Deer Repellent for Grass

Keep deer from ruining your grass

In areas with large deer populations, deer have a tendency to wander onto homeowners' lawns and graze on their grass. Lawns situated next to forests provide the perfect place for deer to eat while they're looking out for predators, and a few deers munching on the grass can quickly decimate a lawn. Deer repellent is sold in stores or can be created at home to keep deer away from grass.

Function

Grass deer repellents are designed to keep deer from eating lawn grass by making the grass appear unpalatable with bad smells, bad tastes, or startling noises. Grass deer repellents are also designed to keep deer off the lawn so they do not eat tree leaves, plants or birdseed.

Types

There are several types of grass deer repellents, some more effective than others. Contact repellents are liquids sprayed directly onto the grass to give it a bad taste deer find unappealing. Area repellents can come in powder, granular, or liquid forms, and are applied to the entire grass area or the perimeter to repel deer with bad smells. Electronic deer repellents can be hidden in trees or on top of fences to scare off deer with startling sounds. Home-made grass deer repellents can be made from water and eggs and capsicum, rotten eggs hidden in the grass or mesh bags full of human hair or blood meal designed to smell like predators can be placed on fences.

Ingredients

Grass deer repellents are made from a variety of ingredients, depending on the type. Some are made from the urine or blood of bobcats or other natural predators. Others are made from ingredients that deer find unappealing to taste or smell, such as lemon extract, vegetable oil, garlic, capsicum, ammonium and rotten eggs. Electronic deer repellents contain no active ingredients but emit sonic or ultrasonic sounds to scare off deer and may come with motion sensors to detect when deer enter the yard.

Application

Application of grass deer repellents varies depending on the type used. Grass contact repellents can be poured into a spray bottle and sprayed directly onto the grass. Area repellents can be either sprayed or evenly distributed around the areas where deer tend to congregate the most. Electronic repellents should be placed in trees or fences to keep deer or other wildlife from stepping on or breaking them. Many grass deer repellents have to be applied repeatedly or their strength begins to fade, and should be applied when the weather is dry they aren't diluted by rain.

Efficiency

The efficiency of grass deer repellents depends on the type used, though hungry and persistent deer will eat grass even if it has a foul taste or smell. The Illinois Walnut Council conducted a study of different deer repellents and found that despite their efforts, 47 percent of the effected area tested was eaten by deer. Grass deer repellents can also be expensive and labor intensive to apply, and results will vary depending on the weather, the number of deer and the location of the lawn.

Alternatives

There are several alternatives to grass deer repellents to prevent deer from crowding a lawn and eating grass and other plants. High fences at least 8 to 10 feet can be installed to prevent deer from entering the lawn. Artificial grass can be installed to replace natural lawn grass. If it is legal, the deer can be shot, or dogs and pigs can chase deer off the property. Deer also find certain types of grass, such as molasses grass, unpalatable and tend to leave it untouched.

References

• Walnut Council: Deer Repellent Study
• Get Rid Of Things: Get Rid of Deer
• Colorado State University: Preventing Deer Damage