How To Keep Deer Out Of The Garden: 5 Easy Methods

by John Griffith
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Encountering a deer can be really exciting. These animals are super cute and they exemplify beauty and grace. Watching them stotting off into the distance is simply captivating. However, they aren’t as cute when you catch them in your garden eating your favorite plants. For them your garden is like an all-you-can-eat buffet. They will have no problem eating all of your beautiful tulips, munching on foliage, and treating themselves to your fruit. Oh, deer! So, what can you do? If you want to stop deer from wreaking havoc in your precious garden, you need to take preventative measures. Today we will show you some of the most effective methods when it comes to how to keep deer out of the garden.

For deer your garden is like an all-you-can-eat buffet

deer eating plants in garden

How To Keep Deer Out Of The Garden

Deer find your garden very appealing. They see your property as a supermarket where they can walk in, enjoy all their favorite snacks, and leave without paying. And while these animals are rarely dangerous, you still don’t want them hanging around in your backyard. They are simply destructive. That’s why you need to know how to properly protect your garden from these troublemakers. We will show you some of the best, humane methods to keeping them off your property.

Deer find your garden very appealing

how to keep deer out of the garden deer in garden

#Deer resistant plants

An easy way to keep deer out of your property is by growing plants they don’t like. While this may sound limiting, there are actually a lot of lovely deer resistant plants you can add to your garden. In general, deer do not like plants that have strong smells (like lavender, rosemary, garlic), plants with fuzzy foliage, prickly plants, and so on. So, invest in more deer resistant plants. For those plants that you simply can’t remove for your garden, there are ways to protect them from deer, just read on to find out.

Deer do not like plants that have strong smells, like lavender

lavender plant growing in field

#Put up a fence

If you have a lot of deer in your area or you live near a lot of wildlife, it’s best to put up a fence. But not a small picket fence, no, no. What you need is a very tall fence. Something deer can’t just hop over. If you can’t put up a huge fence or you simply don’t want to close off your whole garden, there is an alternative. You can create an invisible fence with some clear fishing wire. Take some tall pieces of wood and place them around the perimeter of your garden. They don’t need to be close to one another. Then with the fishing wire, start to place rows and rows around a foot apart. The deer won’t see the wire, so they won’t try to jump over it, but they will also feel the invisible barrier, which will turn them away.

It’s best to put up a tall fence

how to keep deer out of the garden tall white garden fence

#Deer repellents smells

Like any animal, deer also have certain smells they dislike and try to stay away from. This gives you a great advantage. So, make your very own homemade deer repellents. You can hang pantyhoses filled with dog or human hair around the yard. You can also make your own spray from an egg, a cup of milk, a tablespoon of dish soap and water. Spray around the garden. You can also buy ready store bought deer repellent sprays. Just keep in mind that all sprays do smell bad, not only for the deer, but for you as well.

You can make your own spray from an egg, a cup of milk, a tablespoon of dish soap and water

spray bottle filled with clear liquid

#Loud noises

Deer, like us, get spooked by loud noises. So, by simulating unexpected sounds or types of movements, you can trigger the deer’s fight or (mostly) flight instinct. Remember the movie Home Alone? Yeah, well you will have to embody little Kevin and make some of your very own homemade traps. However, instead of catching burglars these noisy, moving traps will keep deer away. You can string up cans around your garden. They will get moved around and clink clank together which will spook the deer. You can also string up CD’s or flags. Just make sure to move this home security system around the garden from time to time to make sure the deer do not get used to it. You can also use motion activated sprinklers to scare them off.

By simulating unexpected sounds or types of movements, you can scare off deer

emprty soup cans

#Enclose garden beds

If you only have a few fruits, veggies, or plants that deer like, you can simply enclose them. You can do this by using nets, cages, cloches, or other types of physical barriers. This is also a wonderful way to control other types of pests, including raccoons and opossums. Depending on your plants you may use different types of protection. For example, you can use chicken wire crop coops to protect raised beds. Or you can use poly deer netting for plants and spaces that are large or with an irregular shape.

Enclose all your veggies with a physical barrier

how to keep deer out of the garden enclosed garden bed

@The Scrap Shoppe

These were the best methods when it comes to how to keep deer out of your garden. We hope you found this article useful. Now you can have a deer-free outdoor space and you won’t have to worry about them wreaking havoc in your garden.

These were the best methods when it comes to how to keep deer out of your garden

small deer in the garden

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John Griffith

John Griffith is a young, passionate journalist. Writing has been John’s hobby ever since he was a boy. He has worked in some of the UK’s most successful news portals over the course of his professional career but found his forever home at Archzine.