The deer were hungry

For some reason I am having more deer issues than usual this year. Last evening when I wanted some cole slaw I found some one had beaten me to the cabbage.

Ardesia,

I have heard that if you use composted horse manure mixed with the planting dirt the deer will not go near the plants. I have not used it in my vege garden...not sure of the health risks, but I do use it in my flowers, shrubs etc and deer do not eat them.

Hope this helps,

Amy

Thanks Amy, anything is worth a try. I sprayed a whole bottle of Deer Off last night @$18.95 and wouldn't you know, it rained a few hours later.

Just bought several bars of Irish Spring soap, sliced them up and placed the pieces around the perimiter of the property. That scent is so strong, I can imagine why the deer are repelled.

LOL! Thats a good one...I've never heard of using irish spring. Hope it works for you.

ardesia, Hope the soap works for you, It's so discouraging when the animals beat you to the crops!

Ardesia, Deer Fence is waterproof. A bonus is that it also deters the rabbits. I'm about to set out some hollyhock seedlings, but first I'll have to mix up some of that smelly stuff because the deer seem to especially like anything in the mallow family. Well, the hostas and daylilies, too. Even my thorny rose is always nibbled if I'm late spraying.

Blasted critters get used to the Deer Fence in a few months, but then I switch to Deer-Vik, a black shoe-polish gunk that is smeared on pieces of cardboard (included) and used to dangle in the plants.

Thanks, I'll have to look into the Deer Vik, I hadn't tried that one.

Ardesia - I can't see all that well, but your cabbage nibbled area doesn't look very 'shredded' to me. Clean edges may mean rabbits and not the deer. Is that possible?

Anything is possible, my neighbors do see rabbits, but unlikely in this case. There were deer footprints all around and there was plenty of shredded cabbage on the ground. Also, I have a big, bouncy dog who leaves his scent all over the place; I haven't seen a bunny in our garden in many years.

Well the footprints settle it. I didn't have my glasses nearby and it looked like your cabbage was nibbled so cleanly I thought it might be the bunnies.

Bummer .. It's the %@#$ squirrels for me.

X

I tried the Irish Spring on a stick a few years ago. I don't know if it worked or not, because possums love the stuff and they kept eating them all. Even went into the GH and opened a drawer to get at my supply! I have had good luck with a product called Deer Stopper. It lasts for a month, smells good (like rosemary) and the deer around here won't touch anything that's been sprayed with it. The only disadvantage is it's pricey. And you have to remember to use it every 30 days. This year I remembered to spray all my daylillys (always a favorite for these deer), but forgot to spray the roses. Daylillys are untouched to date, but I lost all the new growth and buds on my roses. They're sprayed now!