Remember The Three Musketeers?

            Do you remember the Three Musketeers? No, I am not talking about Athos, Porthos and Aramis and their friend d’Artagnan. I’m talking about the three white-tailed deer that entertained the madman so well all winter.

            Right now, they’ve got him worried. And, it’s not just them. The other day the madman found some chewed-off garlic – supposedly deer hate garlic, as do rabbits. But, something did eat it and it got him thinking about ways to protect his garden from animals looking for a quick snack.

Lots of Deer

            Back to the Three Musketeers. Although we haven’t seen them lately, we know they are around. Because, in Connecticut, deer are everywhere. Depending on who you listen to, deer population estimates top 90,000. That’s a big number for a state the size of Connecticut. The madman’s issue is not will he have a deer problem, but how much of a problem will it be? This year, he wants to be proactive so he has been going over his options. Basically, the best option is a 10 ft. high fence around the entire property – not something he plans to do. So, what will he do? Lots of things.

Alliums By The Bunch

            First, let’s talk about the natural landscape. Deer hate “stinky” plants. By “stinky” we mean plants that emit a strong odor that may be pleasant to us, but not to deer. Tops among these are the alliums. The garlic, onions and chives, in their various shapes and forms, are quite edible to us, but not to deer. These plants have been the madman’s first line of defense because so many other animals also hate them. We grow more of these than any sane person needs – they are everywhere in our gardens.

            But, there are also ornamental alliums – some 700 species in fact that are grown, not for eating, but for admiring. As spring-flowering bulbs, they are left alone by the squirrels and shunned by the deer, unlike tulips and crocuses. They also attract native bees in later spring when other bulbs have passed. When your fall bulb catalogs show up this summer, spend some time in the allium section – some of these bulbs are rather exotic.

Other Stinkers

            Fortunately alliums aren’t the only “stinky” plants. Deer absolutely hate the scent of lavender. As luck would have it, I started growing lavender a long time ago; not sure why because I dislike the smell, too. But anything the deer hate, the madman likes so we grow lots of it. Here in Connecticut, lavender is a perennial, unlike the deer’s next hated herb, rosemary. Because rosemary won’t overwinter in our climate, it has always been a challenge to keep these plants growing over the winter. The madman has found that if he spritzes them frequently with water, they do quite well in a cool sunny spot or on the floor of his greenhouse. Every spring, he strategically places these potted plants in his defensive perimeter.

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            We’ve also had good luck with marigolds which have the added benefit of being a good bug repeller. I’ve noticed that, thanks to the Three Musketeers, the madman has increased the numbers of marigolds he is starting from seed. Guess he’s really serious about that natural plant barrier.

Stuff From The Store

            All of these plants seem to work by smell, a sense highly developed in the deer whose survival depends upon detecting predators. Many commercial deer repellants rely on this fact. They stink, too. Maybe not to you and me, but to the deer.

            There are many options from powders and sprays to vials and canisters. All of them work to some extent, but none of them work all of the time. And, none of them will stop a very hungry deer. After careful study, the madman has settled on a couple of commercial systems – I have to admit that he has used both of them before with decent luck.

The Madman’s Selections

            The Safer Deer Off Deer Repellant relies on dried blood inside a canister. As air passes through the canister, the scent of blood is carried out – hopefully warning The Three Musketeers to stay away. He plans to strategically place these canisters around the edge of the vegetable garden – I’ll let you know if Athos or Porthos tries to cross the line.

            In addition to the Deer Off, he has some vials of garlic oil called Lustre Leaf Fend Off Deer and Rabbit Repellant to deploy throughout the garden. He is thinking that if the odor of blood doesn’t warn them away the garlic oil may change the deers’ minds about grazing through the garden. We’ll see how that goes.

            Last up for the commercial methods is Irish Spring soap. Obviously this is an off-label use – he doesn’t really plan to have them wash with it. He’ll shave off pieces of the soap and place soap sachets throughout the garden.

Stuff From The Kitchen

            If you don’t want to buy a commercial repellant, you probably have enough stuff in your kitchen to whip up some nasty concoctions to keep the deer away. Raw eggs, hot peppers, garlic and milk are the main ingredients in these homemade mixtures and they will most likely smell as bad to you and your neighbors as to the deer. The madman says be careful and use good judgement.

            As we said before, repellants are never 100% effective, so the madman plans to add a few mechanical deterrents. What’s a mechanical deterrent, you ask? Any object that you put in your garden to make the deer nervous. The repellents we have already mentioned rely on the deer’s senses of taste and smell: mechanical deterrents take advantage of a deer’s natural skittishness.

Change It Up

            Deer don’t like changes. So, if you introduce something new to your landscape, it is viewed with suspicion and the deer avoid it. Unfortunately, after a bit of time, it becomes normal and the deer accept it. We know farmers who park tractors at the edge of a field. They say this works if they move the machines every couple of days so the deer don’t get used to them.

            In the madman’s garden, he’ll use the snow blower and rototiller at the garden’s edge; moving each every few days. We did try this last year and it didn’t seem to help the sweet potatoes, maybe he didn’t move the machines often enough.

Flashy Bedazzlers

            Deer also dislike bright lights and sudden movement. Many a hunter will tell you of lost venison thanks to the reflection of sunlight off of eyeglass lenses. The madman plans to capitalize on this fact by hanging old mirrors and used CDs from near-invisible fishing line at various spots. He does like flashy lights – if this doesn’t work to repel the deer at least he’ll be entertained by the reflections. And, he thinks he found another use for that monofilament 30# fishing line. He plans to make what he calls invisible fence-like barriers. He hopes that the 30# line will be clear enough to be invisible to the deer, but strong enough to make them feel it if they walk into it. These barriers will be a couple of posts with rows of line stretched between them that we can move from time to time.

            It looks like we have our strategy for the deer pretty much worked out. Now he can start to worry about the rabbits and all the other critters that will show up looking for free food. But, that’s a topic for another time and will require lots more thinking.

            Luckily he does his best thinking with a cup of hot cocoa. Looks like it’s time to get it started.