Wild Grit: Deerproof Your Garden

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Many commercial deer repellents – Liquid Fence, Deer Off, Tree Guard, Garlic Barrier AG+, Plantskydd, Shake Away, Plot Saver and Deer Stopper – target a deer’s sense of smell.

Liquid Fence (www.LiquidFence.com) triggers instinctive deer fear because its formula, a mixture of “putrescent egg solids, garlic, sodium lauryl sulfate, potassium sorbate and water,” is designed to smell like rotting flesh. One quart of ready-to-use Liquid-Fence spray protects 500 square feet at a cost of $12.99. Shake Away repellents achieve a similar result in a different way. Their formula for deer and other large animals is granulated coyote urine. It works by taking advantage of “the strongest force in the animal kingdom ... inborn, instinctive fear,” according to the company Web site (www.Critter-Repellent.com). Formulas for other pests use fox or bobcat urine or a blend of predator pee. A 20-ounce canister of deer repellent treats up to 600 linear feet at a cost of $15.95.

Truly frugal gardeners have been known to save their own urine and sprinkle it around gardens and prize plantings to ward off deer and other pests. Some truly enterprising gardeners lace their gardens with tiger or lion manure from nearby zoos.

Sound – Those long, pointy ears that rotate like NASA tracking antennae pick up the smallest sounds. A radio or boombox left on near the garden alerts deer that something is not quite right here.

Vary the programming. Try talk radio one night, heavy metal the next. A motion sensor called the DeerChaser turns on the radio and a small spotlight when a deer wanders within its 25-foot range. It retails at $79.95, plus shipping and handling (PestControl.netfirms.com).

The electronic YardGard is a weather-resistant motion sensor that emits powerful and annoying signals when pests approach. Its frequency can be adjusted to target not just deer, but also raccoons, skunks, dogs, cats and even rodents. It protects up to 4,000 square feet. The device runs on household current or four C batteries (not included) and sells for $74.95. (Visit www.Gemplers.com for this and a variety of other repellents.)

Aluminum pie pans tied to stakes in the garden flop around in the wind, making a noise and motion that spook deer.

Sight – Deer are color blind, which is why a hunter’s “blaze orange” outfit does not send them running for the hills, but they actually have excellent eyesight. A deer’s bushy white tail is a natural danger flag, so anything white that waves side to side puts deer on guard.

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