Deer Deterent

I like seeing deer walk through my yard. I like watching them. I wonder what they hear when their heads pop up and look around. Are we really that loud inside the house that we 'startle' the deer? Probably, but that's a whole different story.

Sorry for the bad picture, but it was overcast, snow on the ground, raining and the deer was in the tree row.... Back to my original story, kind of.  I also like getting magazines in the mail. I really like certain magazines. I grew up with Southern Living. I absolutely LOVE the old Southern Living magazines. I still like the ones today, but the ones from when I was growing up absolutely thrill me. I use Southern Living for recipes, decorating ideas and just plain old dreaming.  Currently, one of my favorite magazines is Mother Earth News. I love the gardening, the recipes, the DIY stories and admire those who can survive on their homestead. (No, I have nowhere near this type of dedication and I love going to town!)

I have done a few things that I have read about in this magazine. One, that works, is a way to keep deer out of your garden and away from your trees.

Basically, what you do is string clear fishing line around your garden and or trees. I knew the deer would walk right over the knee-high fence surrounding my garden. I knew this because I have found them IN the garden and I have also seen their little and not so little hoof prints in the garden.  So, I took some posts we used for electric fencing on our old place and placed them around the garden. Then I strung the fishing line around the posts. I made it pretty taut so that the deer would feel some tension when they bump into it.

The idea is that the deer bump into the fishing line. They cannot see it. So, they go around. They will not jump over it because they do not know how high it is. It worked. The deer tracks in the garden disappeared immediately!

I also planted some fruit trees and placed the fishing line around these too. I know from past experience that deer LOVE fruit leaves in the following order...Apple, Cherry, Peach and then Pecan! My poor trees...

When I put the fishing line around these trees, I also strung a string about 18-24 inches off the ground. This will deter the fawns from getting too interested in the trees too.

About a month ago, a group of about 10 deer wandered from the tree row through the yard to the pasture. One of the last deer walked right up to a fruit tree. However, before he reached it, he walked into something unseen. No freaking out, bumped it a couple of times, until he was able to go around with no obstruction. IT WORKS!

Here is my sad little apple sapling with two of the posts and the two lines.

Happy Deer Watching!