I've come to the conclusion that you can't fight deer. You can either feed them, fence them out, or just live with what they won't eat. I have total sympathy for you, but I don't want to see you spending years being frustrated and say.

One customer of mine went as far as to remodel the house with an interior courtyard. Now that works! But it's a little out of reach for most of us.

Oops, that was supposed to say "frustrated and sad".

I feel your pain - the deer got in mine for the first time since our dog died 2 yrs. ago. First they ate my daylilies' buds & summer phlox; next they came back & got all the hosta and roses. GRRR!!! We already had a 4 ft. fence around the yard, and put a second 4 ft. high chicken-wire fence 3-4 ft. from that one. We were told deer can jump very high, but not very far horizontally. Supposedly they won't jump in between the fences because they will feel trapped. So far it's been working.
Also, I read online someone put a battery-powered radio in an old mailbox, set it in the garden tuned to a talk-radio station all night and the deer kept away.

I'm sorry you're having such problems with the deer, but how nice your DH sounds!

Not sure if you've tried this, but I had deer problems a few years ago and Milorganite has worked for me. I sprinkled it in the outer-most beds at the beginning of Spring and about six weeks after that, and the deer have stayed away. It's been a pretty inexpensive deterrent here.

I am so sorry about your plants. I have no advice for you, but I feel for you.
kay

Andrea, I am so sorry about your daylily blooms and buds. I don't live in deer country (thank heavens) so I don't know much about apply to the garden remedies. Truely, I think that since they are all temporary and since you intend to expand your garden you will be fighting a never ending battle unless you go for fencing. I would look into the electric cattle fencing were you string the wires and zap them. Better to start them off now knowing that they can't come into the garden. Save your daylilies and other flowers.

Andrea - thankfully I don't have to fight deer here, just moles. But I feel so bad for you because I know how exciting it is to wake up and see a new flower bloom for the first time. Sometimes I dream about them! :o) On the bright side, I'd say you've got one of the best men on the plantet (and there aren't that many). Give him a big hug from us... give a deep sigh, and put up that double deer fence. Maybe you'll get some rebloom, and for sure next year we'll be seeing your lovely blooms.

I'd be devastated! I am so sorry! You sure do have a great husband!

Pianoman I would love to put a big greenhouse over my backyard. But that is not financial possible. I have a big back yard. I'll find some way of fighting off the deer. I contacted the Dept of Wildlife in Ohio apparently if the deer are causing damage to a garden, crops or business venture I can get permits to eliminate them. I'd hate to do that but it may come down to it.

Sue I had to have my 15 yr old dog put down this past winter. She would lay outside at night, never left the yard was such a good dog. Never had problems with deer until this year. I really think she kept them away. Sure wish I could find another good dog like her. I like the idea of the radio. Won't hurt to try it at this point.

Maximus I did some checking on the Milorganite. I'm having the DH stop by Lowes to see if they stock it. Hate to fertilize this time of year but if I just do around the dl's and not on them it should be ok.

Thanks for the sympathy Kay I knew everyone on here would understand the heartbreak.

Rita we are checking on electric fencing. Not sure we can afford it right now. To just do the area around the current dl's is over $200 that is just the material and us putting it up. The area I want to put my seedlings in is going to cost well over $1000. So we will try motion lights for the time being and hopefully next year be able to put up the fence.

I'm thinking a big mean dog on a runner chain the length of my dl bed might deter them. My luck the dog would dig up all my dl's and eat my little dogs. LOL

I'm so sorry. I would be crying. If we didn't let a dog loose at night we would have the same thing because we are SURROUNDED by deer. My husband has hunting dogs and we can't let one loose all the time because he was running around in the day and sleeping at night. LOL We also sprinkle Milorganite around sometime. One morning we woke up to see a deer across the road and the dog was in his pen sleeping. Oh well, I haven't lost a bloom yet.

Ugh, what an awful feeling to wake up to that. I'm so sorry.

I haven't seen it mentioned in the replies here but I used to have a hairdresser who told me that she had a lady who would come in from time to time and get the hair clippings from the floor and spread them among her flower bed to keep the deer away. Don't know if it works but it sure would be a cheap way to find out. Good luck.

