Protection from or Deterrants for Deer?

[hunt4570]

We can’t grow tomatoes in the ground here, soil is to sandy.. we grow ours in containers on the porch..
& the dogs keep them away from the house..

My soil is basically beach sand, I grow lots of tomatoes!
I compost grass clippings, leaves, pine needles, table scraps etc and add it to my garden
Where bouts in SC are you?

 

[California]

Followup on Irish Spring: it didn't work.

I clipped a bar of Irish Spring into a mop handle and rubbed it everywhere I could reach under the house. At entrances, and on the sub-floor structure.

But the raccoons continue to reach up and scrape the floor joists, apparently to get bugs. With the new wifi camera under there, at least we can see that the 2am racket down there isn't something chewing its way up through the floor as we thought previously.

 

[hunt4570]

Followup on Irish Spring: it didn't work.

I clipped a bar of Irish Spring into a mop handle and rubbed it everywhere I could reach under the house. At entrances, and on the sub-floor structure.

But the raccoons continue to reach up and scrape the floor joists, apparently to get bugs. With the new wifi camera under there, at least we can see that the 2am racket down there isn't something chewing its way up through the floor as we thought previously.

Get a couple jars of the hottest peppers you can find, put the liquid in a spray bottle and spray it around where they are chewing/scratching.. worked on porcupines.

 

[PILOON]

One horticulturist said to drink lots of beer and urinate around the garden.
He claimed that scent would do the trick!
LOL, I preferred using irish spring soap.

 

[bcp]

One horticulturist said to drink lots of beer and urinate around the garden.
He claimed that scent would do the trick!
LOL, I preferred using irish spring soap.

I tried that. The beer taste a lot better!

Bruce

 

[droy]

My wife saw a cougar crossing the road on her way home one day and the neighbor has a picture of one eating one of his chickens, but the Fish & Game folks said there were no cougars in the area!

Years ago couple of sightings on good friend’s farm plus his neighbor losing a couple of calves, game warden & biologist still claimed extinct around here, (and in almost the same breath said shooting one would put you in deep doo-doo). More sightings & couple of close encounters later they admitted that some Florida Cougars MAY have been reintroduced into our area, again reminding us of the deep doo- doo scenario.

 

[jyoutz]

Years ago couple of sightings on good friend’s farm plus his neighbor losing a couple of calves, game warden & biologist still claimed extinct around here, (and in almost the same breath said shooting one would put you in deep doo-doo). More sightings & couple of close encounters later they admitted that some Florida Cougars MAY have been reintroduced into our area, again reminding us of the deep doo- doo scenario.

Cougars are common where I live and hunting permits are sold by the state games and fish department.

 

[California]

Followup 1.5 years later - mice soon ate every bar or chunk of Irish Spring that I put under the house. No deterrent effect at all.

The camera down there shows a critter parade under the house nearly every night. Another camera on the deck, same. Everybody trotting the length of the house then a while later coming back in the opposite direction.

Skunk, raccoons, foxes are the most common, possum and bobcat occasionally. And deer occasionally sampling the houseplants on the deck in the middle of the night, waking us up.

 

[hunt4570]

Followup 1.5 years later - mice soon ate every bar or chunk of Irish Spring that I put under the house. No deterrent effect at all.

The camera down there shows a critter parade under the house nearly every night. Another camera on the deck, same. Everybody trotting the length of the house then a while later coming back in the opposite direction.

Skunk, raccoons, foxes are the most common, possum and bobcat occasionally. And deer occasionally sampling the houseplants on the deck in the middle of the night, waking us up.

Nice pics

 

[DJ54]

Spraying Peppermint extract (2 TBS. per gallon of water) has worked well for me. It needs to be applied every 7-10 days, sooner after a good rain. I buy it by the quart from Olive Nation Pure Peppermint Extract - TTB the least expensive place I've found it. They sell it in smaller bottles if you want to try and experiment with it.

I mix it with my organic pesticides so as to spray in tandem saving a trip, up to that point it needs to be done usually after a rain. Deer normally eat beet tops, beans and corn. Since using this they will walk through the garden but not even offer to browse on anything. Seems to work for groundhogs and squirrels too. Rabbits are rare here with all the feral cats people have dropped off from in town. We'll see about Coon this year as this is the first time growing sweet corn in 4-5 years.

I use a 2-gallon pump sprayer to apply, it will cover the entire garden with a little left over. Just mist the plants well, it doesn't need to be dripping off. I usually do it in the early evening, so it has a chance to dry.