OH DEER In Your Garden...

by Kerry King, QAC - Agriculture, Pacific Vista Landscape Services, Inc.

As the natural habitat for deer and other animals is reduced by the urban expansion, hunger, and

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drought, herbivores are driven into our back yards and gardens. With traditional deer deterrents, the cure is often worse than the damage. Using bags of human hair, bars of soap hanging in the trees, garlic or pepper spray is not going to help your problem.

There are far better ways to deter the deer from your garden or plants. Here are a few ideas that might work for you:

1. Using a liquid deer repellent  (must be reapplied on a regular basis)
2. Plant a plot garden to redirect the deer away from the plants you want to protect.
3. Find where the deer are entering you property and create a barrier with a plot saver product. This will put the repellent at nose level and the deer will not pass over it. 
4. Using motion sensors attached to lights or to your sprinkler system is effective.
5. Try blood meal at the base of you plants.  This is all organic and is a good source of nitrogen for your plants.
6. Use deer resistant plants where at all possible. A good reference to locate these plants is in the Sunset Western Garden Book or any on online horticulture site.  Here are just a few:

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Garden-Book-Climate-Experts/dp/0376039167

• Buddleja / Butterfly bush
• Berberis / Barberry
• Feijoa / Pineapple guava
• Ceanothus/ California lilac
• Rosemary
• Salvia / Sages 

About the Author:

Mr. Kerry King,

Sr. Acct Mgr., QAC-Agriculture,

Pacific Vista Landscape Services, Inc. has over 38 years in the landscaping profession.