Cooperative Living March/April 2017 - 26

CloserLook | by Pamela A. Keene, Contributing Writer
Deer me! What's eating
your landscape?
Choosing the right kind of plants - those deer typically do not like-
can reduce the likelihood of free-range foraging in your landscape.
T
he succulent plants you so carefully tend in your garden are like an oasis in a desert -
a feast for the eyes and stomach, waiting to be harvested at just the right time.
Sometimes, though, the fruits of your labor are prematurely usurped by a garden
intruder impressed by what it sees as a gourmet, all-you-can-eat buffet.
" Deer are looking for the highest-quality food, and our yards often offer the best
smorgasbord, " says Dana Sanchez, a wildlife specialist for Oregon State University Extension
Service. " When taking loving care of our plants - watering well and fertilizing - we're
producing a really superior plant compared to what's in the natural environment. They
are more tender and have more nutrition and water content. "
How do you keep deer from feasting
on what you want to enjoy?
According to nationally recognized
gardening expert Joe Lamp'l, creator and
host of the award-winning PBS television
series, " Growing a Greener World, " there
are three primary strategies: exclusion
through physical barriers, repellents and
making appropriate plant choices.
" There's no foolproof method for
keeping deer from eating your landscape
if they're hungry enough, but there are
some ways to minimize the damage, "
says Lamp'l. " It takes persistence and a
few tricks, but you can keep deer at bay. "
FENCE THEM OUT
The most reliable way to address a deer
issue is to create a physical barrier or a way
to exclude deer from your landscape,
Lamp'l says.
" Building a fence around your vegetable
garden will do a great deal to reduce deer
damage, but not just any fence will do, "
he says.
Lamp'l suggests building a double,
three-strand fence, like those used for
livestock protection. Mount plastic
insulators on 36-inch wooden, fiberglass
or metal stakes. Make two concentric
circles around the area, 3 feet apart. String
the stakes in each circle together with wire
strands, placing the wire in the outside
circle, 18 inches from the ground. Then
put two strands on the inner stakes at
10 and 24 inches.
" A deer's depth perception is not good,
so they will sense the presence of the two
24 | Cooperative Living | March-April 2017
fences, but will be very unlikely to attempt
to jump both, " says Michael Mengak,
wildlife specialist professor at the
University of Georgia. " You've created a
visual and physical barrier against them
without putting up an unsightly, stockadestyle
fence. A deer may try to jump the
fence, but it won't be able to clear both
circles. It will most likely jump back out
than attempt to cross the inner fence's
24-inch barrier. "
Electricity - either through solar
power or a battery-operated source -
can be added, but Lamp'l says that is not
necessary in most cases.
If a double fence is not practical from
a space standpoint, he suggests building a
standard fence from posts and chicken
wire, woven field wire or welded mesh
wire at least 8 feet tall. Make sure the
A young deer takes his pick of greens
in a well-tended garden.
fencing is tight against the ground. Deer
will not burrow, but they will look for
an easy way to go under it.
Individual plants or smaller plant
groupings can be protected by draping
them with lightweight netting. Loosely
secure the netting around the base of
the plant to prevent the deer from
nibbling on the leaves.
TURN TO REPELLENTS
Frustrated gardeners have resorted to a
variety of techniques to try to deter Bambi
and friends from foraging and grazing on
prized roses, vegetables and hydrangeas:
human hair, Irish Spring soap shavings,
aluminum pie pans suspended on string,
motion-activated lights and water
sprinklers.
Others have tried crushing garlic,
concocting a mixture of fragrant herbs
or spraying capsaicin oil onto plants to
keep the deer away.
" Some of these methods may work for
the short term, but deer are creatures of
habit and they'll adjust to these attempts to
add a human scent to frighten them, " says
Neil Soderstrom, author of Deer-Resistant
Landscaping: Proven Advice and Strategies
for Outwitting Deer and 20 Other Pesky
Mammals.
" We've heard of people using powdered
baby formula, homemade concoctions that
contain rosemary or other herbs, hot
sauce, and even human or animal urine, "
he says.
Soderstrom says commercially available
repellents have a higher success rate, but
the key is to alternate their use.
" The odor will dissipate over time, so
you must be diligent in applying them
every 10 days or so, and after it rains, "
he says.
Recognized brands are Liquid Fence,
Deer Away, Deer Out, Deer Stopper and
Hinder. They are applied directly to leaves
and the stem to create smells and tastes
offensive to deer.
www.co-opliving.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF TEDDY FISHER

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Cooperative Living March/April 2017

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