Once again this year, one (possible more than one) deer that has made
it's home in our neighborhood had discovered my lillies and other
flowering plants/shrubs and had had a nice meal off the buds and
flowers.

Last year it ate every one of my lilly buds before they flowered; at
least this year most of them had flowered and we'd had weeks of pleasure
from the blooms before they became supper for the deer, but it has also
now eaten all the buds off multiple asters too so I may not see any
color from them this year now.

So, apart from erecting a 6' high electric fence around my entire
property, what is the "never fails" answer to keeping deer away from a
flower-bed but that still allows you to enjoy the pleasure of looking at
the bed directly (I.e. not through chicken-wire, etc,)?

Thanks,

Jon

Take up bowhunting. If you find that distasteful, donate the meat to a
homeless shelter. Beware of local regs, though.

"Jon Maurer" wrote in message
.. .
Once again this year, one (possible more than one) deer that has made
it's home in our neighborhood had discovered my lillies and other
flowering plants/shrubs and had had a nice meal off the buds and
flowers.

Last year it ate every one of my lilly buds before they flowered; at
least this year most of them had flowered and we'd had weeks of pleasure
from the blooms before they became supper for the deer, but it has also
now eaten all the buds off multiple asters too so I may not see any
color from them this year now.

So, apart from erecting a 6' high electric fence around my entire
property, what is the "never fails" answer to keeping deer away from a
flower-bed but that still allows you to enjoy the pleasure of looking at
the bed directly (I.e. not through chicken-wire, etc,)?

Thanks,

Jon

Heydan wrote:

Take up bowhunting. If you find that distasteful, donate the meat to a
homeless shelter. Beware of local regs, though.


thats not they way to take care of the problem you MURDERER !!!! Someone
should put an arrow through your head as an answer to illiterate rednecks like
you...

LOL. This illiterate redneck has a Ph.D. And don't get me started on the
ethics of hunting.

"Gilian" wrote in message
...
Heydan wrote:

Take up bowhunting. If you find that distasteful, donate the meat to a
homeless shelter. Beware of local regs, though.


thats not they way to take care of the problem you MURDERER !!!!
Someone
should put an arrow through your head as an answer to illiterate rednecks
like
you...

Sigh, I'm unable to help myself
Alright, you disagree with me so strongly that you suggest I be shot in the
head. Am I the only one that sees the irony? Stop being such a
reactionary, grow up, and be the omnivore you really are.

"Gilian" wrote in message
...
Heydan wrote:

Take up bowhunting. If you find that distasteful, donate the meat to a
homeless shelter. Beware of local regs, though.


thats not they way to take care of the problem you MURDERER !!!!
Someone
should put an arrow through your head as an answer to illiterate rednecks
like
you...

Gilian wrote:
Heydan wrote:

Take up bowhunting. If you find that distasteful, donate the meat to a
homeless shelter. Beware of local regs, though.


thats not 'they way' to take care of the problem you MURDERER !!!!
Someone should put an arrow through your head as an answer to illiterate
rednecks like you...

You should proof read before calling someone illiterate.

--
GO# 40

OK, so here I was, hoping against hope that somebody might have the
definitive answer to how to keep the deer off my plants, and I get a
firestorm of insults and counter insults about hunting.

For the record, I have considered asking friends who do hunt (I
personally do not) to come help me with my problem and decided against
(at least for now). End of hunting topic.

I'm looking for a NON-LETHAL method right now please - one that causes
the deer not to WANT to come to my flower beds to eat my plants, or one
that causes the deer not to want to stop and eat if they do get there.

We have marigolds in some of our beds (but perhaps not enough or in the
right places?) since we hear that deer don't much care for their scent;
We have used commercial products that are infused with deer repellant
(which obviously have not been completely successful), I have installed
a motion-detecting outside light fitting that illuminates the bed where
the deer seems to like to dine most, etc.

Looking for creative answers/suggestions.

