Views of the Neighborhood – Deer Repellent

~ John W. Howell

Many of you have asked how our community can grow plants with the number of deer we have wandering around. I answered that most residents know not to plant anything that the deer like to eat where they can get to them. There are always exceptions to every rule, so today, we will visit those folks who still plant luscious treats for the deer to eat. Oh, they try to keep the plants protected, but it seems like such a futile endeavor when plenty of things look good but are not deer favorites. We are catered by Perrfy’s Steakhouse of Austin. Our entertainment is The Grass Roots.

Menu

Steakhouse Pasta – Tomato basil pasta with grilled beef tenderloin.
Butcher’s Steak Burger – Filet Mignon, NY Strip, and Ribeye trimmings ground daily in-house and served with French Fries.
Bacon Slab Burger – Ground fresh daily, topped with thick-cut bacon slab and bacon marmalade.
Char grilled salmon – Topped with lemon dill butter and served with whipped potatoes and thick-cut chargrilled vegetables.
Chicken Oscar – Topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and Bearnaise, served with steamed asparagus.
Filet Mignon – Served on a hot cast iron plate. Served with whipped potatoes and thick-cut chargrilled vegetables. 6 oz., 8 oz.
Certified Upper Choice Ribeye – Served on a hot cast iron plate. Served with whipped potatoes and thick-cut chargrilled vegetables. 10 oz.
Seared Scallop Pasta – Three pan-seared scallops served with paccheri noodles tossed with a vegetable medley in a creamy Alfredo sauce, placed over a bed of San Marzano sauce.
Picture of an old time school bus
Get on the bus.
Here’s a whole bed of groundcover plantings screened in.
To the left are roses, which are a gourmet item for deer.
More screening around various plants
Use of a downspout pipe to protect the tree.
Hard to see, but there is a little stick of a tree being guarded by iron and wire (and a little rope)
Screen wire and metal posts.
This one looks like it is a squirrel deflector.
A little hard to see, but virtually every plant is surrounded by screening.
 
Here is an anomaly. A juniper planting surrounded by fencing. (Deer don’t eat Junipers)
Here are plants surrounded by wire and then strung with electric lights. Notice the deer resting by them.
Here is a fig tree with a substantial wire surround.
That is the conclusion of our tour. Sit back and enjoy the music and food. I hope you have a terrific week.

78 thoughts on “Views of the Neighborhood – Deer Repellent”

  1. My daughter has the same issues on her island. It is a constant battle to keep the deer away from her garden. Love The Grass Roots, a great tune. Enjoy your Sunday.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Love deer but they can reek havoc. My Granddad grew grew grass from a trellis that attracted white tail deer ( beautiful) he would wind a long hose though the the vines that represented a snake and that seem to do the trick for keeping the deer away… but not always. Lovely post today John. 🍇

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  6. Deer are beautiful, but they can damage trees that you plant, beyond repair. When we lived on some acreage, I planted many trees that deer destroyed, either by eating or some that the bucks used to clean their antlers. The evergreens all survived without any damage.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. That juniper looks like my Tiny Tree, many months ago! And I’m still giggling over the deer resting by the fence with the lights! Somehow, it seems counterproductive to jump through such hoops, when there are other plants available that deer won’t touch.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. It seems almost impossible to preserve those trees and bushes the deer like – I think all the netting and enclosures are pretty ugly. I once set out a row of marigolds along our back deck. Each day one or two would disappear! Deer of course. Marigolds are tasty. Today I am drawn by the seared scallop pasta! Yum!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Deer love marigolds. Our backyard is deer proof so we plant what we wish back there. The front is rock, stone and one agave which the deer won’t touch if they have enough water (Yes, we leave out a bucket of water)

      Liked by 1 person

  10. I couldn’t help but chuckle about what some folks think will protect their ‘salad bar’ from the hooved mammals (aka deer). To think fencing will protect most vegetation is pure folly. Have a 6 ft. fence and a deer will learn to jump 7 ft. But I enjoyed the tour and the menu. With deer being a problem in the foothills west of town, we know cedars & evergreens with gray-blue fruit (like junipers) and silvery bark are best choices for trees and have heard blue bonnets are somewhat deer resistant but like most plantables, nothing is 100% perfect protection against them.

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  11. Seems to me a lose-lose situation to plant stuff the deer like and then surround it by ugly netting. What’s the point?
    Methinks there is a much better way!
    I’ve not had a steak in an awful long time, so I think I’ll have the ribeye. Fun tune!
    Happy Sunday, John!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Oh, I can relate to the deer problem, John. We have elk too, who don’t care a whit about fences – they just knock them over. You have some valiant neighbors, doing their best to help their plants grow.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Oh, deer… I fully understand but it’s too bad there can’t be a deer park here and there, where they can hang out and eat everything in sight! Of course, at least you don’t have roaming goats… they’d eat everything (perhaps even the repellant items)

    Liked by 1 person

  14. We live near the woods, so deer constantly come onto our open property. This is one battle I don’t fight.

    I love the music choice today, John. The Grass Roots had so many great songs.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Out here, they’re trying to get everyone to remove ornamental yew from their landscapes because it kills deer and they love to eat it. More than one way to play landscaping warfare.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. Gee, hope the deer don’t go hungry.
    Lol, if I lived there, I’d be planting stuff for them to eat!

    That could be okay, then they wouldn’t eat others’ roses, I’d hope.

    Sometimes my eyes play tricks…or is it my brain?
    Anyway, I read “Dear Repellent” at first.

    I actually wondered where I could make use of such a product.
    Thanks for the fun song, John. I never heard it before.

    🐂 🐂 🐂 🐂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think if I could invent Dear Repellent I would make a fortune. Just think of how handy it would be to get rid of bad and ugly when you wanted. Not to mention in a bar getting rid of the pesky guy who says, “Did you get hurt?” You answer, “Hurt? What do you mean?”
      He says, “When you fell out of heaven.” He gets squirted right there.🐂 🐂 🐂 🐂

      Like

  19. Nice tour, John. We don’t have deer, so I’m confused about wrapping the trunks. Do deer eat the bark? Great song choice. I loved the Grass Roots.

    As for the menu, you had me at Steakhouse Pasta.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Okay… from a New Englander who rarely sees deer, even in our rural community, please send a few our way. On another note, why plant something that will attract the animal who destroys the plant? Hmmm…

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Deer are not cute. No matter how often they defeat
    home owners efforts to protect their plants. Yes they were here first. In fact they were here when the developers built the development. And they are wild life. So why do the developers get to hand off the wild life management plan ( or lack there of ) to the home owners ?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. When you buy in you own a piece of the good and the bad. I would hate to have a developer telling me what I can and can’t do with the deer. It’s bad enough that the city tends to interfere too much. Homeowners should plant things that will not be eaten. Try to tell that to everyone.

      Liked by 1 person

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