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Deer Prevention - How to Keep Deers Away

A fence is one of the best deer prevention devices available. You can spray plants with putrid egg white. Netting draped over plants will do a very good job of preventing deer from eating the plants. You can also pound stakes into the ground and string fishing line from stake to stake to keep away deer from your yard, garden, landscaping, or house.

How to keep deer away from yard - Deer are herbivores. They eat the things we use in our landscaping and they are especially troublesome during the winter months when food is scarce. To get rid of deer in the yard you need to eliminate the things that lure them in. Fruit trees are one of the hardest factors to control when it comes to deer. If you have an apple tree in your yard, make sure the branches are trimmed back so that the deer cannot reach them. Any fallen fruit should be picked up immediately. Even with all of your diligence, fruit trees are very difficult to maintain. Cover your other shrubs and winter plants with burlap to prevent the deer from chewing on the buds and bark. When applicable, buy plants that are deer resistant. Keep the activity level around your home up so that deer will be leery of coming onto the property. An inactive home will seem much safer to the flighty deer.

How to keep deer away from garden - If it’s not hunting season you have no legal ability to shoot the deer in your garden. Deer pose an interesting dilemma because they cannot be trapped and relocated. The only methods of handling deer in your garden are methods of exclusion. Thankfully deer are prey animals and are very timid. Their flight response makes managing them more reasonable than not. The first and best step to keep deer out of the garden is to install a fence. A fence is one of the best deer prevention devices available. Deer can jump so this fence needs to be tall. Deer have also been known to crawl under fences. There should be no gaps to allow entry. If your garden is too large to fence in consider protecting your plants with burlap sacks when you are not home or are asleep. Burlap will allow the plants to breathe and will discourage the deer from eating them. A loud, free-roaming dog will also do a world of good for deer control though the dog may cause damage to the garden as well.

How to keep deer away from landscaping - Deer are not usually bold but they will become comfortable with certain homes in their territories. If you live alone and are not an active person, deer will eventually learn that they will not often encounter you if they venture into your yard. A home with lots of children and outdoor activity will be less appealing to the deer. Predictability is a huge deer attractant. In addition to activity, keep your back yard free of falling fruit or un-pruned trees. Deer love to eat buds and if they can reach them the animals can kill a small sapling. Landscape areas and gardens should also be fenced in or the plants covered in burlap sacks. If you have a large enough property, you can consider planting a food plot just for the deer, though this may backfire and encourage the grazers to investigate other aspects of your back yard. Perimeter fencing is the best defense against deer but this method can be costly and impractical.

Go back to the main Deer Removal page for more information about deer prevention, and more information about how to keep deers away.