DEER oh deer

[Nepen]

I'm sooo so happy to have the land and I love our new house and new pond and new bog and the deer.... BUT!!!!! I could not keep my plants!!!

At first the deer just ate my flowers I put in the side of my pond, just ate them to stump.. ok, I can deal what that, I just get something the deer wont eat next time.

BUT THEY GOT BOLD!@!!!! And even went into my bog to eat all my bog plants that I just put in, some they just tugged it out of the water and didnt eat but they seems to be having so much fun tugging and 80% of my plants came out from the gravel

I remember years ago a member was complaining about the deer and I was thinking I'd just let them eat my plant.. KARMA!!!!!!!!!

I spent a lot of money on those bog plants to try to fill the bog, some I got from Addy, but the bog is still not full, I'm waiting patiently for the plants to take off but the deer got to them before the plants could have a chance to establish. I wouldnt mind if my plants were establish and I have plenty of but some I have only little 1 just sprouted and poor thing got eaten to the stump

Not only did they ate and took the whole plant out of the gravel, they even stump on my Irises and broke many of the plants.

HOW do I deter the deer away from my bog?

They are so cute, they are welcome to eat as many wisteria as they want but of course, they don't eat that!!

 

[tbendl]

Can I send you some bog plants to restock Nepen? I'm so sorry about the deer.

 

[Nepen]

that's very nice of you T. If you have access then I'd gladly accept your offer! Tell me how much

I'm looking at Liquid fence, the granule kind, then think that I could put it around the bog. But then I dont want rain to wash it in the bog.. will that harm fish? what about the liquid form of those things.. will that harm fish?

 

[tbendl]

I'll send you a message. I have plenty and need to clean out a space for some new stuff. The only thing is I don't know what's what.... Almost all of it came from Addy. I'm pretty sure I've got bog bean and some sweet flag. I'll snap some individual pictures and you can pick and choose what you want. And Yay! I was hoping I could find someone to send some of the excess I've got. I've also got plenty of pennywort if you want some of that.

 

[Nepen]

bog bean! I ordered one and then it got eaten to the stump the next day Yes please I would like that one. I'll spray it before planting

I'll take anything. I love variety in my bog! I got some from Addy's too and most of hers survived but some didnt. which is ok

 

[cas]

Sorry about your plants. It is so frustrating when you spend all that time and money to have it gone in one night.
I also have problems with deer. The deer in our neighborhood are quite tame. They do not run from you. We have people that feed them from their hands. The deer bed down next to peoples houses. They walk the backyards when people are having picnics. The deer have very little fear.
People have tried everything to keep the deer from eating their plants. Most neighbors have given up on their gardens and have planted grass. One garden was fenced with 6 foot fencing - the deer jumped over the fence and ate everything. What I have done, but it does not look pretty, is at the side yard where the deer haven't eaten everything, I have netted the entire flower bed. (Yep, the same stuff that is over the pond.) I have also tried sprinkling the buds with ground cayenne pepper. First I use a spray bottle with water and then sprinkle the pepper. It has helped but has to be re-applied after the rain.
Good luck!

 

[Nepen]

Thank you Cas. Have you use the Liquid fence thing? Im wondering if the fish will be ok with some of the pepper in their water? I'll use it mainly in the bog so I'm going to have to research if it's ok for the fish.

I dont want to use the fence yet.. that's the last resort. it's a big area

 

[cas]

The neighbor said he did. He said he didn't have much luck with it, but I don't know how often he applied it. I think it is more expensive than going to one of the discount stores and buying any kind of hot pepper, chili powder, etc.

 

[Lisak1]

I'm really afraid the deer repellant spray won't work - I've never known anyone with a deer problem who said it actually did the trick. And even if it does work you have to reapply so often that I think it may be a frustrating situation. Deer are really becoming a problem in many areas. They are hungry and we've moved in on their natural grazing grounds. We had one neighbor who would put out corn and apples for the deer, thinking it would assuage their hunger and save his garden - it only encouraged MORE deer! Some in our neighborhood can't even have shrubs without the deer stripping them bare overnight. It's very frustrating. Unfortunately I think we need to do more culling of herds, since we are the only predator these animals may encounter in the suburban setting.

