How To Keep Wildlife From Eating Up Your Garden!

Animals love your gardens

You've been there before.  You take all this effort to plan out a garden.  You go out and buy good plants and spend some extra money on good soil and fertilizer.  It takes an entire weekend to get it planted the way you want it.  You water it and watch it grow.  Then you come out one day and it looks like someone took a weed whacker to it.  It was most likely a deer or a rabbit!

You can't blame them.  They eat plants.  That's how they survive.  So how do you keep them from eating YOUR plants?

Why is it always hostas?

One of the biggest plants that people complain about deer and rabbits eating is hostas.  They're a leafy plant that does fine in the shade.  They come back every year and they look great around landscaping and pools. But deer love them.  It's one of their favourite snacks and they're not afraid to come right up to your house to get to it.

How do you keep them away?

There are several methods to keep deer from eating your hostas.  Many of the repellents have to do with either smells or tastes that the deer hate.  Things like cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes are something that will hold them back.  But they also hate the smell of certain other plants like marigolds and catnip. Some gadgets and chemicals have been developed to keep them out too!

THINGS THAT KEEP DEER AND RABBITS FROM EATING YOUR GARDEN

Cayenne Pepper
You can either mix this with water and spray it on your plants or sprinkle it around your plants. This one is a taste-repellant. They don't tend to like the taste of the spiciness.

Liquid Fence
There are all kinds of these types of repellents. They're meant to be spread on the ground near your plants.

Irish Spring Soap
Some people like to chop this up and put it in their gardens. Others grate it with a cheese grater to spread it out. The smell is a repellent for the animals because it smells like a human.

Lavender
This is a plant that can be planted in your garden or near your other plants. The smell is a repellent for many animals.

Marigolds
This is a smell that has been proven to be disliked by deer. Sadly, many people don't like the smell of them either. But they might keep the deer from eating your plants.

Egg yolk, 1 tbsp baking powder, and 4 cups of water

This was a suggestion from someone on social media. However, I did find another article that says this is just as effective as some of the repellents sold in stores.

They add, “You need to spray anytime there’s new growth. (Two to three times during the spring/summer season works quite well for most.) The egg will stick so you don’t need to reapply if it rains. Spray on a dry day for the best results.

Mothballs
Put these on the ground near your plants. Yes, your garden will then smell like moth balls.

Catnip
Catnip is also known as Nepeta cataria. Deer seem to hate the smell and will often stay away from it.

Red Pepper Flakes
These are meant to be sprinkled around your plants. This one is also a taste-repellant. They don't tend to like the taste of the spiciness.

Solar Gadgets
These can be found in home and garden stores or online. They are marketed to work for all kinds of animals like cats, squirrels, deer, raccoons, skunks, rabbits, foxes, and more.

The way it works: "The device can detect the movement of invasive animals up to a distance of 30 feet at a 110° angle. When the deer-repellent device detects motion, it will emit high-frequency ultrasonic waves that are inaudible to humans but extremely distressing to animals."