We battle bambis too. 5 of them live on our property and hardly move when we chase them. We have fenced our veggie garden, but in other areas are using a Scarecrow water sprayer and just lately, have enclosed a flower/lawn area in an electric fence and after one incursion, they have stayed out. MInd you, right now there is lots of food everywhere, I bet when things dry up the bambis will try to get in again. I would expect the dogs barking are helping keep your deer away.

Blood meal. I've tried all of those other things with limited success but blood meal is better than even a ten-foot fence. Sprinkle it on and around the plant you're trying to protect, just a light dusting is fine and you don't have to hit all of the leaves, preferably in the morning when the dew will help it stick on. And do it now, it's really important to stop the deer from getting in the habit of munching on your favorite plants. You may have to refresh it every month or so if they start munching on things again.

You can buy blood meal in 10 or 20-pound bags at the right stores. You should probably keep it off of the edible parts (edible for us), the whole mad cow thing makes me a little nervous. The only downside is that it sometimes makes the deer carnivorous and then they..., okay, just kidding about that part.

And thanks again for the pots!

I know you said besides fencing but I just use fencing around the actual bed, 4-5' welded wire works as long as it's far enough away from the plants. There are photos of trellises on the bean forum link, I have a couple of photos one using very flimsy supposedly deer netting which was not really tested last year since the neighbors moved in with 3 German Shepherds that ran wild, and one rectangular trellis with fencing all the way around.

Things other than fencing are likely to fail at some point.

Here is a link that might be useful: trellis post

Sure, fencing is still a good idea where you can use it. I use fencing around my vegetable gardens and put rings of fencing around young trees. But I'm not interested in doing that for perennial beds and other landscaping where that would be less than attractive. I really think the only solution there is to make the deer think that the plants don't taste good (so blood meal or more expensive treatments). Today we watched from the kitchen window as a deer nosed around a bed of tulips but left without munching an any. That's not proof positive, even though I know deer can be pretty brutal to tulips in other areas, because it could be this deer didn't recognize it (they really are creatures of habit, after all).

But the fencing is not foolproof, by the way, and I have real doubts about that flimsy netting stuff although I've never tried it. What I did try was a much heavier version of that (commercial fish netting). At one point I surrounded my yard with a ten foot high fence of that, but the deer totally did not respect it. They ran into it until they broke through it or, more commonly, broke it loose at the bottom and snuck underneath of it.

But thanks for the tip on trellises, I'm liking that welded wire idea for supporting beans and tomatoes. I need to do something soon for the tomatoes and dow gauk in my greenhouse.

rickhl- Yeah, I didn't expect the deer netting to be so flimsy. It's possible animal control hauled off the dogs so this year I may get a real test. I have fences around all my decorative beds too just because I don't like the deer to win. They did start jumping into one larger area after a few years and they try out various things and eventually squeak through some hole or under something, true, then I just have to come back with a counter-attack. Growing only things deer don't like would be one solution, if one could be absolutely sure what that was.

My trellis on the bean forum uses either nylon netting or polypropylene netting with multifilament wire coated with plastic at the top. I have trouble with sagging so I have to have tall posts close enough together to support the weight of the bean vines. The rectangular bed is much more stable than one with the posts in a long row. Or I've used cattle panels help up with metal tubular supports for the trellis. Welded wire would work instead, as long as there was something strong to hold it up. My mom used to hang it from the cross beams in her greenhouse.

The tall black deer netting stapled firmly to peeler poles keeps them out, and does not show. One party I talked to even saw a buck bound into it and bounce off - two times in a row - soon after he put the netting up. The animal could not see it, and it held up against the weight and horns of a running buck.

Blood meal attracts dogs, which then mess up your plantings, perhaps trying to find the rest of the carcass.

It always comes back to effectively installed and maintained fencing. You do it once, and then it is on duty 24 hours a day, with very little following up required - unless a tree falls on it or somebody drives through it.

bboy- maybe you can provide a brand name or source for the strong deer netting, the stuff I bought at a local store is so flimsy I can tear it with my fingers, unlike bird netting which is very tough.

I agree, fencing is better than repellants that have to be reapplied.

I don't know which product they bought, but I have seen similar (same?) stuff for sale here. I had the impression the material used on the one site was purchased locally.

Fencing. Sorry, but nothing is deer proof. Although, they don't seem to eat iris.

Instead of fencing the plants, fence the whole front yard, with a gate at the end of the driveway. Your choice: veggies with the nuisance of getting in and out of the car to open and close the gate. Or no fence and no veggies. (you can use an electronic gate opener with a remote control, like a garage door opener)

Or, use invisible fence to keep a deer chasing, high energy dog confined in your yard. Just don't be surprised if the dog digs up your plants.

Thank you for all of the suggestions. I realize fencing is the best, so appreciate the creative ways suggested here. In my situation where I live at a camp and conference center with a shared driveway fencing doesn't work. Thanks again for the ideas.

Corrine

After many years of coexisting with deer that would occasionally nible but not destroy, they changed their ways this year and have declared my garden their favorite feeding station. After their second run thru the rose garden, I sprayed all ornamental and veggie beds with liquid fence, a horrible stinky poltice that made my eyes water. I have had no deer damage since. I will repeat the spraying as soon as we get a dry day. Evidently, as others have mentioned, the idea is to stop the deer from habituating to your yard.