My son came home from a birthday party with a little green mesh bag of candy. What was I going to do with this mesh bag? It is too tiny to hold much and anything that is tiny would slip right out the holes. However, as of late, I have been trying to think of ways to reuse items that ordinarily I would throw in the trash. In the meantime, it sat in my office staring at me with those lime green eyes saying “what about me?”
The other day to get away from those green lime eyes (well, not really, but it makes the story better),
I was in my garden and noticed that all my lilac were nipped. The tops looked like carrots that you just bit into. Ragged and uneven. Who would do this? Let me guess, the deer. I have so much clover in my lawn for them, that I guess they were tired of it and figured the lilacs looked appealing. Who wants to eat peanut butter and jelly all day when you can have ice cream?
Just to give you an idea of the amount of deer that I have, If I made them pay rent, then I would be a millionaire by now.
So, how am I going to stop them from eating my lilacs? I read somewhere that if you hung human hair around the plant, they will leave it alone. Another person told me that if you use Irish Spring soap slivers in a bag, the deer won’t go near the plant. So, do you guess where this story is going right now?
So yesterday I had a “ah” moment during my haircut. I thought, ” I will put my old hair in the bag to deter the deer.” I am not sure how effective this is or the length of the time it will last. The deer are so used to humans that they might laugh at me behind my back think human are just too silly for words. Who knows? Has anyone tried this?
So, pictured above is my green little mesh bag with my hair in it. I guess it will be good chuckle for the deer or at least a conversational piece for them to discuss over lunch. Yeah, on my plants.
So, how do you effectively (and environmentally) deter deer? Or do you have an idea how to reuse this little green mess bag?
RecycleCindy says
June 22, 2008 at 12:21 pmI recently recycled the little green netting bags you get lettuce in. I crocheted it together with cotton to create a scrubbie. Here is the link if you’d like to see it. http://www.myrecycledbags.com/.....-scrubber/
I think your little candy bag would work great for my scrubbie project. You need about 3 of them. Good luck.
Cindy
RecycleCindy’s last blog post..Spool Knitter & VCR Tape
Bea says
June 29, 2008 at 11:44 amfor deer repellent we have used a mixture consisting of raw eggs, a squirt of dish soap and water sprayed on foliage… it has to be reapplied after rain or heavy dew. Deer do not like the smell of rotting eggs (we don’t smell it but they can)… I also know farmers who hang mesh bags of meat wastes to repel the deer… that whole rotting flesh smell deters them as they think they might be next… of course, not an option if you have close neighbors or are in an area where bear or other wildlife might be attracted… but there are some ideas for you.
Green Talk says
June 30, 2008 at 11:32 pmBea, do you have a suggestion for ground hogs? Anna
Regina says
March 23, 2009 at 11:00 amSo, just curious if this worked to keep the deer away?? I have used dog hair clippings from when we shave our dogs in my garden scattered around the base of my tender plants, and seems to work pretty well! I enjoy reading your posts, especially the one about the Nerds box in the trashcan! Sounds like myself 🙂 Regina
Green Talk says
March 23, 2009 at 11:40 amRegina, I will see this Spring. I tied it to a small bush that the deer nipped last year. If the buds are there, then it worked. Personally, I think the NJ deer are so used to people that they probably just laughed at me thinking “silly human.” I hope I am wrong, though.
If it works, perhaps I should go to a door grooming place and get dog hair…
What state do you live in and do the deer outnumber the people in your state. It seems that way in NJ. (Just kidding.)
Thanks for the compliment on my posts (blush, blush). You should have seen my face when I saw the nerds in the trashcan…Anna
Green Talk says
July 7, 2009 at 1:05 amUpdate: Its Spring and the plant survived without deer damage! The deer actually stayed away from the plants! I have no idea how long this idea will work because deer get used to our human ways. Readers? Anna
Doug Cook says
February 21, 2010 at 4:34 pmYou may have to mix it up a bit, but in my experience deer don’t like the smell of dead animals parts and continue to stay away. Granted, I don’t like the smell of dead animals either but if raw eggs, soup and hair is what I need to do then that is what I’m going to do.
.-= Doug Cook´s last blog ..How Long Does It Take to Boil an Egg =-.