There are five basic deer damage control methods commonly used to reduce deer damage: 1) deer resistant plants, 2) deer repellant, 3) electric fence, 4) scare tactics, and 5) physical barriers. Among these deer damage control techniques, there are literally dozens of variations of deer repellant, several options for physical barriers, numerous scare tactics, bated and non-bated electric fence, and many plants deemed "deer damage resistant". Everything that you have heard that reduces deer damage, or keeps deer away from your plants has worked for someone at sometime. The problem is that most deer damage control methods only perform for a short period of time and most likely will not work for everyone.

Deer Resistant Plants

Any honest landscaper or nurseryman will tell you that even "deer resistant plants" are mostly edible and vulnerable to deer damage. Deer will eat these plants if they are hungry enough. There are very few plants that are considered truly deer damage resistant, and the number gets smaller every day. What the deer don't eat in one area, they may devour in another depending upon the number of animals per square mile and the available food supply. The bottom line as it relates to deer control… If the deer are hungry enough they will eat most anything…even "deer resistant plants"!

Repellants

This form of deer damage control can be separated into three categories:

1) Deer damage control substances that make your plants smell bad.
2) Substances that make your plants taste bad.
3) Control substances that make the deer believe a predator is near.

For enhanced deer damage control, some manufacturers will actually combine the odor and taste ingredients, typically making a more comprehensive repellant. Commercially, there are available deer repellants for each of these categories. In our opinion, the "predator" repellants are typically the least effective. The reason for this is that in many parts of the country, deer have become more adapted to having humans and other dangerous creatures like dogs in closer proximity. Typically, ingredients such as lion feces, fox or coyote urine, and bags of human hair work as viable deer damage control techniques for only a very short time or not at all.

There are a few reasons why a "smell bad" and/or "taste bad" repellant may fail to protect your plants from deer damage. A repellant is typically a spray-on chemical that can be prone to being washed off from rain and watering. Fresh growth (a deer's favorite part of any plant) that goes untreated will be vulnerable. Deer are persistent and adaptive creatures that can get used to a repellant. Deer repellants can be more effective most of the time if applied often. The effectiveness is enhanced if different types of repellants are used and rotated on a regular basis. Historically, the problem with this type of deer control is that most people forget to apply these deer damage control substances regularly and never remember to rotate the mixture. If deer are hungry enough, repellants may sometimes be ignored all together.

Another group of deer damage control repellants (not dignified by a category) we call the "home remedy" variety. Included in this category are things like shredded deodorant soap, creosote, and mothballs. Although these may work in varying degrees in low deer pressure areas, we would not bet your landscaping or garden on them.

Deer Proof Fencing & Deer Deterrent Fencing

Electric Fence

Electric deer proof fencing is designed to deliver a mildly painful shock to deer, keeping them from penetrating the fenced area. Bated deer proof fencing has a foodstuff attached to the wire fence strand that, when the deer sniffs or licks it, will shock them. Bated electric fencing will fail as a deer deterrent method if the bating of the fence is not maintained or the deer learn to go over or under the strands. Multi-strand deer deterrent fencing is designed to prevent deer damage by shocking the deer as it attempts to go through the strands. Many are constructed 5' to 7' tall to deter deer from jumping. Multi-strand electric deer deterrent fencing will fail if the deer (whose hollow hair acts as an insulator) learn that if they move through the fence quickly or carefully, they will receive little or no shock at all. Both types of electric deer proof fencing are susceptible to falling limbs and growing weeds that "ground out" the fence, rendering it useless. Dry ground conditions can also make deer essentially "not grounded" and the resulting shock can be all but non-existent. Bottom Line… Electric deer deterrent fencing is fairly effective for providing deer damage control for large farms in rural areas where the deer pressure is less extreme and where some crop damage is acceptable. For residential neighborhoods with moderate to high deer pressure, multi-strand electric deer proof fencing may work for a while, but if the deer learn how to push between the wires, the fence becomes all but useless for deer control.

Scare Tactics

Scare tactics include anything that is supposed to scare or steer the deer away in order to prevent deer damage. The current offerings include a variety of motion activated devices including: strobe lights, sirens, sprinklers, scarecrows, sonic and ultrasonic devices, continuously pulsing ultrasonic devices, and many other commercially produced "gizmos" meant to scare your deer away. Of the "home remedy" variety, many people try playing the radio or setting a disco strobe light near their plantings. These may work in certain locations for some amount of time; however, these are usually effective for only a few days to a few weeks. The deer simply learn that there is no physical threat and this deer control tactic becomes ineffective.

Physical Barriers

A physical barrier is a deer control device or natural feature that keeps deer from physically entering an area. Deer deterrent fencing is the most common man made barrier used to keep deer out of an area. To exclude deer, a variety of different materials have been used with varying success. Whitetail deer can make a standing jump as high as 10'. However, in most instances, deer will not risk jumping fences over 8' in height. In most cases any traditional deer proof fencing (wood, decorative iron or steel, decorative aluminum, chain link, or PVC) 8' or taller that a deer cannot go under or through will keep deer out of an area. The downside to a traditional 8' fence is its high cost and visibility. The least expensive traditional deer proof fencing is chain link. Chain link is highly visible and typically costs in excess of $15.00 per linear foot installed. Wooden, iron, steel, aluminum, and PVC deer deterrent fencing cost much more than our flexible deer fence control systems.

The only deer damage deterrent method that is capable of being virtually 100% effective is a physical barrier. The main problems with physical barriers are their prices and their high visibility. If what you are in search of is of is a low visibility solution, few options are available. Black colored grid-like materials prove to be the least visible deer deterrent fencing material in most environments. In steel fence the available products include black PVC coated chain link and black PVC coated welded wire. These products are extremely durable. They are also extremely heavy, requiring a heavy-duty framework constructed of wood or steel posts. 

Deer Control Alternatives

The least visible and least expensive physical barriers capable of keeping out deer are heavy-duty "grid-like" black colored plastic mesh materials, typically called "deer fence". This type of deer control material, although very strong and durable, is light in weight making it easy to handle and maneuver through rough terrain and wooded areas. Existing trees are typically used in lieu of posts whenever possible as they make the deer proof fencing even more invisible and eliminate the material and labor costs associated with posts. This type of deer proof fencing does vary greatly by manufacturer. Buyers need to be wary, as most deer deterrent fencing products referred to as "deer fence" are thin plastic nettings that are not able to keep a deer from breaking through them.

Deer Proof Fencing

We have offered a line of extremely effective, black polypropylene deer proof fencing for over 10 years, and provides the most comprehensive deer deterrent fencing system for deer damage control on the market. Once it is installed, is about 7.5' high. Because of the height and the invisibility of the product, the deer, due to poor visual depth perception, cannot judge how high the fence really is. For this reason, they are intimidated and will not attempt to jump it. Our deer proof fencing has proven to be incredibly durable, highly-effective, and has the least amount of visual impact upon the surroundings.  Our system is also the most economical fence method for deer-proofing your yard. 

Deer Control ● Deer Fencing Details ● Deer Damage & Control Methods ●Dog Fencing

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