It can be nice to observe wildlife like deer and rabbits here in Tallahassee, but it is not as fun to see damage to your garden once they’re gone. For this reason, you can never have too many tips for keeping deer and rabbits away from your plants. Often, even if you find something that works, the animals get used to that technique and you need to try something new. Here is a list of tips from gardeners who have tried just about everything.
Soap on a Rope
Hanging strongly scented soap near your plants is one way to protect your garden from deer. If hanging a whole bar of soap, be sure to have netting around the bar to prevent wildlife from eating it. If you don’t have any full bars of soap around your house, don’t worry. You can recycle slivers left over from old bars of soap, especially if they have a strong scent. Set the pieces around your plants to keep critters away. You can also thread the slivers on a string and hang them high in a shrub that a deer is chomping on or hang them above shorter plants to deter any rabbits.
Homemade Deer Repellent Recipe
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon dish soap
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper
Combine the ingredients in a blender and liquefy. Put the mixture into an old container and set it out in the sun for two to three days to let it cook and get potent. Strain the mixture and add water to make a gallon of liquid, and spray or pour it on the plants.
Spray the plants in your garden with a solution of 2 tablespoons of hot sauce and 10 gallons of filtered, purified, or spring water once every two weeks to further discourage deer and rabbits from eating them.
It’s recommended to reapply most sprays once a week until the deer are “trained” to leave the plant alone because of the bad taste or smell. After that, you can apply the spray less frequently. Generally though, you’ll need to reapply after rain.
Deer-resistant Plants
The best way to keep deer or rabbits from eating your garden is to choose landscape plants that they don’t like. Keep in mind there are no completely critter proof plants and in a particularly bad winter they will eat things they are not supposed to. Here is a list of some plants that are less appealing to wildlife.
If you’re looking for trees that are less likely to become a buffet for deer, try one of these: bottlebrush, coconut palm, crape myrtle, edible fig, loquat, live oak, magnolia, orchid tree, pineapple guava, pomegranate, queen palm, royal palm, and yaupon.
For deer-resistant shrubs, try: banana shrub, bird of paradise, bottlebrush, camellia, Carissa, Chinese holly, croton, gardenia, ixora, Japanese boxwood, juniper, lantana, mahonia, myrtle-leaf holly, oleander, philodendron, plumbago, sweet/tea olive, viburnum, and wax myrtle.
In addition, these annuals, perennials, and bulbs may give you some respite from the deer drama: aloe, angels trumpet, black-eyed Susan, bush daisy, century plant, cone flower, crown of thorns, ginger lily, lily of the Nile (agapanthus), lupine, marigolds, peace lily, periwinkle, petunia, sage, Shasta daisy, Turk’s cap, verbena, and yucca. Daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies are also common flowers that have a toxicity that deer avoid.
If you plant culinary herbs, deer may sometimes nip off flowers but leave the foliage alone or avoid the plants altogether. Herbs with strong scents are often too “stinky” for deer; these deer-resistant herbs include basil, Greek oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, ornamental salvias, and lavender. Deer keep their distance from these delicious herbs because of the plants’ strong-smelling essential oils or the foliage’s intense aromas.
Plant onions and garlic around the perimeter of your garden to discourage rabbits and deer from grazing. Rabbits generally know better than to eat garlic or onions, as they can trigger severe anaphylactic reactions, and deer seem to find these potent plants less than appealing.
A tip when planting your deer resistant plants is to include a tablespoon of crushed red pepper in each of your planting holes to make them even less appealing to rabbits, deer and other garden pests.
Physical Barriers
You can fence off plants with netting, which makes it difficult for the deer to get to the plants. This is your best bet in the winter months because most sprays don’t work when the temperature drops below 40°F. A benefit to using wire mesh is that the barrier is not very noticable if you want your garden to retain the same look.
You can choose barriers that aren’t noticeable like the wire meshing, or you can use barriers that are decorative as well. Putting your plants inside a parrot cage, for example, is a great way to keep the plants safe and adds a fun touch to your garden decor.
Finally, a great physical barrier for deer is plastic forks. Attach plastic forks to sticks or dowels, tine side up, and set them around a new plant. When the deer bends down to eat the plant, the tines of the fork will gently poke them.
Keep them guessing
Even though you may find a method that works, you should change your techniques or products every few weeks. Deer and rabbits are often able to learn to tolerate bad tastes and may continue to nibble on your garden despite sprays or barriers.
In the end, none of these methods are foolproof ways to keep deer or other wildlife out of your garden, but they may help to lessen the damage. Try these tips and find out what works best for your garden! 
Samantha Cavasin
Home & Yard Magazine
