Deer Repellent for Trees
Deer are voracious eaters. When they are hungry enough, deer will eat nearly everything in a garden or yard. If installing electric or 8-foot fencing is not for you, there is another very effective option: deer repellents. According to a study done by Connecticut's Department of Forestry and Horticulture, big game repellents are the most effective in curbing nocturnal feasts on your gardens. Be aware, however, that no repellent is 100 percent effective. You may need to consistently alternate various repellents to deter deer. Does this Spark an idea?
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The Psychology of Deer
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Deer are herbivores. A fully mature male deer can easily eat 4 lbs. of food, or 3 percent of his body weight, per day. Young trees are particularly susceptible to deer; they are a favorite food and deer will graze 4 to 6 feet high. Deer do prefer certain trees over others: apple trees are a delicious favorite, as are white cedar, white pine, and maple. Yet when they are hungry enough, particularly during winter when forage is reduced, deer will turn to grazing anything, even the much-disliked spruce and red pine trees. Deer seem reluctant to range long distances; they are creatures of habit, often traveling along the same paths. This information about deer has helped in the development and application of various repellents.
Types of Repellents
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Deer repellents are classified into four main categories: fear, conditioned-aversion, pain-inducing, and taste. Fear repellents mimic the scents of predators, such as coyote urine, human hair, or dried blood; conditioned-aversion repellents cause digestive pain in deer, such as soaps and fatty acids; pain-inducing repellents contain ingredients that affect the eyes, nose, and mouth, such as capsaicin or ammonia; taste repellents are bitter or putrid, and contain garlic, egg solids, or commercial blends. Despite the multitudes of products and home remedies available, all deer repellents must be applied directly to the tree.
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Effects of Repellents
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The effects of repellents vary greatly and depend somewhat on geographic location. Deer easily change their eating habits and food preferences, and toleration of repellents vary from animal to animal; therefore no repellent has been found to be 100 percent effective. The taste repellents have been proven to be the most effective of all repellents, which explains their wide availability and variety. Commercial and home remedies abound: According to the Department of Forestry and Horticulture study, commercial solutions Hinder and Bobbex were the two most effective repellents, but also necessitated frequent applications. Home remedies such as egg solids, garlic cloves, and cayenne pepper, show inconsistent results.
Application of Repellents
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Most deer repellents are liquids. They must be sprayed on trees throughout the year, up to the preferred grazing height of deer (4.5 feet) and higher (6 feet or more). Commercial repellents allow for greater periods between applications, some as much as five weeks. According to the Department of Forestry and Horticulture study, commercial solutions Hinder and Bobbex were the two most effective repellents, but also necessitated more frequent applications for better results.
Considerations
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Since no deer repellent is absolutely effective, and since deer do change their eating habits to adjust to seasonal food sources, it is recommended that repellents be rotated consistently. For example, a conditioned-aversion repellent may cause gastrointestinal distress with some deer, but not others, and therefore an different repellent may be required in conjunction with it. Deer are difficult to repel; and once they have discovered a suitable food source, it requires extreme effort to deter them. However, since deer are creatures of habit and generally prefer small ranges, their behavior and the effectiveness of repellents can be monitored until a satisfactory solution is found.
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References
- Photo Credit deer image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
