Gardening, Farming & Deer control

[Penn]

I have lease a plot of land with the intent of growing herb, vegetables, Fingerling Potato's, Beef steak Tomato, radishes, Carrots, Yellow squash, Green onions, Broccoli and wildflowers.

I have no knowledge about turning the earth other than what I've gleamed from the internet, a substantial resource to say the least. I've been told that I'll lose 50% of my garden to the local pets- Deers.

Everyone states there is nothing you can do.This site at Rutgers U. list a number of plants which are deer resistant. http://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/
Then an old pisano told me to save my piss and go to a barber shop ask them for the hair trimmings; then spread it around the perimeter it will keep the deer away.
I get the marking concept, but was wondering if there were other helpful suggestion that were organic and as effective?

[CPTAUSRET]

Originally Posted by Penn

I have lease a plot of land with the intent of growing herb, vegetables, Fingerling Potato's, Beef steak Tomato, radishes, Carrots, Yellow squash, Green onions, Broccoli and wildflowers.

I have no knowledge about turning the earth other than what I've gleamed from the internet, a substantial resource to say the least. I've been told that I'll lose 50% of my garden to the local pets- Deers.

Everyone states there is nothing you can do.This site at Rutgers U. list a number of plants which are deer resistance. http://njaes.rutgers.edu/deerresistance/
Then an old pisano told me to save my piss and go to a barber shop ask them for the hair trimmings; then spread it around the perimeter it will keep the deer away.
I get the marking concept, but was wondering if there were other helpful suggestion that were organic and as effective?

Don't have your answer, but Nancy has a 25x40 ft garden which I fenced. Works well. We have a ton of deer, and have never found a good way to (chemically) deter them.

[PSM]

I've seen some water sprinklers, with motion detectors, that shoot a squirt a water and is supposed to scare them away. I have no first hand knowledge as to it's effectiveness, but we are going to try them after our move.

Pat

ETA: http://www.amazon.com/Contech-Electr.../dp/B000071NUS

This is just one example. One I've seen has a water reservoir so it doesn't need to be attached to a hose.

[SLVGW360]

I deal with situations like this for a living and your best bet is to fence the perimeter. There are some commericially available deer fences that are black poly mesh and 6-8 feet tall. I have one at my home and the mule deer stay out which protects the trees and berry bushes we have in our yard. There are some commercial blood and egg based chemicals that are showing some promise for large scale application, but are expensive and must be applied multiple times. The nice thing about the type of fencing I have described above is that it is relatively inexpensive, is more durable than it appears and is almost invisible if your worried about aesthetics. It can be ordered from several of the larger gardening suppliers.

Our's has lasted for 7 years now.

Good luck,

RB

[Penn]

Thank you all for the feed back. I was hoping not to fence, but it appears that is the only way to keep the deer out.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Penn

Thank you all for the feed back. I was hoping not to fence, but it appears that is the only way to keep the deer out.

Faced the same problem last year, and I used "Liquid Fence" deer and rabbit repellent last year and they stayed away in herds. 15 bucks, and I still have a third of the container left. It's guaranteed .

[ES 96]

Originally Posted by Penn

Then an old pisano told me to save my piss and go to a barber shop ask them for the hair trimmings; then spread it around the perimeter it will keep the deer away.

I get the marking concept, but was wondering if there were other helpful suggestion that were organic and as effective?

My barber has a customer who does the same (with the hair) and has had excellent success with it for a few decades. Unfortunately I don't know how/where and how often he applies it. He wards off mostly whitetail and some mule deer on the on the edge of town (along the Snake River, central Idaho). I'm sure the fellow you talked to can provide details.

Good luck!

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by Dusty

Faced the same problem last year, and I used "Liquid Fence" deer and rabbit repellent last year and they stayed away in herds. 15 bucks, and I still have a third of the container left. It's guaranteed .

I looked this up on the internet, it said the active ingredient was " nancy pelosi's used bath water". Use with caution.

[dadof18x'er]

Originally Posted by Penn

Thank you all for the feed back. I was hoping not to fence, but it appears that is the only way to keep the deer out.

save a gallon of your tinkle each day and pour it around your perimeter each
evening, works for my lettuce patch. If they persist kill them and use them with
your fingerling potatoes.

[mark46th]

Good one, TS!!

[SLVGW360]

Liquid Fence is one of the repellents that does work. If you can find it in smaller quantities at a price you are willing to pay, I would say go for it. The other is a blood based pelletized repellent of which I don't know that name. If you would be interested in Liquid Fence from the standpoint of quantity and cost, I could check with our game damage specialist who has done the background work and trials with it since it will be in the same category. The specialist and I discussed this about 2 months ago and he told me the pelletized repellent would likely work best in a garden type situation.

Otherwise, use the bath water!!!!!

RB

[orion5]

Originally Posted by dadof18x'er

save a gallon of your tinkle each day and pour it around your perimeter each evening, works for my lettuce patch.

Dad, we've used this at the horse farm to keep skunks out of the barn, but didn't know it worked on deer. The raccoons, coyotes, feral hogs, possums and armadillos don't seem to respect human urine, but I know it works for skunks.

And we, um, don't use mine. Apparently the wildlife only respects male human urine. Or so I'm told.....

Will try the Liquid Fence. Thanks for the headsup, Dusty.

TS, that was a good one!

[Axe]

I'm up in an area heavily populated with deer. My experiences have been that liquid fence, coyote urine, and human urine have poor results in keeping deer from browsing gardens.

Sprinklers, dogs in the area, and other less-than-lethal means of hazing are not overly effective around here.

In my area, tall fencing is the only truly effective means of protecting a garden.

8 foot tall fencing seem to keep out lazy deer that have good food sources elsewhere nearby. If the deer are hungry, 8 foot fencing is not going to get the job done. Most deer here can clear that without much problem if they want to.

10 foot tall fencing is starting to get to where you need to be and will work pretty well but is not 100% effective.

Around here, you need 12 foot tall fencing at a minimum for successful, reliable exclusion. The deer are amazing at their intrusion skills when they really want to get to food.

The nice thing about fencing is once it is up, your deer exclusion work is done, unlike the chemical deterrents. You don't need to hurry out to your garden after each rainstorm to reapply your fence.

[Penn]

AXE, I particularly want to thank you for posting a reply; with 55 posts over the 6+ years that was a bit chatty for you, so thanks for taking the time.

[SLVGW360]

Axe is correct.

Eight foot tall fences don't always get it done. I have personally witnessed a run of the mill mule deer clear 8 ft. without a running start. I couldn't believe how easily this doe did it.

However, there are a few factors that influence whether or not they'll bother. One is what benefit is realized from getting to the other side. If the fence is leaning or not and if there is a slope that will influence their ability to get over; among others. Some deer will climb their way over if they don't clear the top and get somewhat hung up on the fence. Given all that it is still the most effective means of protecting your resources.

I don't know what laws are in place in your locale, but it would always be a good idea to consult with you local wildlife agency representative. Here in Colorado the State is not responsible for damage to gardens, but we will help people work through solutions. If the problem is significant, we might issue some game damage prevention materials (pyrotechnics or rubber buckshot) to help resolve the situation. I would strongly discourage any such measures without first checking with you agency and getting approval to do so.

Here our wildlife officers are multi-purpose employees and are all required to have at least a Bachelor of Science degree in wildlife biology or a very closely related field before being hired and sent to police academy to be POST certified officers. We are responsible for all law enforcement, wildlife management, information/education and customer services. Many states have single purpose wildlife officers who are LE only and have little or knowledge of the biological aspects.

Good luck,

RB