DEER WARS or WHY THE MOVIE "BAMBI" NO LONGER MAKES ME CRY.

Is this what happens to those deterrent-loving deer!
http://www.computertroublesolver.com/Fun-Pictures.html

Even though I live a few short blocks to the beach, I also live on the fringe of open land which makes my yard a convenient restaurant for deer and gophers.  Stupidly, I planted roses when we first bought this house.  I saw the roses bloom heavily for the first two years.  I also planted tomatoes, green beans, snap peas, etc.  A real producing garden.  The bamboo teepee was densely covered with bean vines, tendrils wrapping themselves neatly over the wire structure.  Ah, lush and fragrant.  

One day I was lovingly watering and admiring the bean teepee, eyeing the very young beans growing in the warm sun.  The next day, those same bean vines looked like someone took hedge clippers to them in the middle of the night.  And then two days later, the bean vines are pulled off the teepee helter-skelter and there isn’t a flower to be seen or any tender young beans.  The tomato plants looked like the same hedge clipper-wielding maniac took to them as well.  Garden vandals?  No, and those of you who live around deer know what I am describing.  My innocent, naive garden plantings were an exercise in how to spend money and time for nothing.  The deer damage isn't just to my expensive plants. Nope, even the old unreinforced rock wall (it came with the house) has, over the years, slumped and fallen in places under the weight of those well-fed deer with their sharp hooves gashing into the soil surrounding my delicious roses and vegetables.  

After wet winters (in California this is not the norm), the deer will come down a little later, more towards June, going back to the hills when the rains start up.  But with a dry winter, beginning as early as April, my yard hasn’t got a chance until it starts to rain the next winter. And when do roses bloom and veggies start sprouting? Yep, April.

Over the many, many years since my first realization that my garden is a legend with the local deer population, and because I was still determined to save my roses, sweet peas, gladioluses, veggies, etc. (again, I was naive and thought it was possible), the following is a list of deterrents which I have tried in my numerous attempts to fend off the deer:   

Garlic oil-infused clip-on capsules:  Yes, these expensive little items smell very garlicky.  And apparently, I have some deer that actually preferred those “Italian” plants with the garlic clips. Didn't work.

Cayenne Pepper Spray:  Hmm, absolutely evil and dangerous if applied on a breezy day and without gloves or sunglasses.  And, like the other scented deterrents, you can smell the pepper.  I sprayed the rose buds, the sweet pea buds, the tomatoes, etc.  Problem?  Well, if you enjoy bringing the cut rose blossoms into your house, you can’t without smelling the cayenne spray.  Another problem for me was "my deer" actually sought out the “Tex Mex” sprayed plants, leaving behind the unsprayed ones.  Odd, but true.

Rotten egg spray:  While this is effective as a deer deterrent, it is also especially effective as a deterrent for anyone with a nose from wanting to get close to your garden.  Nasty stuff.  And while my sprayed sweet peas did bloom freely, and openly, unafraid of being munched by Bambi and his mom, their delightful signature fragrance was overmasked by the smell of rotten eggs.  They lived long in the yard that year as they sure as hell weren't coming into my house smelling like that. And since I grow them to bring in the cut flowers, this doesn't spray doesn't work with any plants you want to enjoy as either cut flowers or for eating.

Combo sprays of rotten egg, garlic and cayenne:  This combo is long-lasting and smells so bad, I don't even care that it works. Still can't enjoy my fragrant flowers.

Dryer sheets:  Scented.  Hmm, the smell of roses or the smell of dryer sheets? They weren’t effective, and no, they look nothing like Tibetan prayer flags hanging here and there.

Hair Bags:  You take old nylons (any color), cut them into small tube “bags”, stuff them with human hair, tie them up and either hang them in the deer-enticing plants or just lay them on the ground nearby.  Well, because of my “thing” with hair, this deterrent was very difficult for me.  It requires cleaning out brushes and hand-stuffing the hair into the “bags”.  I had some help from a neighbor who had just given birth and her hair was doing that thing where your “extra” hair starts falling out so she had plenty to spare.  While this method actually seemed to work, it is so gross I just can’t keep it up.

Irish Spring: Sounds political (like Arab Spring?), but it actually involves tying up small pieces of Irish Spring bar soap and dangling the bits amongst the rose bushes.  The soap hangs there until rain or watering methods erodes them.  Again, the smell of Irish Spring is strong and isn’t what I want to smell out in my garden.  And, I’m not convinced it worked that well anyway.

Shiny objects:  Hanging old cds or bits of reflective material only works if you have a light source and a fence.  Again, not an especially great look in a home garden, unless you enjoy the “vineyard look”.  And since I am easily distracted myself, all I see are discs of bad music in my yard.

Motion sensors:  Water is too expensive around here to have motion sensor sprinklers go off if a deer “trips” through the garden.  Sound sensors?  Well the deer are quite accustomed to the next door neighbor’s dog that barks every night on the other side of their chain link fence, so this one won’t work for me.  

Panther Piss or Predator Pee:   I can’t help but visualize just how this product is collected before it’s bottled.  My online research of this repellent, and the other “predator pee” products leads me to believe that since cats are territorial, and I already have deer coming in, perhaps I would be inviting the local mountain lions to check out my “deer selection” (see note on photo caption below).  While the deer may hightail it, the chance of bringing in a mountain lion that finds my children's cats a tasty treat make this option less attractive.  But, if I was going for this deterrent, that are many types of predator pee out there. Check out his website for what's on tap:  https://www.thepeemart.com/peestore/

What's in Zoo Doo?

Zoo Doo contains Cheyenne Mountain Zoo tiger,
leopard and African lion feces.
Mountain lion feces is not used to prevent
attracting mountain lions to your yard.
http://www.cmzoo.org/conservation/action/ZooDoo.asp

Tiger or African Lion feces:  Exotic and possibly easy to get if you live near a zoo.  This is on my short list, if only to say I tried it!

Human Pee:  Okay, peeing around the perimeter of my yard is probably not going to be “my thing”, but I do have two males here in the house that may find it fun to try (can I be positive they only do it at night, when the neighbors aren’t out?).  I guess being able to pee out in your own yard is a right, or is that a privilege? Reminds me of an episode of Duck Dynasty (yes I just love that show).  Again, online research suggests human urine may bring bigger inquisitive animals in to investigate the smell.  Hmm, while it may work, the consequence is not worth it.

“Fence the damn yard lady!”  Yes, deer fencing does work, but living at the beach, in a “small lot” neighborhood, having a yard surrounded by a 7 foot high fence gives off a strong unneighborly feeling.  And having a 7 foot high fence along the front street parking is most likely not to code.  At a local grower’s nursery, where I bought some “hopefully more deer proof plants”, the grower suggested stringing heavy test fishing line between stakes around the yard perimeter.  Note: He also suggested setting a snare trap.  When I asked what I was supposed to do with a trapped deer he just looked at me and said, “Eat it.”  Okay, not an option...yet.

So, back to the fishing line “no see um fence”. Apparently the deer don’t see it and when they run into it it freaks them out.  Best to have the line strung at neck/chest level, and one lower down for the little ones.  So now, freaking out deer is on my list of things to do this weekend.  I’m not sure of the safety issue of having clear fishing line strung around my property.  If I attach some small streamers to warn children will that tip the deer off that there is a barrier?  Do freaked out deer do more damage than meandering deer?  Can I convince Himself that he has to put a lot of time in this weekend into stringing up an invisible fence around our yard?  

I shall report my findings as soon as the invisible fence is put up.  If I still have plants to protect by the time it gets done.