Featured Articles > July 2008
Deer: We're Smarter Than They Are
by Ann Sagi WardThe deer that inhabit the Loch Raven Watershed and Cromwell Valley Park discovered long ago tha the gardens and flower beds of Chatterleigh make convenient salad bars.
Neighborhood gardeners can save time, money, frustration and irritation by using information - some new, some variations on familiar tips - to protect their flora from the white-tailed fauna.
A standing-room-only crowd attending a seminar at Cockeysville library learned about deer behavior; plant selection; and organic repellents and other deterrents.
Sandra VanAllen Baker, president of the Monroe County (NY) Alliance for Wildlife Protection, explained that deer are neophobic, or afraid of new things. Once deer become accustomed to a sight, smell or sound they will accept an area as safe. (That explains why hanging a bar of strongly scented deodorant soap inside a pantyhose leg in the yard is effective temporarily: deer get used to teh scent after about three days and ignore it. Changing the brand of soap frequently can increase that tactic's effectiveness - but does not address the unsightliness of droopy pantyhose legs around the yard.)
Deer travel in groups, and adult deer teach fawns where to eat, leading them to the same places over generations, Baker said. Deer browse primarily at dusk and dawn, and are selective feeders, eating plants with considerable discrimination, she said.
Plant species that deer don't like. The Maryland Cooperative Extension (http://extension.umd.edu) and local garden centers offer lists of "deer-resistant" plants. One caveat: deer can't read, so it's possible that plants on that list get eaten. Use varieties that have thrived in the past.
Baker recommended that gardeners who want to add new plants introduce one or two specimens each year to minimize expense if the deer do graze them to the ground.
She said deer often will avoid plants with spiny surfaces, furry leaves or unusual textures. They also dislike aromatic plants. She suggested planting heavily scented herbs among more appealing varieties.
Repellents with odors or tastes that are offensive to deer can discourage them, Baker said. In addition to the soap bags, others include human hair tied in a net bag or fabric softeners strips, hung three feet apart.
Contact repellents sprayed on plants can be very effective, she said. Deer don't like the taste of hot pepper or rotten eggs. Contact repellents only protect the plants they cover.
Recipes for homemade contact repellents call for using Tobasco sauce, garlic and eggs fermented for a few days. It's less time-consuming and easier for gardeners to pruchase ready-made organic repellents, which are cheaper at home improvement stores than garden centers.
Baker's recommendations included Deer Off; Milorganite fertilizer (odor deterrent and fertilizer made from composted municipal waste and thrown by the handful on plants, except edible ones); Liquid Fence (a putrid smell when wet); and Ropel, which is more expensive than other repellents but lasts longer. (Gardeners also can protect bulbs by treating them with Ropel before planting.)
Baker also offered advice on visual deterrents, which work because they startle deer. She said the key to visual deterrents is motion because any sudden movement can cause deer to retreat.
She gave high marks to the Smart Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler (available at garden centers). The device senses animals' heat and movement up to 30 feet away in a 100-degree arc. When an animal enters the area, Smart Scarecrow pivots to send about 2 cups of water bursting at the animal, scaring it without harming it.
Unfamiliar sounds also intimidate deer, Baker said. Surrounding a garden with abrasive sounds such as those caused by aluminum pie pans strung close together creates noise (but also raises the question of "visual noise"). An alarm clock radio that turns on during peak deer feeding hours can keep them away, although Baker recommends changing radio stations occasionally because of the animals' neophobia.
Gardners can coexist with deer by understanding their behavior, planting specimens they don't like, and using deterrents and repellents.
Remember: we're smarter than they are.
