fence for the deer and netting for the smaller stuff.

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dannah19
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I was recently reading a book, "the $64 Tomato". There was a humorous little vignette about someone using a motion-activated singing bass wall ornament in the garden as an effective deer repellent. We live in the city so we don't have this problem and I have no idea if it would work ... but if you happen to have one laying around, may be worth a try.

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Gary350
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Electric fence will work, it won't hurt the deer either. Cheap electric fence is $30 at TSC.

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applestar
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That's funny! I had the same idea and went looking for DH's bass-on-a-plaque, but the one he had was an older model that didn't sing -- just flapped around a little! :lol:

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rainbowgardener
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You can also quite cheaply and easily hook your electric fence to solar panel, so it's ecofriendly.

a68shaker
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I go to the local salon and get the hair that is cut from one day, and put it around the plot , there is usalyy enough for the whole season, I put it out about once a week about a small hand full at every corner

Maryann
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I have been told that grated (like cheese) ZEST works good on the perimiter, I suppose I will have to change soaps weekly so they think its another clean person hanging around. I have heard about the human hair before.
now what is this about gophers?

~maryann~

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rootsy
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Deer are a real issue here for me... They'll walk down a row of sweet corn and pull the tassel right out of the whorl and spit it on the ground... Good thing corn is planted with a bunch of siblings... Also trample the pumpkin vines pretty well which gets under my skin... Pretty much stay out of everything else for the most part...

Unless you put a fence up that is over 10 feet high deer can make it over that in a single bound if they desire... More than once I've had to replace insulators on electric fencing due to deer running into the wire at night too...

I've also peed in the woods during deer season in the past and had a buck walk right up to it for a sniff and a lick...

How effective heavily human scented clothing left in the garden is I am not sure... but it is worth a try... But rotate regularly with freshly scented clothing I'd think.

Motion lights and sound may deter them for a bit but eventually they'll get used to it and disregard it as "normal". It is more than likely the same deer or group of deer visiting nightly.

A dog that barks at "strange" things in the night would be a good deterrent if you can handle the noise...

Unfortunately we have modified the natural habitat of the deer and they thrive in the modified habitat we have provided... plenty of food that is easily accessible and highly nutritious... Ample cover... All in livable climates... No matter how heavily they are hunted or controlled nor how many vehicles are wrecked they'll always be a nuisance to some degree...

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hendi_alex
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Interesting, deer seems to have drifted away. Saw evidence of it in the yard for a few days, with some garden munching on the last day. Then it decided to go elsewhere. Odd that I don't have more problems with deer here in the yard. Am very rural with my property located alongside several thousand acres that have very low home density and with many parcels of 500 acres or more with no homes at all.

worldharmony
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We have so many deer in our area! I recorded up to 7 deer one evening feasting on the bushes and plants in the back yard before we put our garden in. We just planted and sowed outside this past weekend up here in Ohio and poured bloodmeal (it's a fine black powder) along the perimeter of our beds, and Liquid Fence (predator urine spray) around the entire garden. Both are organic products that are safe for plants and animals, which was important to us.

Later that same day we had some visitors - a couple of deer. We stood there with our camera recording them as they spent some time sniffing the ground and then walking away from the garden. Yay! We will respray after the rains and cross our fingers that we can keep our garden largely safe from voles, rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks this season.

Maryann
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We moved here last year and it looked as if there had been a deer sleeping in the high grass in the back. We got rid of the high grass right away. and have since planted a garden. I know and have seen, deer easily jump a 5 ft fence. will the deer come back without a place to nest?

Peterjay
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Yeah Alex, the sprinklers work great. As I mentioned in another thread, I used them last year and had no deer damage at all in the coverage area. (We're surrounded by conservation land, and the deer are out there in droves every night) I used two units for a 100'X75' vegetable patch, though one might have been sufficient. They even scared the daylights out of me whenever I went prowling around the garden at night in my usual state of confusion. The brand name is Electronic Scarecrow. I bought two more units for this season to use on my raspberries and to protect a bluebird house - highly recommended.

The Helpful Gardener
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Hey PJ!

Nice to see a fellow Nutmegger around here once and a while... I have never had the need but also hear wonderful things about ScareCrows...

Fabric softener sheets are heavily scented, resist dissolving (more heat released than dissolved), and come in convenient tear off rolls... :D

HG



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