Living in an area that has many deer can be interesting in many ways. Of course, it’s fantastic if you’re a hunter who likes to go hunting for deer when it’s the proper season.
However, it can also be pretty annoying to have deer in the area. Sometimes deer will come into your yard and they will start eating your plants.
It’s not uncommon for people to have deer snack on the vegetables in their gardens. Deer will even eat certain flowers, and this can be maddening when you just want to make your yard look nice.
Having to deal with your nice flowers getting munched on by deer will be upsetting no matter what. Is there a way to keep deer out of flowers so that you won’t have to deal with this drama?
Continue reading to get information about how to prevent deer from messing with your flowers. It should help you to keep the flowers safe moving forward.
1 – Ultrasonic Repellent Devices
One of the best ideas to try that will keep deer from coming near your flowers involves using ultrasonic repellent devices. If you aren’t familiar with these devices yet, then you’re going to enjoy just how useful they are.
Essentially, these are devices that are capable of emitting sounds that can’t be picked up by human ears. The animals hate these sounds, though, and they’ll try to stay away from areas where they’re placed.
These can be used to help repel many animals that are messing with things that you don’t want them to mess with. They’ve been used to repel rats, squirrels, raccoons, and even large animals such as deer.
You just place an ultrasonic repellent device near your garden area. It will emit sounds that will make deer uncomfortable, and they’ll be far less likely to stop by to snack on your flowers.
It’s very convenient that these devices are powered by solar energy, too. You can stake them into the ground and they will remain powered so long as they get enough sunlight.
The cost-effective nature of this solution makes it appealing. Devices such as this aren’t exorbitantly priced, and it’s going to be easy for you to put a device in place no matter what.
If you have multiple spots in your yard that you’d like to protect, then it might be prudent to buy more than one device. This helps when you have a large yard with many different flower beds.
2 – Place Human Hair Near Your Garden
Placing human hair near your garden is another surefire way to keep deer from coming close. You see, deer are very wary of potential threats and they’re going to be able to smell when humans are nearby.
If you scatter hair clippings near your flowers, then your scent is going to permeate the area. It lets the deer know that this is a human area, and it makes them feel unsafe.
This is a very easy deer repellent method so long as you can gather human hair. If you cut your own hair, then this should be fairly easy.
It’ll also be good to use beard trimmings if you’re someone who regularly trims their beard. Conversely, you could ask your hairstylist or barber for hair clippings to see if they’re willing to give you some.
You can scatter the hair clippings that you’ve gathered as if it was mulch. It’ll do a good job of keeping deer away from your garden so that your flowers will stay safe.
3 – Consider Using Deer Repellent Sprays
Deer repellent sprays will be another thing that you can look into. It can be very helpful to use deer repellent because of how good it is at scaring deer away.
There are many deer repellents on the market that can work to get the job done. Some of the most helpful repellents will contain ingredients such as predator urine.
You know that deer can smell threats, and they’re going to be very wary of spots that smell like they’ve been marked by predators. This is why deer repellent containing predator urine will work so well.
It’s pretty easy to get what you need online when you’re looking for a professional repellent option. Some people have chosen to make their own deer repellent sprays, though.
You could make a homemade deer repellent using ingredients such as garlic, hot sauce, and eggs. If this sounds like too much trouble, then just go buy a spray that you know will work well.
4 – Let Your Dog Mark the Area
Letting your dog mark the area could work pretty well, too. You could allow your dogs to urinate near the flower beds so that there will be a predator urine scent near the spot.
Dogs are predators and they’re closely related to wolves. Wolves and other types of wild canines will try to attack and kill deer in many areas.
Having some type of predator urine scent near the area that you’re trying to protect should work wonders. It shouldn’t take a long time to get your dog to handle its business in the right spots, either.
As weird as it might sound, you could always urinate near this spot of the yard yourself, too. You know that deer will be afraid of human scents, and this does extend to include human urine.
5 – Motion-Sensitive Devices
Motion-sensitive devices will help to scare deer away from your yard. When a deer goes near your flowers, it’s going to get surprised by a burst of light.
You can easily install motion-sensitive lights that will help to keep animals away from certain things. Deer like to feel as if they’re hiding because they’re trying to stay safe from predators.
Bright lights will certainly scare them away. The only worry would be that the deer could eventually get used to the lights so that they will just ignore them in some scenarios.
This is why it might be even better to use motion-sensitive sprinklers too. You can have a blast of water shoot out of the sprinkler every single time motion is detected.
Devices such as this are great for protecting your home from burglars. They’re also great at scaring deer and making them run in the other direction after they get blasted with water.
6 – Install a Barrier to Protect the Plants
Of course, it makes sense to do what you can to protect your plants from the local wildlife. It might be wise to install some type of barrier that will keep animals from being able to easily reach your plants.
There are a few options that you can look into that will work nicely. You could install netting that will help to keep your flowers and other plants from being easily accessible.
Some people choose to place row covers over their flowers and vegetables, too. These can work to make it difficult for deer to be able to eat the plants.
Fences can also be good deterrents because they’ll make things harder for the deer. If deer have to go out of their way to get to the plants, then they might not bother.
Just remember that fences will need to be high enough to give a deer a tough time. It’s recommended to use fences that stand eight feet tall or higher.
It’s also true that stockade fences will work better than chain link fences. A deer might be hesitant to try to jump a fence when it can’t tell what’s on the other side of the fence.
7 – Consider Planting Deer-Resistant Plants
Have you thought about planting things that deer won’t eat? There are going to be certain plants that deer will be less likely to eat than others.
For example, a deer is not going to be as likely to munch on a fern. Some types of plants just aren’t that appealing to local deer.
People have had great luck when planting prickly plants and plants that are somewhat fuzzy. Deer don’t seem to be as interested in those.
If your goal is to plant pretty flowers, then you can at least look into flower options that deer might not be as interested in eating. Otherwise, you’ll just have to rely on the deterrent methods that have been outlined above.
Sometimes it can be useful to plant things that deer don’t like as border plants. You can still have pretty flowers in the middle of the garden, but the deer might not want to have to touch prickly bushes or other things that are protecting the flowers.
Final Thoughts
You know a lot more about what can be done to protect flowers from deer now. There are many great options that will help you to keep deer from eating your precious flowers.
Sometimes it’s best to use modern devices such as ultrasonic repellent devices. These are easy to use and they can scare away many different types of animals.
Deer repellent sprays will work nicely to make deer want to stay away from your garden as well. You could make your own DIY repellent spray or you could buy a product from a store that contains predator urine.
Scattering human hair near the flowers should also work well. Some people also just let their dogs urinate near the flower beds so that predator scents will fill the area.
Motion-sensitive lights and sprinklers frighten deer and make them run away. If you use a combination of these deer deterrent options, then you’ll surely have good luck keeping your flowers safe from deer.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.