Friday, January 19, 2018

By Zoe Eisenberg

Are you discouraged by deer coming into your garden to chow down? With urbanization and building pushing more and more deer from their natural habitats, it's no shocker they end up in your yard. Check out these humane tips for keeping them at bay.

A fence. Obviously a full fence is the easiest way to keep deer out. Something high like picket or chain link should do the trick.

Pick the right plants. Did you know certain plants will deter deer? Planting beds of strong smelling plants like marigolds or lavender around the perimeter of your yard and garden can ward off deer, as they don't like to walk through strong smelling flora for fear of becoming more noticable to predators.

Sprinkle soap. Similar to the strong-smelling plant method, grating or cubing up fragrant soap can ward off deer. Once a month, grate some scented organic soap around your garden's perimeter, and even atop new budding plants. If you get a heavy downpour, sprinkle again.

Make a stinky spray. Continuing the trend of foul smelling deterrents, consider cracking an egg into a gallon-sized spray bottle, adding one egg, one cup of milk, a few pumps of dish soap, and filling the rest with water. Once a week, spray the concoction around the base of your plants to deter deer, but pay mind the mixture will be stinky for you, too.

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