There's a deer in my garden....

[Jester]

Blas, I am SO telling my stepfather about this Irish Spring soap thing. I just hope that the desert deer have the same feeling about it as the Midwest deer.

[PepperElf]

Blas, I am SO telling my stepfather about this Irish Spring soap thing. I just hope that the desert deer have the same feeling about it as the Midwest deer.

They probably do. It's the sharp fragrances they use in detergents & soaps etc.

One of my ex boyfriends told me a long time ago that during hunting season he'd wash his hunting clothes without detergent. The smells of the detergents would have spooked them away.

[Ironclad Alibi]

About 9 years ago we had a deer visit our back yard. Story and pictures are here.

Picture number 7 was apparently used in an advertisement for deer-resistance plants. They were supposed to send me a copy of the ad, but never did.

Edited to add: I know the link gives identifying info for me, but I'm OK with that.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Blas, I am SO telling my stepfather about this Irish Spring soap thing. I just hope that the desert deer have the same feeling about it as the Midwest deer.

Jester, if they don't want to hang bars of soap everywhere and would prefer a "natural" (?) repellant, tell them to plant marigolds. I had an herb garden that I planted a ring of marigolds around and deer never went near it.

[Jester]

My mother might enjoy the idea of using marigolds to deter the deer, as she likes to garden and likes plants, but I don't know if marigolds would do all that well in the desert. They are, after all, in Phoenix.

[protege]

I had an herb garden that I planted a ring of marigolds around and deer never went near it.

Yep, my grandmother did that for years. Deer would eat just about anything--her holly bushes, certain flowers, decorative grasses--so marigolds were put in quite a few places. When those went in, the nomming of plants stopped. Also, deer don't like juniper or evergreen. Something with the smell or texture that keeps them away.

[wolfie]

Little-known fact about marigolds: if you're using them for pest control (and in this case, deer are pests), try to get a strain that's as close as possible to their original wild cousins. The big, decorative ones are selectively bred for appearance, and frequently don't have enough of the "active ingredient" to be worthwhile.

Do you have a friend with a dog? I've heard that bags of dog hair (i.e. shedding when brushed) repel deer (smells too much like a wolf).

Those flowers popular on Valentine's day, with the thorny stems? They aren't really roses - the proper name is "deer candy".

[AmbrosiaWriter]

My mother might enjoy the idea of using marigolds to deter the deer, as she likes to garden and likes plants, but I don't know if marigolds would do all that well in the desert. They are, after all, in Phoenix.

Oh that's not a problem, just use the tagetes minuta - it prefers dry/moist soil and likes the heat as well as full sunlight.

Tagetes Minuta

The only problem with them is that their sap can cause irritation of the skin, so she'll have to be a bit careful when handling them. Other than that they're easy to grow and I think quite lovely with their kind of feral look to them.