Got Game?

As many as 20 million deer are roaming loose in the U. S., munching 5-9 pounds of food daily. Since we've usurped their natural habitat, they resort to decimating seedling forests, farmland, and orchards. So this winter your garden could be just a piece of cake.

Menus of "Things Deer Don't Eat." appear regularly. One says they love roses; another says they hate them. Furthermore, deer don't read these lists and seem quite broadminded about sampling nouvelle cuisine. Motion-detecting devices that supposedly frighten deer with a blast of water may give you a chance to witness them lathering up before dinner.

According to garden expert and columnist Ilene Sternberg of West Chester, PA, limbing up trees above their reach still leaves trunks vulnerable to annual bark scraping rituals. (Don't you just hate it when your antlers itch?) Ten-foot high fencing surrounding a suburban lot offers all the ambiance of serving 10-20 at San Quentin. A chance encounter with an electric fence on a rainy day is a turnoff. And how do you enclose the front lawn and driveway?

"Like deer, gardeners constantly seek creative strategies for coexisting," says Sternberg. "They drape hair-stuffed pantyhose around the yard, use strobe lights, and play loud music. The glint of breeze-blown aluminum pie plates strung on wire is supposed to scare deer, but just how picturesque are these garden ornaments anyway?"

Others say sweaty T-shirts strewn over shrubbery or the scent of creosote, gasoline, turpentine, rotted meat, dangling soap bars, mothballs, blood meal, and all manner of wild animal excretions repel them. "Sprays flavored with pepper, garlic, or scented with ammonia, rotten eggs, or soap work," she adds, "but some smell so putrid that I've wondered what aerobic benefits I reap from running around spraying an acre-and-a-half while holding my breath."

    Suddenly, the Eden you're out to salvage becomes a fetid dump. What's a gardener to do? Enter Wayne Bullock, who started DeerMinders, a deer and rabbit repellent service. For less than the cost of one week's mowing or for buying and applying repellents myself, Bullock sprays his magic potion monthly, or if ever deer show up in between. His garlic/fermented egg-based formula deters by both odor and taste, but is virtually odorless to humans. It's safe to use near ponds or steams, on fruit and vegetable crops, and won't harm plants or animals. One of the least expensive repellents available, it works year-round, and can withstand a good soaking rain. And it's 100% guaranteed.

"For the first time in years, I saw my tulips, daylilies, and hostas bloom," boasts Sternberg, who now serves DeerMinder on a monthly basis.

DeerMinders is available to anyone who'd like to start a similar service or apply the product themselves (888-989-DEER (3337), deerminders.com.) When the buck stops for dinner, you'd better be ready to respond with an ever-changing menu of deterrents.



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