 

[addy1]

We have tons of deer, almost every yard flower is a deer resistant plants. They have never gone into the bog to snack.

I do find lily buds nipped off, but I have tons of them blooming right now.

The only real issue i have is the bucks, all saplings need their trucks protected, they have really damaged a few of my new trees rubbing the velvet off.
Nepen, my bog plants are huge, might not transplant well but I could send you some root stock to start over with and any small plants I might be able to find. If you need more than tbendl can send you.

 

[Nepen]

Thanks cas, Lisa, and Addy. The only thing I can do is try right now

Addy, I think there are some things that dont ship well, like the little plants you sent, all melted away in a few days. But I have 3 other ones you sent that's doing well until deer ate them When T send me hers, I'll let you know. I leave some growing space for the plants to grow into it but it's useless if the plants dont have a chance to grow!

 

[michey1st]

I have actually had luck with Liquid Fence (spray). With no rain, I only have to apply it every 1-2 weeks -- I now have a good idea what the deer will and won't eat, so I only apply to the plants at risk and not all the time. For example, daylily foliage is usually fine, but the flower buds are like candy, so once buds start to develop, I keep them sprayed. With all the rain we have been having, i haven't been reapplying as often as I should and had a few nibbles this past weekend. They never venture in to my tiny bog -- I think it may be because it is in the middle of a raised flower bed and they don't want to navigate the rocky ledge. Deer have very poor eyesight and avoid walking on unstable (rocky) ground.

Now is also the time where the little fawns are "sampling" to see what is good and what isn't so you may notice nibbles on something that has been spit out. Last year, my new (small) coneflowers got mowed down with a pile of half-chewed greenery left on the ground nearby. Unfortunately, if the plant is small, 1 bite is sometimes enough to render it kaput. They recovered, thankfully, and this year, the coneflowers have been fine. Our fawn this year has minded his manners so far -- no major, unexpected losses to report.

Also, deer don't usually make moves on smelly plants (although one stem of my bee balm got nibbled once about a month ago, but never again. My tree lilies are in full bloom (and smell like band-aids to my nose) and they have been untouched. I've also started seeding around Sweet Annie (very fragrant foliage) in amongst my flower beds to see if this helps deter them.

Maybe while your bog plants establish, put up some plastic deer fence? It's just tall stakes in the ground with the plastic mesh encircling the bog.

 

[Nepen]

Thanks michey. My deer seems to be ok in the unstable ground since they walk all over my bog which is filled with gravel and water comes to about 1-2 inches on the top. May be that's why my Irises are a mess, probably since they didnt feel stable the wobble along and stumped my Irises

I'm thinking about puting a fishing line fence and hang several bells along but the bells have to be loud enough to scare the deer away.. do you think this will work?

Or automatic sprayer???

 

[michey1st]

I'm thinking about puting a fishing line fence and hang several bells along but the bells have to be loud enough to scare the deer away.. do you think this will work?

Or automatic sprayer???

Not sure on the fishing line. Deer can be pretty clumsy and lumbering. Coupled with their poor eyesight, I can see them just brute forcing their way past fishing line, or dashing through it if startled, possibly hurting themselves. I've read something about using an angled fencing technique to keep them out -- deer can process the horizontal plane, and the vertical plane when calculating how to jump, but something on a diagonal tends to confuse them so they stay away. This also relies on the fencing being visible to them. But, that's a pretty obtrusive setup unless you do it along the perimeter of your property, rather than up near the pond.

If it were me and I had new plants on the way, i'd probably just net the bog area and use some sort of liquid fence spray for the short term while I come up with a more permanent game plan. If you do go down the fishing line route, let me know how it turns out!

Also, if you're looking to fill your bog with plants, don't forget that a lot of "soil"-based plants can thrive in a bog environment -- it may be a fun time to experiment with plants already in your yard that the Deer have proven to leave alone. (I know you just moved, so maybe there isn't much there from the previous owners, but figured I would mention it =D )

 

[addy1]

If I have something I really want to protect, I put a piece of chicken wire over it until it gets some growth going. I have a few tiny volunteer trees I have done that with, the deer quit eating them.

Might not look good but it works. Deer fencing wrapped around our emerald green arborvitaes kept them from munching them down this winter, they almost killed the trees last winter. I just did a tight wrap wire tied together.