Deer Proof your garden
I love to garden. When we first arrived in Nanaimo four years ago it became apparent, very quickly, that our first priority would be to deer proof our garden. In fact, when we bought our house the back yard had a permanent deer path running through it. The deer would use the path every morning and evening to enter our neighbourhood from the forest behind us. It took us one whole summer, to get the yard to the point that it was actually deer proof.
We went to great expense to raise a six foot tall fence only to discover that we needed it to be seven feet tall! The day after we completed and paid for our six foot fence I looked out the dining room window to see a 3 point buck chowing down on my newly purchased plants. Now our fence has a lovely trellis top that gives us a full seven feet of fencing.
Here are a few ways to deer proof your Nanaimo garden:
•1. Build a fence that is at least seven feet tall. Deer are amazing jumpers. I saw one jump and clear our six foot fence from a standstill position. Deer are beautifully graceful but can be very destructive to your garden.
•2. If you choose to grow plants that deer love like: tulips, roses, Hostas then you will probably want to protect them with tree wraps, netting, or chemical repellent.
•3. Deer scare easily. Try one of the high pitched warning devices activated by battery-operated motion detectors. Motion detectors can also be hooked up to sprinklers and floodlights.
•4. You can spook a deer with the scent of a predator. You can buy spray made up of wolf; bear cougar and coyote urine (gross!). You spray it on foam darts that come with the spray and place them 10-12 feet apart in your garden. It is important to re-spray after rain.
If deer are hungry enough, deer will eat just about anything. Plants are only considered deer resistant not deer proof. Sometimes a plant that is considered deer proof becomes deer food.
I wish you luck this summer as you attempt to deer Proof your garden.
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