October 27, 2008
Foiled Again, Mr. Deer?
This year, for the first time, I encountered a problem with deer eating my crops. In a mini-farm, a small herd of deer can do a lot of damage in a hurry; so the evidence of their passage was rather obvious.
Not tonite, deer.
Now, I like deer just as much as the next guy. Especially for dinner. But I live in what is called a “compact area” meaning that it is illegal for me to shoot them with either a firearm or a bow. Too bad, because there is a certain justice to the idea that I should eat the animal who ate my crops.
Anyway, as that wasn’t an option, I needed another alternative. I can’t just let Bambi and Co. eat my family out of house and home!
I tried all those sprays that could be bought at the local feed store. Expensive and almost — but not quite — useless.
Much better, though admittedly more diabolical, was the old “peanut butter on tinfoil wrapped around an electric fence” trick. You see, like practically everything else on the planet, deer love peanut butter. Very few body parts are more sensitive to electricity than the mouth. I just got some cheap “step on it to drive it into the ground” plastic fence stakes, some electric fence wire and an electric fence energizer.
Problem solved. Or, as the deer said: “Drats! Foiled again!”
Okay, bad pun. But this is home agriculture, home of a sense of humor — even if it’s a bad one.
Re-localization of Agriculture 
Gregory Kay said,
October 29, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Here in West Virginia we have an enormous deer population that keeps growing despite increased hunting. If you can’t shoot them in your garden, try the following, all of which work to some degree.
1) Tie a dog near the garden. His barking generally frightens the deer at first, but you may have to move him occasionally, because they eventually figure out how far his chain will reach.
2) Tie bunches of human hair up in women’s stockings (preferably used and unwashed to add to the smell.). Deer have a good sense of smell, and don’t care for this.
3) Do the same thing with mothballs, whose odor also discourages them.
4) Regular squirts of coyote urine around the garden also tends to make them skittish. Human urine might do much the same.
5) A scarecrow sometimes works, particularly if you can rig it to move a little in the wind.
6) Tin pie plates, plastic bags, or cans with some gravel inside can be strung around the border of the garden (preferably on a single strand electric fence); the motion and noise tends to discourage deer…as long as the wind is blowing.
Russ said,
November 7, 2008 at 3:53 am
Hi John,
You sound different in writing than in your podcasts. Good blog. I’ll be a regular.
Btw, your podcasts are great.
Russ
Larry White said,
November 21, 2008 at 12:52 am
About your deer problem: You are going to have to bite the bullet yourself and build a fence!!!!!!!!!!!! There is NO other solution—period. I live in nothern California and the best fence here is a 6′ “deer and rabbit” fence. No deer in 12 years has jumped IN the garden but they can jump OUT of a 6′ fence. I use treated 10′ pine corner posts and a pine post every 50′ all the rest is metal “T” posts. You use a post hole digger for the pine post and cement them in. For the “T” post you use a post pounder. All of these are put at 2′ down. If you have any further questions please e-mail me. Sincerely, Larry
Charles said,
November 21, 2008 at 4:06 am
Thanks for starting this blog. I carved out my own organic garden for the first time this year, and I’m really eager to learn as much as I can about intensively growing organic vegetables. I look forward to reading and sharing tips in the future.
LuAnne said,
December 9, 2008 at 1:10 am
Build a fence; there is no other way. Unless you want to murder animals who are doing what they are genetically predisposed to do. Come on, you can do it. If a not very tough woman like me can build a secure fence, 200′ of it, so can you.
John responds:
— Indeed, I did build a fence — an electric fence. That sufficed for Mr. Deer. Mr. dog coming after my chickens required an addendum to the fence. But ever since I built it, the deer problem has gone away.
Personally, as a completely separate matter, I don’t consider killing animals to be murder. I reserve the term “murder” for humans.
Either way, the electric fence has served to make that point moot. I strung it in such a way as to create an obstacle course.
Most importantly, I’m pleased to know that you’re the kind of person who will roll up her shirt sleeves and build what is needed. We need more people like that! Keep spreading that all-important cultural meme!
LuAnne said,
December 14, 2008 at 3:57 am
Thanks for the compliment and encouragement, John. Right neighborly of you. Glad you built a fence. I agree, when you need food, you need food, and if you don’t have the $ to buy it, or the gumption to grow it, then you gotta kill an animal (beats a repulsive slaughterhouse death anyway).
But be reminded that any discussion of ‘killing’ vs ‘murder’ is irrelevant to the universe and, dare I say, Almighty God. Compensation will have to be made when you kill a being that has ways of letting you know it considers its life as important as you consider your own. God is not mocked: As a man soweth, that shall he surely reap. And thank you for building that fence.
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John says: while I may (and may not) disagree with some of the details of what you are saying, I believe the essential structure of what you are saying is a primal truth revealing an uncommon degree of insight — I’m glad you are on our side!
grant said,
January 6, 2009 at 2:55 am
We had tree farms in Michigan and deer were a big problem with the fur trees… try bar soap. for the dog I live in a city of 10,000 and have a dog come by my yard and piss on my baisl tree… Luckly I had a can of “Bear Pepper Spray” I got it at Hudson Safty products… it used to void off grizzly attacks. I get other personal safty products there as well but this 20oz can can shoot up to 20 feet and you want to be down wind of it. Stores good at 55 degrees and i purge it once in a while… I bought it 2 years ago and am still using it. For the dog, since it probably was a neighbors i used it in front of the dog’s nose at about 5 feet away and in spot were it liked to pee… I heard your babies I & II off III podcast… thank you for your time…
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Hi Grant! Bear pepper spray is great stuff, and it could come in handy because we also have bears where I live — they’ve wandered into the yard a couple of times but (thankfully) no incidents! The neighbors have been pretty good about keeping their dog at home since the incident with the chickens, so hopefully it’ll be okay. Soap didn’t work for the deer in my garden, possibly because they had already become acclimated to finding food there and lost their fear of human smells. Hang in there and don’t forget to start your garden this year!
LuAnne said,
January 11, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Thank you for the compliment, John, and also I am glad you are kind of on my side, as well! Blessings.