If you love nothing more than spending your spare time tending to your flower garden, then we’re sure that you find nothing more frustrating than having to deal with curious deers attracted to the scent of your beautiful flowers! However, instead of opting for dangerous, chemical sprays that could potentially harm deer, we suggest that you choose gentler options to help ensure that deer steer clear of your garden - and we’re going to talk you through some of the most effective ways to keep deer out of your flower beds below:
1. Incorporate plants that deer do not like:
One of the easiest ways to ensure that nearby deer steer clear of your flowerbeds is to simply plant a few plants that come with strong aromas that deer can’t stand. Some of the most effective deer control flowers that gardener’s plant alongside their favorites are lavender and marigolds, as deer are super reluctant to walk through these types of plants as their scent has the ability to stay on their legs for long periods of time, which makes it harder for them to sniff out any predators that may be close.
In addition to potentially putting them at risk of being a larger animal’s dinner, the strong scent of these types of flowers also interferes with a deer’s ability to sniff out delicious food, which is why deer like to stay as far away from lavender and marigolds as possible. If you wanted to add something a little extra to really seal the deal, you could also plant some herbs around the exterior of your flower beds, including fragrant oregano, mint, and parsley.
2. Use a repelling spray that will make deers turn their noses up:
This point ties in closely with the one above, although we still think that it is certainly worth mentioning. Seeing as deers have a tendency to steer clear of unusual fragrances, if you’d like an alternative to planting additional herbs and flowers in your garden, you could simply opt to create your very own repellent spray to spritz across your flower beds and send deers running.
Unlike repellent sprays on the market that can all too often contain a plethora of different chemicals that can actually be detrimental to the health of deers (especially if they happen to accidentally eat any foliage with the repellent on) this DIY spray that we’re going to show you how to make contains edible ingredients that are totally safe to deers, albeit very stinky! To make the spray, you’re going to need to take a jug and mix a cup of whole milk, 1 egg, water, and garlic powder. Then, pour the mixture into an old spray bottle, give it a good shake to mix all of the ingredients together, and then leave it out in the direct sunlight for a few hours to help make the fragrance as potent as possible before spraying it onto your flowerbeds.
3. Make plenty of noise that will send deers running for the hills!
Believe it or not, unexpected noises stimulate a similar response in deers to the way that they react when they are exposed to a predator. So, with that in mind, stimulating sudden, unusual noises will instantly trigger a deer’s defense instinct, which means that they will retreat from your garden and stay far away for good. If you want to try this method out, then keep in mind that the goal is to simply spook deers away from your garden rather than cause them to become very distressed, and the best result for doing that is to take some old CDs and string them up around your garden.
As a side note, keep in mind that deers can have the tendency to catch on to your deterrent ploys quicker than you might think, so we recommend that you alternate between a few of your favorite deterrent methods in order to ensure that you keep the deer on their toes!