Gaah! Deer!

[southernlivladi]

I planted a ghost Pepper at the end of each row. The deer and rabbits left the plants in that area alone. I also plant 2 rows of green beans at the edge of the garden along with pie pumpkins just for the deer.

[antiz]

I was just able to finish building our my raised beds (3x48, 4x22) -- and we've got deer aplenty. We're in the city limits next to a massive metropark (it's basically a mile wide and 10-20 miles long), so there are LOTS of deer. I'm going to have to look into fencing, although maybe the deer will give us a pass since I've got a row of hot peppers right in the center of the long bed.

[Walk]

As for the smelly deterrents, the only one that worked over a long time period without the deer becoming used to it is tankage (slaughter house waste like guts, etc.) I learned about this from a local commercial orchard with several thousand trees. Get some aluminum cans, enough for one every 20 feet or so of perimeter or 1 per tree. Cut the top off and spray the can with flat black paint. Put a little tankage in each can and hang where sun can heat up the black painted can. This will make a terrible stink and can last the season without needing refilling. Of course, humans will also be repulsed by the stench so this method is not for every garden or orchard. Use with caution.

[Garf]

Originally posted by tbarry:

I have been very successful keeping the bucks from rubbing their racks on my apple trees by hanging simple bailing twine from the branches. Apparently they think they will get tangled in the twine and stay away from them. This was a very big problem for me and now I'm in my third scrape free year. I hope this works on your trees.

Try some barbed wire instead.