You have all of my sympathy! I live in a "deer zone" too, but fortunately, the dogs seem to deter them enough that just the outlying areas are munched.

Something that works wonderfully if you have a way to get a hose to the area (and the area you want to protect is small enough) is a "scarecrow" motion activated sprinkler. We have tried several things, and found that although deer get used to many deterants, they never enjoy getting blasted by a stream of water while they are eating. Haven't found a plant yet that was nummy enough for a deer to stand around and eat while being pelted with a sprinkler ever 5 seconds.

For the record, your DH sounds like a wonderful guy...and thoughtful...knew just what would cheer you up, even if you felt like you were buying deer food!

Good luck!

Julie

Oh Andrea...
Can I sympathise...I have the same problem...
I used to hate the fact that they ate the foliage, but last year they started coming up to the house and eating the buds off. It looks like Mortisha Adams came out and cut the buds off with her scissors!!!!
Now I have the deer bedding down in a flower bed each night.
All the things mentioned help, but ubtill you get a big noisy dog, or kill the deer...we are in the same boat. I try to get everyone to shoot them all the time, and I won't get a big outside dog...
Good luck :)
Kathy

I hate moles we had those when we first bought the property. My dog dug them up and killed them. Now that she is gone I'll probably have that to deal with next year.

I have seen the motion activated sprinklers and wondered if that would really work. I'll have to locate one and give it a try.

My sister is a hair dresser and I have tried the hair clippings. I didn't sprinkle the hair among my flowers because of all the chemicals on the hair. Hair dye, hair spray, perm solution didn't think the flowers would like it. I did put them around the flower bed. Just like everything else it worked for a little while.

Yes the DH is a very special guy and I am lucky. We have one vehicle and I work part-time from home so I very rarely leave my house and yard. I spend all my time outside, weather permitting. I'm always weeding or moving plants or making new beds or messing in the greenhouse he built me. I think he knows my plants are my sanity so he assists in my addiction as much as he can. LOL

Go for another dog. Company for you at home and the best thing you could do to keep all sorts of critters away.

If the $200 is doable and the area for the seedlings is not, just do this for now. If the seedlings are no way near blooming anway, you have time to do more. If it was me I would just start a deer fence fund. Put money in a big bowl or cookie jar that you save by not going out to dinner one night or no lattes on the way to work, something like that, you get the idea.

I have 6 dogs already. 4 yorkies, a black lab, scared of the dark so no leaving him outside at night and I have a beagle mix who is outside but in a kennel and the deer know it. I may have to put her on a runner and see how she does around the dl's.

Yeah the seedlings won't start blooming til next year so I have time for that area. We could do the back yard I'm just not sure how bad it will look with an electric fence around it. I'd like to be able to do it so it isn't very noticable.

I may have to convert my expensive dl fund to an electric fence fund. I sure do hate that. But what good are expensive dl's if the deer eat them. Besides the deer don't care how much I paid for them. They'll eat them no matter what LOL

I know exactly what you're going through. I had tried everything I could, Milorganite, dog hair, Irish Spring, fishing line fence, aluminum cans strung up with pebbles in them, etc. I rememher picking out tulip bulbs one by one at Holland MI one fall, choosing only the most unique, only to have the deer eat them in the spring. Waiting for daylilies to bloom, then the buds are eaten. I used to cry too. We finally put up a 5 foot fence and they haven't jumped it yet. We are able to let our dogs run in the fenced in yard, though they do cause some damage to my plants. It wasn't cheap, but it worked and was a good investment. Sometimes I see the deer outside the fence, but they haven't gotten in. Good luck.

Ok, if you have six dogs then you need one like you used to have that would keep deer put of your yard. Don't know what kind of neightborhood you live in and wheather theres any place for a dog to wanter off to but it looked very rural from the looks of the pictures of the woods you had posted.

And since this is something you have to deal with then no point in spending money on daylilies or other flowers expensive or not because you'll never see the blooms. Gee, I must be really cheering you up :-(( I just ment focus on permant or long term solutions before focusing on buying more plants.

I have heard that two low fences 3 feet apart will work as they will not jump over if they can't see the other side. Also since you have lots and lots of trees in back to put it around, how about trying the black deer netting? I don't think its very expensive.

