Alternatives to Deer Fencing - Keep Deer Out of Your Yard

Who doesn't love deer? These majestic princes of the forest are beautiful to look at and lets face it, they remind us of Bambi. But no matter how much you love deer, chances are, if you live near the woods, you know what trouble deer can be. Deer can wreck havoc on your plants, flowers, and shrubbery and can cost you hundreds of dollars a year in landscaping services. You might have thought about deer fencing, but deer fencing has many problems. So what are your choices? You can either live with your deer problem, or you can look for alternatives to deer fencing. But what are the problems and alternatives to deer fencing?

The Problems with Deer Fencing:

Putting up a fence to keep out deer has many problems. First of all, many deer fences do not work very effectively to keep deer out of your garden. The fences that work the best are electric fences but they are dangerous to use if you have children or pets in your neighborhood. Conventional deer fences are not dangerous, but they are unsightly and expensive. Usually conventional deer fences are 7 ft high and many subdivisions will not allow them to be used.

What are the Alternatives to Deer Fencing?

What do you do when you have deer infiltrating your yard but you don't want to put up a fence? Well there are several unique ways to keep deer out of your yard. If you find that the deer in your yard are becoming a problem try one or all of these tips.

Alternatives to Deer Fencing #1: Human Scent

Believe it or not, many people swear by human hair. Go to your local barbershop and ask for their hair scraps. Sprinkle the human hair around the perimeter of your yard and in your flowerbed. If you can't find enough hair, try sticking bars of soaps on ropes and tie them to trees along the border of your yard. Sometimes the smell of the soap and the hair will keep them out of your yard because they are associated with humans.

Alternatives to Deer Fencing #2: Feed Them

It may sound contrary at first to feed them. But if you set out a salt lick at the end of your yard and plant a few plants around the salt lick that deer love, you might find that they frequent "their" garden for their food and don't venture farther into "yours".

Alternatives to Deer Fencing #3: Plant Deer Resistant Plants

More and more gardening shops are carrying your favorite flowers in deer resistant forms. Ask your local gardener what plants work best in your area and which ones are deer resistant. Deer might not eat Daffodils, Butterfly Bushes, California Lilacs, Clematis, Iris, Lavender, Peonies, and Periwinkle. You can still have a beautiful garden that is attractive to you and NOT your deer.

Alternatives to Deer Fencing #4: Motion

Deer are usually afraid of humans and anything in motion may be enough to scare them away. Attach silver pie plates or old CD's to strings and hang them on branches near the end of your yard. As they blow in the wind, the silver will catch the deer's eye and make them a little more doubtful about coming into your yard.

Alternatives to Deer Fencing #5: Make your own deer repellent

You can use chemical repellents to keep deer out of your yard. There are store bought brands like Deer NO and Deer Off, or you can try to make your own. Take 2 TBSP of hot pepper sauce, 1 TBSP liquid soap, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 gallon of water and spray it generously around your yard. If pepper spray isn't working you can also try planting chives around your yard.