7 Natural and Humane Ways to Keep Deer Out of Your Garden

For those who aren’t growing gardens in their yard, spotting deer can be a pleasing experience. No doubt, they are beautiful, tranquil animals that can somehow come off as exceptionally endearing to watch going about their daily routines.

Then, they get into the garden, and they do it again and again and again until there is hardly anything left. They love garden peas, green beans, any other legumes, carrot tops, okra leaves, flowers, fruit trees, strawberries, and so much more. And deer are big animals that eat a lot.

Gardeners that have run-ins with deer have their work cut out for them. Once these animals know a buffet is available, they will treat it like an all-you-can-eat affair, and they are geniuses at becoming repeat customers.

Truthfully, these methods work sometimes or sometimes for some time, but they often need revision and might require using several techniques at once. It takes persistence, but here’s what might work to keep deer out of the garden.

Source: Plant Based Gabriel/YouTube

1. Fencing

Fencing can be highly effective, but it isn’t foolproof. However, there are some ways to put up fencing that seems more deterrent. Fencing off the entire yard is often less successful than fencing off just the garden space(s). Deer are more hesitant to jump into tightly enclosed places. Use at least four-foot fencing, and keep the tall crops away from the fencing because the deer might stretch their necks over the fencing and eat them.

2. Aromatic Boundary

Highly aromatic herbs are very good at deterring lots of garden pests, and they can be helpful with deer. It’s not a bad idea to plant those culinary herbs around the vegetable garden, possibly along that fence line. Plants that deer aren’t great fans of include lavender, rosemary, lemon balm, garlic, chives, mint, oregano, thyme, and more. Deer don’t like eating them or brushing against them, picking up the aroma.

Using a boundary of squash plants is also effective. Most animals don’t like to walk through the prickly leaves, and they don’t eat the squash, either.

Source: St. Isidore’s Farm/YouTube

3. String

Deer have an unusual way of seeing the world. Their eyes are at the side of their heads, giving them a good peripheral vision for spotting encroaching predators, but this positioning ruins their depth perception. A couple of strings can be put up at different heights, and the deer will often bump into them and be unable to figure out what’s causing the impediment. Add some old tin cans or something to rattle when the deer bump the string, and that’s even better.

4. Flash and Clang

Reflective materials, say old CDs or pie tins, and noise-making devices, like wind chimes, can be too intimidating for deer to come around if they are hung from tree branches or trellises. This often works for a short time, and the deer become more accustomed to the situation. Lots of people like to move the flash and clang around to keep them from figuring it out.

Source: wiredtech/YouTube

5. Super Soaker

One product on the market that can work pretty well is a motion-activated sprinkler that can be hooked up to a water hose and will spray deer that get within its sensor limits. The problem with this device is that it can be a bit wasteful with water, particularly if the soaker is set off at inappropriate times. It might be put on a timer to just come on at night to help with that.

6. Distraction

Like anything, deer have their favorite foods, so sometimes planting these crops to distract them from others can help. Buckwheat, corn, beans, and okra will all draw deer in like other crops won’t. These can be planted away from the main garden space so that the deer will be attracted to them rather than other plants.

Source: Walker Farm Fam/YouTube

7. Natural Repellents

There are a ton of natural repellents out there that can be either sprayed on plants or around garden spaces. Deer don’t like hot peppers or garlic, so these can be soaked in water and sprayed on plants that the deer are eating. Dogs peeing in the yard can leave enough threatening odor to keep deer at bay, and often human urine is used as well. Irish Spring soap, though not entirely natural, is also supposed to be very effective.

For those morally okay with it, there is a product—Deer Ban—that uses coyote urine to make capsules to put around the perimeter of a space. The urine is collected from coyote enclosures in zoos, and the animals are not harmed—save being kept in a zoo—in the process.

Unfortunately, there isn’t any one cure-all that will work 100 percent of the time or indefinitely. Deer are full of surprises, so it’s best to keep surprising them with an arsenal of different natural and humane deterrents. It’s an adventure, but we have to share our spaces with animals to make the world go ’round.

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• 7 Ways to Reduce Waste in Your Garden

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