You need my son. He'd have every one of those deer turned into sausage, stew, steaks and roast by dawn. He had to buy a deep freeze exclusively for deer meat and fish. He won't even allow ice cream in his deep freeze...there's no room.
:-)
Kathy

"When the DH got up and saw me balling at the kitchen table he said "Get dressed lets go dl shopping""

Your DH IS very understanding, or were you just bawling?
I hope not bowling. ;-)) Sorry

Maybe you should get a Maltese pup. FW takes him on 2 daily constitutionals around the DL beds, and deer have only eaten 4-5 buds. They have also been polite enough to step between plants......so far. (FW = Friend Wife) (:-)) again.

Send him on up Kathy we grow the deer big in Ohio so he might need another freezer or 2. LOL

Rita I'm surrounded by 500 acres of state forest. I have a few neighbors to the left, but the first one is about 500 ft away, Wooded hill behind my house, Wooded hill across the road in front of my house, creek and empty lot to the right. I live in the sticks.

I like the idea of black deer netting. I could put it up into the woods that way it wouldn't be noticable in the yard. DH was talking about a privacy fence. I moved to the country to be out in the woods not to fence myself in.

I do need to look into an outside dog that can roam. I had to scare off a red fox that was in the yard stalking my cat yesterday morning. It sure was pretty, 1st time in the 15 years I've lived here that I've seen one. But, I don't want it eating my cat. Not to mention the opposum that has taken up residence in the chicken coop. I feel like we are being over run with wild animals since I don't have an outside dog that's allowed to roam.

I'm feeling a lot better today than I was when it happened. I refuse to let the deer win even if I have to buy me another freezer. LOL

Andrea:I know exactly how you feel about these deer.They eat everything in my yard, too.I had fenced in a small part of my back yard with electric fence,to keep them out,but at least once a week,I found the fence tore down and strung out all over the yard.I finally got fed up with fixing it back,and took it down then couldn't pull out the steel rods so had to drive them down in the ground..I do have a 8 ft square flower bed out there,if I keep it sprayed the deer don't bother it..I mix up the egg and water and add garlic salt and hot pepper sauce in it,and as long as I spray everything once a week,i am ok.They dont' eat up everything.Have to spray more often if it rains.I usually mix up a big batch of it,and always have some sitting in a closed container for a couple weeks before I use it.It will about knock you down when you open it, but it works good,and the smell don't last,only till it drys on the plants..Then I have a small portion of my front yard is fenced where the daylilies go,and deer don't get in there..No neighbors close by,I would be shooting deer every day.Couurse,don't know what you would do with them after you shoot them.Freezers fill up fast..I live in town and the deer comes right up on public streets.They are a menace.Good luck.

Jean

There are breeds of dogs that are bred to be outside and protect flocks (like sheep) but it works with anything they are raised with. Not the actual herding dogs like Aussies but these are to keep the wolves away. I am sure they would be very effective keeping the deer away.

Years and years ago (long time) a fiend of mine bought one to guard her Ostrich and horses as they were out on a farm in the country. She had a Marema but there are other similiar types.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marema Sheep dog info

I don't have deer but I do understand your pain.

Here is my friend's website where he has plans for a do it yourself motion water cannon. He designed it for herons at his pond and it is cheaper than the 'Scarecrow' you can buy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Heronizer

I'd be bawling too, only in my Lazy-Boy with my tissues beside me. Your husband sounds like a sensitive man. I know my hubby would do the same for me, but it is hard to make up for lost buds when you've waited so long to see them.

I am so sorry that you have this problem, and it sounds like others have some good suggestions (like the idea of the radio in the mailbox, that's different). I don't have any suggestions since I have never had this problem.

I wish you all the best in your fight with the deer.

Vickie

What a beautiful dog Rita. It would never stay white around here and it's hair would be matted with burrs. LOL.

I'll have to check the local pound and see if I can find a good ole dog. I'd much rather rescue one from certain death than buy one from a breeder. My sister adopted a full blooded golden retriever and he is just wonderful.

Thanks for the DIY link my DH will get a kick out of trying to build that.

I'm up for trying anything at this point. But, I think another dog is going to be the answer. Now to convince the DH that it is the cheapest answer. LOL

Another advantage of rescuing a good ole dog from the pound is that he's probably matured past the first two years of puppyhood where they chew & dig into everything in sight.