Thanks,

Jon

Jon Maurer wrote:
OK, so here I was, hoping against hope that somebody might have the
definitive answer to how to keep the deer off my plants, and I get a
firestorm of insults and counter insults about hunting.

There is no real definitve answer, but here's my stab at the subject.

Human hair (go to a beauty/barber shop)has shown to be a somewhat
effective odor deterrent, as well as moth balls, and cigarette butts.

There's also a motion detecting sprinkler available that will turn
itself on if the deer move around it.

--
GO# 40

A less-lethal suggestion - would borrowing a friend's dog for a few days
help?

"Jon Maurer" wrote in message
.. .
OK, so here I was, hoping against hope that somebody might have the
definitive answer to how to keep the deer off my plants, and I get a
firestorm of insults and counter insults about hunting.

For the record, I have considered asking friends who do hunt (I
personally do not) to come help me with my problem and decided against
(at least for now). End of hunting topic.

I'm looking for a NON-LETHAL method right now please - one that causes
the deer not to WANT to come to my flower beds to eat my plants, or one
that causes the deer not to want to stop and eat if they do get there.

We have marigolds in some of our beds (but perhaps not enough or in the
right places?) since we hear that deer don't much care for their scent;
We have used commercial products that are infused with deer repellant
(which obviously have not been completely successful), I have installed
a motion-detecting outside light fitting that illuminates the bed where
the deer seems to like to dine most, etc.

Looking for creative answers/suggestions.

Thanks,

Jon

"Heydan" wrote in message ...
Take up bowhunting. If you find that distasteful, donate the meat to a
homeless shelter. Beware of local regs, though.

"Jon Maurer" wrote in message
.. .
Once again this year, one (possible more than one) deer that has made
it's home in our neighborhood had discovered my lillies and other
flowering plants/shrubs and had had a nice meal off the buds and
flowers.

Last year it ate every one of my lilly buds before they flowered; at
least this year most of them had flowered and we'd had weeks of pleasure
from the blooms before they became supper for the deer, but it has also
now eaten all the buds off multiple asters too so I may not see any
color from them this year now.

So, apart from erecting a 6' high electric fence around my entire
property, what is the "never fails" answer to keeping deer away from a
flower-bed but that still allows you to enjoy the pleasure of looking at
the bed directly (I.e. not through chicken-wire, etc,)?

Thanks,

Jon

The ultimate answer is to learn to live with it. My guess is you
moved out of the city and into the country. Essentially you did this
to yourself. The deer is only trying to survive on it's land. Quit
chewing up mother nature's land and move back to the city. You could
of course round up some coyotes and stick them in front of your house
or bow hunt the deer. As a conservationist and hunter, seeing people
move into the country and then try to eradicate the wildlife hacks me
off.

Get a dog.

Greg

"Jon Maurer" wrote in message
.. .
OK, so here I was, hoping against hope that somebody might have the
definitive answer to how to keep the deer off my plants, and I get a
firestorm of insults and counter insults about hunting.

For the record, I have considered asking friends who do hunt (I
personally do not) to come help me with my problem and decided against
(at least for now). End of hunting topic.

I'm looking for a NON-LETHAL method right now please - one that causes
the deer not to WANT to come to my flower beds to eat my plants, or one
that causes the deer not to want to stop and eat if they do get there.

We have marigolds in some of our beds (but perhaps not enough or in the
right places?) since we hear that deer don't much care for their scent;
We have used commercial products that are infused with deer repellant
(which obviously have not been completely successful), I have installed
a motion-detecting outside light fitting that illuminates the bed where
the deer seems to like to dine most, etc.

Looking for creative answers/suggestions.

Thanks,

Jon

In article ,
says...
A less-lethal suggestion - would borrowing a friend's dog for a few days
help?

I have two dogs of my own, but they are indoors at night. Having said
that, I don't think the deer cares that much - there are plenty of dogs
in the neighborhood, some of which roam freely day and night, and it
doesn't appear to have deterred the deer from making their home around
here.

