Deerproofing Your Yard & Garden

by Rhonda Massingham Hart, Jim Wilson (Foreword)

From nibbling on fruit bushes to destroying flower beds, unwanted deer pose a frustrating and challenging obstacle to even the most patient gardeners. Rhonda Massingham Hart provides insights into deer behavior and offers a variety of proven techniques to keep your deer problem under control. Learn how to choose the best fence types, landscape with plants deer detest, make effective homemade repellents, and much more. You’ll have all the information you need to maintain a pristine, deer-free landscape. 

Genres: Gardening

199 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 1997

Reviews

[Ed Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot about deer.
Bottom line:
Grow what deer don’t want or build a high fence.

[Kimberly Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational, informative, helpful, and quite amusing to read. Lots of tips and tricks, both the proven and the mythical, based on deer behavior and biology. Addresses their learning mechanisms, instinctual fears, seasonal and sub-species variations, etc. & etc. Perhaps this year I'll be able to keep more of my veggies & ornamentals intact.

[Debbie Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I moved into a neighbourhood with several deer sightings and I wanted to deer proof my new garden.

I had high expectations and my favourite chapter (Chapter Four: Deer-o-Scaping) outlined the plants that deer love to eat and the plants that they tend to avoid. So for the last month, I was busy outdoors in the garden having fun: not reading but testing these various deer proof plant suggestions. I think they worked.

Over time, I soon lost interest in ever finishing the rest of this 200-page book. I don't know whether it was because the only animal that ever invaded my garden was a groundhog (1 day only and I used onion powder and cayenne pepper for that) and/or I never did see evidence of a deer munching on any of my plants.

I must also admit, once I reached Chapter Six which focused on constructing various different types of fences with the pros and cons for each type, I became bored and I just ended up skimming the words to rush through the rest of the content. Discussions about electric fences and hunting deer also turned me off.

However, I suspect the moment a deer finally wanders into my garden and nibbles on a few greens, I will be rushing to re-read the book.

For now, it's a keeper: a valuable handy reference guide but not a page-turner.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed full of information and a sprinkling of good humor. The book's organization flows nicely and is easily readable, both casually or with studied intensity.

I was glad to find this book and look forward to passing it on. But the subtitle may well have been, "Ha ha, good luck." Or, more diplomatically, "It depends" or "Give it a try" because most recommendations - expansive and thoughtfully included - are relevant to each reader's specific deer conditions, environment, season, bloom time and rhythm, rain, neighborhood, and more.

[OneDayI'll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure anything can stop or deter the fancy pigs from destroying my garden but I'm willing to try some of these methods lol. And that's what deer are, fancy pigs. They're a little taller, longer necks, and a tail that doesn't curl, otherwise they eat everything, including thorns. Even the bitter orange thorns (five freaking inches long!) don't stop them from gnawing on something.

[Gwendolyn B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pairing witty quips with practical advice, Hart provides thorough guidance on handling a garden's largest pest.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good insight into deer behavior and habits with practical advice on deterrents.

[Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a tremendous amount about deer and their habits.

[Tim Gannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleased with the book. It explains some about deer behavior. It goes over different options for trying to steer deer from your garden. From different types of fences, to visual stimuli, olfactory, taste, hearing, and even tactile stimuli that can deter deer from your yard.

It goes over what plants deer do and don't like. However, it goes on to point out that based on the individual deer, the season, the gender, how bad the weather is, how much other forage is available, how long previous deterrents have been used can affect your success.

One other suggestion in the book was to try and have your deterrents in place before you plant your garden. If you can keep deer away before they make a behavior of eating your garden to nubs, the better chance you have. Also, using multiple deterrents and changing them across time can also be helpful.

Even if the deer still win in the battle for keeping my garden alive, at least I feel like I gave it my best shot after reading this book. The book also has an appendix at the end with the products grouped by type of deterrent, their web site, and the active ingredients. They talk about the pros and cons of each deterrent. They site research studies when available. They also give recipes for home remedies.

It seemed pretty well researched. It is an easy and quick read. If deer are destroying your property, it may be worth a read.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful advice on specific plants deer like most and those they like least for help selecting landscaping plans. Also helpful advice about home remedies that may unwittingly invite other unwanted pests (i.e. deer don't like soap smell hung in apple trees, but it may dissolve during rain, leak on bark, and invite insects that are attracted to fragrance or tallow. i.e fishhead cocktail may deter deer nibbles on leaves, but might attract skunks and other omnivore mauraders.)'