I'm all about rescuing! There are sooo many good dogs out there that need loving homes. Even if you are getting into a particular breed, there are alot of rescues out there for plenty of them as well. I live in the city so one would think I wouldn't need a hunting dog. Well, so far he has gotten a rabbit, a dove, & the last conquest was last nite. About 3:30am he starts barking like a mad man, jumping up on the window sill. He's part White Shepherd so he is also a protector. Anyway, he woke me out of a dead sleep & I started to freak out because he never has gone nuts like that before in the middle of the nite. So I get up, turn on the porch light & open the door. Grant you, I would never have done that if he wasn't there, he makes me feel safe :) I didn't see anyone or thing & opened the door. He ran out & w/i seconds I could hear him growling & shaking something in his mouth. Just as I got down the steps I see him running to the walkway shaking his head & sneezing. I looked over to see what he got a hold of & because it was dark, I only saw a black animal with a white stripe...you betcha, a skunk! He sprayed him right in the eye! I got him in the house very easily since the skunk was no longer of interest & got his face washed as best I could. Waited til the crack of dawn to go back outside to see if it was still around & it wasn't so it couldn't have been hurt too bad. In the bathtub he went! The only part I can't get 100% clean is his face :( I washed it 3 times & it still is kind of stinky. I will inform you as of the minute he is doing great, looking well groomed & holding both eyes open!

suel41452 has a great point! I adopted him at 1.5yrs & he had been well trained & is a VERY good dog. Being a single person there was no way I could potty train a puppy. Perfect solution for me!

The pound dog, the skunkster, my Jasper...

Oh Andrea. So sorry to read of your deer issues.
I second the recommendation of milorganite. I first heard about using it on the Daylilies For Northern Climates forum. Tried it this spring and no deer in the front beds but then I've got it fenced off with temporary fishing line till we complete our fence project. They haven't as of yet tried to break through to get to the dls so it must work. Yes, Lowes does sell it in the garden section. I found it at ours in the grass fertilizer section. We live on 60+ acres here and you would think the deer have enough room to find something out in the fields to eat. Last week when my daughter came to visit, we sprinkled milorganite around my back garden beds as I'm getting ready to transplant daylily seedlings and irises that I divided. No deer tracks since we spread the milorganite.

Hope you find a solution and don't give up. So what daylilies did you get?

Julia

We have been growing daylilies for quite a while and currently have 10 acres..I'm an avid hunter/outdoorsman/gardener/ and I will tell you that if you want to rid your area of deer try sprinkling human urine in the area and I promise you they will leave or at least not bother your daylilies..I have deer walk right through a 3 acre seedling field and never take one bite out of anything...they just move on through fairly quick...Let me know your results..

We had deer problem when we lived in the country, but now that we are in more of a town we don't have a problem at all. I'm so glad to be rid of them. I was constantly trying new things to keep them away and then it would rain and I would have to spray all over again.
Here would be my choices for you:
Invest in an 8 foot fence around your property
Buy a dog and a cozy dog house and keep it outside
Move to a place that doesn't have deer

I also remember a water thing that would fill up with water and then topple over making a sound against a rock and then pop back up to accept more water. The sound is supposed to deter the deer, but as with all things they will eventually just get used to it and not be afraid anymore.

Good luck! At least you have a great husband!

I read this method of deer control on the AHS robin-

1 heaping tablespoon of cayenne pepper powder
1 tablespoon of hot sauce--tabasco, etc.
1 to 1 1/2 gallons of water in a sprayer.

Spray every three to four days or after a rain, which ever comes first.

The person which posted it said they ride around on a garden tractor and spray the edge of the daylilies lightly. Then they make another pass and spray the grass at the edges. Don't spray into the wind. They have actually seen deer go up to the daylily beds and those deer just gaze around and then leave.

The poster said they had tried everything else and this was new. For the first time in ten years no deer damage on the sprayed areas. They left an area unsprayer as a control and they were picked clean.

I thought I would pass on this method. I have no deer here, thank goodness.

Milorganite - I haven't heard that word in almost 10 years. I worked one summer for a landscaper and he used it everywhere because it really did work to deter the deer.

