Tag Archives: Deer Repellent

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Deer Repellent 101

Yes, I know this is my second post on deer repellent today. I can’t help it. They nibbled the buds off my David Austin roses. I’m really angry. And it isn’t a good idea to make me mad.

So I’m mixing up a witch’s brew that will keep them away for weeks, if not the whole summer. This stuff is going to be brutal. It serves them right. It isn’t like they don’t have a whole forest of honeysuckle bushes to keep them fat and sassy.

I’m going to make a confession here.  I don’t use an exact formula. I use whatever I have hanging around the house that I know deer (and rabbits) hate.

To wit:

Hot sauce

Garlic (and/or anything else in the onion family)

Liquid dish detergent

Sour milk

Eggs, preferable rotten

Tonight’s Formula:

I have a quart of milk that’s been in my fridge since Christmas. I’ve been saving it for an emergency like this.

I bought two bottles of hot sauce because I knew this day was coming.

I have a jar of minced garlic and a half dozen eggs. Unfortunately they’re not rotten.

I’m mixing up the whole batch and for good measure, adding dish detergent and the remnants of a bottle of commercial deer repellent.

Then I’m going to let the whole mess fester until tomorrow morning when I administer my potion to my yard and the rest of the neighborhood.

Happy Earth Day, Deer!  This is what you get for eating my David Austin roses. I hope you enjoyed them.  It’s going to be honeysuckle bushes for you for the rest of the summer.

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Oh My Deer!

It’s a beautiful Ash Wednesday in Southern Ohio, and I was outside visiting my bees when I noticed that the neighborhood deer had been snacking on the tips of my rose bushes. They’re starting early this year!

They're Only Cute When It's Not Your Garden!

Time to brew up a batch of my never-fail deer repellent. Actually, I have several recipes.

Here they are:

FROM: http://www.farminfo.org/pests
3 raw eggs
3 tbls. of red hot sauce
3 tbls. of garlic juice or minced
Add enough water to a blender to process and mix well. Add this to a gallon of water and spray on plants. You can make the spray last longer by adding Wilt Proof to it.

FROM: A Minnesota Master Gardener at http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/AAMG/wildlife
Blend 2 eggs and a cup or two or cold water at high speed. Add this mixture to a gallon of water and let it stand for 24 hours. After 24 hours, spray on foliage. The egg mixture does not wash off easily, but re-application 2-3 times a season may be needed. For a larger quantity, blend a dozen eggs into 5 gallons of water. This mix is also said to repel rabbits.

FROM: http://www.Rutherford County.org

6 eggs
4 hot peppers or enough to make it very hot
6-12 gloves of garlic, enough to make it stink
5 cups of warm water.
Put it all in a blender and liquify it. Put it in an old milk jug. Set it out for a couple of days in the sun to let it cook and get really stinky and hot. Strain it good if you want to use it in a sprayer. You can also pour it on and/or around the plants directly from the jug.

FROM: Backyard Magazine

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 Tablespoon of cooking oil
1 Tablespoon of dish soap
Add 1 gallon of water and shake well. Spray or sprinkle on plants every two weeks or after heavy rain.

FROM: Kreftmeyer Fine Gardens/Missouri Botanical Gardens
2 eggs
1 cup skim milk
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons liquid dish detergent
Put all in blender and spray.

I personally use a combination of all of the above ingredients. I don’t want to take any chances.

These really work, and I end up spraying all of my neighbors’ yards too. The only downside is that with all that hot sauce, our yards smell like barbecue for a day or so.

Good luck!