Six Deer Repellants Evaluated

Deer repellants come in a wide variety of forms. Here's a review of current thinking:

Electronic

I now use a scarecrow for some of my gardens. This is an electronic motion detector controlling a water hose. The switch flips and the hose does a short chug-chug with a jet of water. This works very well on cats as well. Does not work on kids except teenagers. Annoys mailmen. The deer don't run very far away after they get the water treatment - so as a total deer repellant, it is limited.

Please understand that almost nothing short of a dog or shotgun will stop a hungry deer. When deer populations rise in areas where they can not be controlled, they will eat anything they can reach- this means any foliage or tender bark up as high as 6-8 feet off the ground. This also means that no deterrent other than a high-wide-and-tight fence is going to stop them.

No deer repellant spray or control other than a fence will stop them at this point.

Fencing

Very effective if proper deer fencing is installed. It is almost invisible and this will stop most deer from entering. Problem areas include driveways and any other openings you might want (like along the street). If the deer get in, they have a difficult time getting out- particularly if spooked by dogs or yourself.

But in heavily infested areas where other solutions are impossible, this is a one of the best.

Sound

Not effective on deer at this time

Fragrances

Well, there are a ton of them recommended for deer repellants From human hair to smelly soap (Irish Spring is the number 1 choice here) to juicy fruit gum! The reality is that most don't work.

The deer might come along and not like the smell but for the most part, they are ineffective at keeping any browsing deer from entering the area.

One possible exception is rotten eggs. Any success you have will be very short term and you'll have to reapply regularly. See above note.

I note that some folks dilute white latex paint until it is quite thin, break some eggs into this and let the eggs ferment for a few days. Mix well. Put on strong stomach. Then a soft brush is used to flick this smelly mixture on plants. Apparently deters deer and rabbits.

Commercial Fragrances

The jury is mostly positive about these. Compounds that smell like sulphur (rotting eggs) seem to work fairly well and there are a few other compounds that are used in commercial deer repellant mixes that also seem to work well. For my money, I'd be reapplying on schedule and not missing a spray.

In general my trials with these under low-population pressure are positive and the main brands do work for "deterrent" value. They do not stop a hungry deer but applied every month or second month they do tend to move deer away from the area. Important note here - when I didn't respray one young apple tree it was "pruned" around the 3-month mark. Respray regularly and if the deer are not hungry, they'll tend to avoid that area.

Compounds Directly to Plants

Note that this article does not discuss compounds to apply directly to plants but there are a wide variety of sprays used by gardeners as deer repellants with some success.

The trick with any of these is 1) apply early in the season. 2) apply regularly 3) use several products in tandem such as those with taste and those with smell deer repellant properties.