Deer Repellent

Deer eat shrubs. Love them, hate them, that’s just what they do.

They can help themselves to the tall grass, wildflowers and weeds out back. I don’t even mind so much that they have moved in, despite the tick situation.

But there are some plants I really would like them to leave alone. My little “understory” bed of hydrangea, weigela, viburnum, sourwood and burning bush took a lot of time and energy to plant. When it grows it, it will be a nice transition from yard to the White Pine border behind it. It would be nice if the deer would lay off the White Pines too, since the deer have eaten away most of the bottom limbs.

I tried using a deer repellent pellet-type application, but with the constant rain this fall even with a heavy application, the deer remain “undeterred”. So, once again, I did my online research and got to making an new homemade repellent. I let it sit for 48 hours. (It was raining anyway!) This morning, I strained the new concoction and got to spray. I hit the whole bed, even plants they hadn’t touched. Then, I did some test spraying on a few leaves of rose of sharon, azalea, witchhazel and rhododendron.

Our beagle was very interested in eating the finished product, leading me to wonder if I hadn’t put in enough rotten eggs or red pepper.

I will report back my results and upon success post my recipe!