Natural Deer Repellent

[Dr_Zinj]

Here is a part of the website that concerns me about using Milorganite in my garden:

Pharmaceuticals

Milorganite, like manures and other organic fertilizers, contains very low but detectable levels of pharmaceuticals and household and personal care products. To ensure consumer safety, Milorganite is actively monitored for a host of compounds that the EPA has ruled as being hazardous. Pharmaceuticals have been passing through humans since their invention, but only recently has analytic science gained the ability to measure chemicals at the extremely low concentrations we see today. When Milorganite is recycled to soil for nutrients, no evidence of harm has been found in earthworms, the primary exposure group. Research on earthworms continues as new classes of therapeutic drugs with distinct modes of action become popular.

When I was a kid I was told that human waste is not a healthy garden fertilizer, even though it does wonders for the grass over the drain field. It may work fine but I'm not ready to eat veggies grown in it.

Milorganite (MILwaukee ORGanic NITrogen) is manufactured at 900⁰-1200⁰F which is going to kill any human pathogen I can think of, and also break down most of your drugs and antibiotics. South Koreans use human waste for fertilizer all the time, although I can't say all of their farmers compost it enough.

 

[bcp]

All four boys and myself got a fresh hair cut today. Our three year old daughter and a neighbor lady also contributed. I spread the trimmings all around the beans, peas, and corn this evening just before dark.

You are doing it from the wrong angle!

You are supposed to shave the DEER, then spread THEIR hair around the garden. They won't be back.



Bruce

 

[oldballs]

As I recall, our Golden Lab stayed out doors all the time and was free to range. In sub-freezing temps, she slept in the garage most of the time. We never had significant varmit problems. I trained her to chase away the critters and only bark at strangers (people). But now I have an eight foot deer netting fence attached to a four foot field fence with two feet of chicken wire fence at the bottom. The corner posts are 6 inch with 6 foot "T" line posts. 1/2 inch pvc, shedule 40 water pipe holds the deer fence up. When freezing rain comes the pvc bends over from the weight, but doesn't break. The deer netting is six years old and holding up fine. Some years I go around and service it with new zip ties. Now, racoons can still get in, but my traps take care of them as it occurs. The main garden is 50 x 100. For whatever reason, deer don't bother my potato and onion patch which is 50 x 30 and not fenced. Good luck with your approach in this frustrating problem. This all was built before I had a Kubota tractor and used walk behind tillers all those years. Now, I would like to make something more convient for tractor manuevers....

 

[milkman636]

Murphy is a good guy!

You are one of the few that have a good reason to be partial to him.:laughing: He would have more fans if he wouldn't kick us in the ***** every time we turned our backs on him.

 

[milkman636]

You are doing it from the wrong angle!

You are supposed to shave the DEER, then spread THEIR hair around the garden. They won't be back.



Bruce

Thanks for setting me straight.:thumbsup: That day may come.

 

[milkman636]

Thanks oldballs. I have that concern about fences, I don't want to overbuild my yard to where it may become obstructive.

A new dog is something I have been considering. My old German Shepherd-like mutt needed to be put down a couple of years ago at 16 years old. It may be time to seriously start looking for a new pup to replace her with. She was a very good dog that will be hard to replace.

 

[forgeblast]

Easy way is to put in some posts and put some fishing line between them. I start low to the ground and work my way up to about 5'. they cant see it and it keeps them away. (for a garden I have fencing and electric fence). I use the fishing line trick for food plots.

 

[Carl_NH]

We use Plantskydd with success on over 1000 hostas and other trees the deer like to feed on, applied once in the spring and again in the fall to the arborvitae the deer like to eat in the winter. I apply it with the Stihl backpack fogger setup, or you can spray with a tank too.

2.2Lbs dry is $50 range and makes 4 gallons of liquid - and I use 2 gallons in the spring and then fall, so $25 a treatment

Plantskydd Deer Rabbit Vole Repellent

Its organic and safe for trees, vegetables and more. If you don't like spraying the entire garden do the perimeter and the lower part of the trees.

 

[FarmGeek]

This is an easy one. To keep deer away use variable sounds and movement as they don't like anything unusual. Kinda like me as I get older....


Amazon (and other retailers) sells a device called a 'Scarecrow water sprinkler'. Clever little invention that marries a pulsing water sprinkler with a motion detector. I use four of them - one at each corner of my garden - and eliminated my Free Deer Food Here stand.

Check it out.

 

[DJ54]

This idea is too late for this year, but something to try next year. I read on a gardening forum last winter, about a guy planting a hedge row of the tall white striper sunflowers around his garden, and had 100% success at keeping the deer out.

I went to TSC, and bought a 5lb. bag of the stripers for birds this spring, and planted around 6 rows, within a 30" width with my David Bradley tractor & planter. I also planted 4-5 rows of the black oilers in the same space to make it thick and lush down low.

The picture with the D-B & planter is the day I planted my sweet corn, and sunflowers. The other pictures are the results. So far, no deer have entered the garden where the sunflowers surround the corn. I put up a double strand of electric fence for the other varmints, and to date not one ear has been touched.

I realize that next year I may have a gazillion volunteers, but as often as I cultivate, it should remedy them. But I will definitely have my hedge fence again next year..!!

I did allow myself an entry way so as to get the tractor in to cultivate, and maintain the weed problem, and harvest.

Also..., right now the Chicadee's are sure enjoying the sunfower seeds..!!

And just had to post a pic of my Silver Queen, standing at 9 & 4/10's' tall..!!