The following is an update on an experiment I've been doing that is delivering good-enough improvement that I'm hoping that another few people will try it also, and see if there's really something here. No promises, just big hopes...

I live at the edge of property owned by the West Point Military Academy, a golf course, and a very large state park. In several directions, there is forested, unhunted land for 15-20 miles. The deer population is enormous.

And we all know what deer think of Hosta. Candy. Crack.

Over the years, I have tried many, many commercial and homebrewed deer repellents. The one that I personally think is best is "Liquid Fence", but it has a downside - it must be re-applied every three weeks, and more often if it is rainy. It washes off of the leaves. And it takes a while to apply to 600 hosta.

I found an article that indicated that Hosta could tolerate up to 5% DMSO (an organic solvent that is heavily used in the veterinary business to get medicine through the skin). DMSO causes substances that are dissolved in it to penetrate membranes like skin or leaves. My biochemistry background wouldn't let me pass up on it.

Not wanting to push my luck to the edges of how much DMSO my Hosta could handle, I tried adding 1.5% of DMSO to my Liquid Fence solution. Absolutely no injury to any Hostas.

The solution has been applied and then I have been brave enough to wait for how long it would take for the deer to begin eating the Hosta again. Of course, the normal three weeks would be expected with or without DMSO.

I made it to 51 days without any damage to the Hosta leaves that it was applied to before I pulled the plug on the experiment. The deer were definitely present (I saw them) and they did eat the scapes/flowers that emerged after I had applied the solution - so it's not a case of "they went somewhere else". I pulled the plug on the experiment at 51 days not because they were eating the Hosta again, but because I did not want to chance that they would begin eating them while we were on vacation.

I'm thrilled with the results, and I'd like to hear whether anyone else can repeat my experience. If you want to try, add 1.5 oz of DMSO (the liquid, not the gel) to a gallon of Liquid Fence solution just before applying it. Just to be clear, DMSO is an approved adjuvant for non-food plants.

By way of caution, be aware that DMSO is quite safe by itself if you accidentally get a little bit on yourself (it is used actually on humans for certain diseases to get things through the skin), but it has the ability to carry anything that is in the solution right through your skin. It also has the weird side-effect of causing a garlic-taste in your mouth if you get it on your skin. So, treat it like you would treat any other chemical that you use -- with appropriate respect and caution.