I am so sorry to hear of your loss, and can fully empathize with you, having had a similar experience last winter.

I have read everyone's post with great interest because we, too, live out in the country.

Deer and/or rabbits consumed over 300 daylily seedlings from our newly created garden spot last winter. My husband and I would go out for dinner in the evenings and upon arriving back home, our car lights shining ahead would reveal 4-5 big does in our mature daylily bed. They'd munch on the grown ones, but thankfully they all grew back this spring.

For awhile, strong spotlights would deter them, but they later got used to them. I've been reading here at the forum what works for some, and am seriously thinking about trying the radio inside the mailbox. Someone else said they put 8' bamboo poles spaced closely around their garden, with the intention of stringing fishing line like fence wire. That poster said he/she never got around to tying the fishing line to the poles, but said that the deer wouldn't go into the garden because of the poles. I'll try that too, am desperate to protect my daylily seedlings.

If you are thinking about getting an outside dog, I'd like to suggest you get two of them. Dogs are pack animals and get very lonely without another companion. Dogs can run through a dayily bed, though, and knock buds off and trample plants. My two big dogs are trained not to put their foot inside my daylily bed, but they forget their manners when they see a deer there.

I've also seen suggested here at the forum 3 single-wire fences staggered at intervals around the perimeter of the garden, each placed at different heights, and about 3- apart. They said the deer did not like having to navigate through those wires. My husband thinks that would present a problem with mowing.

It is illegal to shoot deer after dark here in Texas.

Nancy

Thanks for everyone's concern. The Milorganite seems to be working. Not really sure because there aren't many buds left for them to eat. I have been spraying with a mixture of eggs, water, cayenne pepper and hot sauce on the buds I do have left. I add an ingredient or leave something out of the mixture each time I spray so they don't get used to it.

I have also been letting the dogs out late at night and early morning hoping to deter the deer. DH has also been sprinkling golden showers between the woods and yard.

Julia I purchased, Free Tibet, White Temptation, Elegant Candy, the DH picked out Sabine Baur and informed me it was his. LOL My daughter, who is 13, picked out Uncle Bryan because she has an Uncle Bryan. They are all protesting the move and have dropped buds or the blooms aren't that great. I'll get pics next year.

lala Jasper is adorable. Glad he is doing better after the skunking. I heard tomato juice gets rid of skunk smell. Knock on wood I haven't had a problem with skunks.

Momma redfox that was stalking my cat, was found hit on the road last week. I haven't heard the babies crying lately but the 1st couple nights it was heartbreaking listening to them cry.

No sign of rebloom on anything except a couple from the south that were planted this spring. I don't expect rebloom on them next year. I figure they are still on southern time. Expensive Tastes and Watermelon Taffy. Now that I type this they were both purchased from Abundant Daylilies out of FL. Must be special fertilizer.

Andrea

Sorry to hear about the deer Andrea, I'm far enough from the forest that they don't bother my plants. I was sickened when I went out to Judy's place last year and saw what they had done. I think if the state doubled limits for hunters the deer would still be a nuisance.

Perhaps a scarecrow with an orange vest and a big ol' stick resembling a shotgun might deter them? I hate driving down that way at night, even at 40mph there's almost always a close call....oh how I fantasize of a big pushbar with some big pointy spikes that would carry 4 or five at a time!

Anyway, glad you got some new daylilies out of the deer fiasco. They are creatures of habit and little deters them from a set pattern. Like Barney Fife said 'You've got to nip it in the bud!' (before they do) Best of luck, I'd try to make entry to the garden as difficult as possible. They've found someting they like, they'll be back as long as it's easy. I question the cayenne as I've got a resident groundhog that has a taste for hot peppers, leaves everything else alone! Cayennes, chilis, even habeneros. He leaves three or four half eaten at the base of the plants on goes on his merry way. Can't shoot the sneaky devil as we've got new neighbors with kids that are drawn to the creek behind us. I've been 'sharing' with the old gray varmint for years but if he gets a taste for my flowers things will get medieval!

Something I'd try? Cheap AM radio tuned to an all-nite talk program. As long as it doesn't annoy a neighbor or bother you inside it might help deter the deer. Just a thought, never have tried it myself. Cheap to try though.

Wes

Here is a link that might be useful: If All Else Fails