Protecting Gardens from Deer

Throughout the country, deer can present a serious problem for gardeners. Deer can be difficult to control because of strict control laws, and the limited numbers of natural predators. The areas that the deer do prefer are the wooded areas with tall grass and thickets. Deer will eat most any plant as well as the bark of woody plants. If you live in this type of area you will naturally attract deer.

There are many methods that a person can use to help deter deer from their garden area. The use of repellent sprays, netting sheets, tree bags, and fencing are all ways that can repel deer from your garden area. Some have higher success rate than others and a lot of the success depends on how much money and time that you want to invest in keeping deer from your garden.

One of the ways to protect your garden from deer is by using fencing. Fences can be very effective yet they can still be somewhat unappealing at the same time. If a fence is the way that you want to use to keep the deer out it needs to be at least eight to ten feet high. So, the standard chain link will serve no purpose in keeping the deer out; a deer can jump the standard size chain link fence. When fencing you might consider having a double fence about three to four feet apart, the deer will avoid the double fence since they are afraid of getting caught between the two fences.

Deer repellant sprays do have some degree of success and can be obtained easily from your local garden store. The spray can only be used on trees, shrubs and flower gardens. This is something that you wouldn't want sprayed on your vegetables or fruit trees. The repellent spray needs to be applied regularly, and then reapplied after a rainstorm. If living in a rainy area the use of the sprays can be expensive.

Another effective method of control is that of using netting sheets and tree bags. The nice thing about the tree bag is that it can be used all year round. The netting sheets can be used for both ground cover for flowers and vegetables. The bags and sheets last a long time which makes them a worthwhile investment.

There are some methods that are less expensive that I have heard that seem to do the trick of deterring the deer such as: