Spray Away the Deer
Created on 8/31/2009
Okay, back to those pesky deer. As the weather cools, they’re snacking habits seem more serious. Maybe it’s easy calories before winter, or maybe the tough grass gone to seed is not as palatable, but keeping deer out of the vegetables at this time of year is as tough as protecting cherries or blueberries from the birds.
We had large sweet corn fields around us in Ohio, and one of the ways to keep deer and birds out of it was with propane guns. They didn’t shoot anything, but the noise scared away the critters… and us kids. The corn was so thick at times you couldn’t see the guns, but we all knew the tell-tale “tick” before they went off. You’d hear the sound and run! I’ve heard people say the deer become accustomed to it, but we never did. They worked okay (there were still some deer and some birds), but definitely weren’t foolproof. Plus setting up propane cannons is not practical for residential areas.
Along the same lines, some people use radios to keep deer away, but unlike the noisy guns, the deer quickly realize just because there’s music or voices doesn’t mean there are people. So noise doesn’t seem to be the best bet on the front lines when battling deer.
One tool that I love is the motion triggered sprinkler. It requires a 9 V battery, but other than that, you simply hook the hose, and position it to keep the deer at bay. It gives a 2-3 second blast of water, and will spray out to roughly 35-feet. The first time I used it was at a friend’s house on a mountain in Whitefish, Montana. I’d installed several landscapes in the area, and it seemed the deer were waiting with salt and pepper shakers. No matter what I planted – natives, thorny shrubs, foul tasting perennials – they always did a significant amount of damage.
My friends wanted more than barberry bushes, so I knew we had to be creative. I suggested we try the motion triggered sprinkler. It’s saved their garden for over 6 years, so far. The deer are there in the spring waiting for the perennials to green up, and they hit the garden in the fall after they pull in the hoses for the season. Plus, they don’t miss a chance if the sprinkler is left off at any time during the summer. So we know the pressure is there if the motion triggered sprinkler ever failed.
Although the deer don’t come into my vegetable garden (yet!) at home because it’s right outside the kitchen door, I do have a problem with the dogs. When we babysit our neighbor’s dog, she and our Melvin tear a path through a couple of the beds when they’re playing. The motion triggered sprinkler gives them a surprise when they round the corner! (I might also put it by the ripening tomatoes that are irresistible to our 2 year old. If Samuel keeps picking them, we won’t have any left to can.)
The newest experiment with it is going to be keeping squirrels away from the apples. Friends have a bounty of apples, but the squirrels are wreaking havoc on their crop. I think this will work great. The only challenge is going to be securing it at the right angle to a branch since it’s meant to go in the ground. I will certainly keep you posted on how it works!