What about a combo of this and the previous? - I.e. dog hair? My two
labs leave lots of that around. ;-)

Jon

The ultimate answer is to learn to live with it. My guess is you
moved out of the city and into the country. Essentially you did this
to yourself. The deer is only trying to survive on it's land. Quit
chewing up mother nature's land and move back to the city. You could
of course round up some coyotes and stick them in front of your house
or bow hunt the deer. As a conservationist and hunter, seeing people
move into the country and then try to eradicate the wildlife hacks me
off.


I'll ignore the implied insult that being a city-dweller makes a person
somehow inferior to their rural cousins. As it happens, I have not
lived in a city as such since around 1966, and have not even lived in
the suburbs of a city for the last 16 years.

My ex in-laws who live in a large town (city) in mid-state NY and far
from what I would call a rural setting, are completely overrun by deer
and don't even bother to plant much in the way of plants anymore. The
deer there are so fearless that you can usually get within 10-15 feet of
them before they bother to get up from a resting position among the
trees in the back garden. Sadly, this has led to my ex father-in-law
getting lyme disease and being very sick, but that's a completely
different issue.

I am no stranger to wildlife on my property, which is in a semi-rural
town whose primary zoning for all non-commercial property is
residential/agricultural. In addition to all manner of small critters, I
have seen moose on my property, my neighbor has seen bears from time to
time, and we sometimes hear coyotes in the woods at night. There have
always been deer around too, of course. However, it's only recently that
the deer that obviously use the woods around here to live and travel
have started damaging my garden, perhaps because of new development in
the area eliminating some of their habitat.

I am not asking to eradicate any wildlife, I'm just asking about how to
maintain a reasonable balance in terms of sharing our beautiful country
in peaceful existence.

Anyway, now back to our regularly-scheduled programming already in
progress.

Jon

Here's a fix I haven't seen on the net.

Weve been here in SW Missouri for 3 years. For the past two years,
deer have devastated our plants.

This year we set up fences made of 10# to 20# test fishing line. We
used 5 ' pieces of conduit for fence posts and used 4 strands of
fishing line. In some areas where the deer were poking their heads
through, we put diagonal strands of line. You can not see the fishing
line from several feet away.

Believe it or not, the fishing line has been about 90% effective.
We've lost a few day lilies where the deer have poked their heads
through, but that's about it.






On Wed, 30 Jul 2003 16:10:23 -0400, Jon Maurer
wrote:

Once again this year, one (possible more than one) deer that has made
it's home in our neighborhood had discovered my lillies and other
flowering plants/shrubs and had had a nice meal off the buds and
flowers.

Last year it ate every one of my lilly buds before they flowered; at
least this year most of them had flowered and we'd had weeks of pleasure
from the blooms before they became supper for the deer, but it has also
now eaten all the buds off multiple asters too so I may not see any
color from them this year now.

So, apart from erecting a 6' high electric fence around my entire
property, what is the "never fails" answer to keeping deer away from a
flower-bed but that still allows you to enjoy the pleasure of looking at
the bed directly (I.e. not through chicken-wire, etc,)?

Thanks,

Jon

wrote in message
...
Jon Maurer wrote:
OK, so here I was, hoping against hope that somebody might have the
definitive answer to how to keep the deer off my plants, and I get a
firestorm of insults and counter insults about hunting.

There is no real definitve answer, but here's my stab at the subject.

Human hair (go to a beauty/barber shop)has shown to be a somewhat
effective odor deterrent, as well as moth balls, and cigarette butts.

There's also a motion detecting sprinkler available that will turn
itself on if the deer move around it.

--
GO# 40

A sure fire method is to place a few concrete building blocks around your
garden. From time to time, go out & pee on the blocks. The concrete will
hold the smell for a long time. This will scare off the deer. Coyote or dog
pee works better, but I don't know how you could collect it!