How to keep deer out of the garden

Diane Fuchs is the horticultural technician at the Gardeners Supply Company. Deer are a problem all across the country whether it be vegetables, trees, shrubs, perennials or bulbs they will eat most anything. There is a list of deer resistant plants but if deer are hungry enough they will eat the bark off trees, they'll eat about anything. Diane has a few products that might help with deer. Deer are very smart so she has a few different products to keep the deer guessing. One kit comes with 3 different repellent products. One week you might spray the hot pepper, the next the garlic and the next the smelly rotten eggs. If you keep the deer guessing and they don't get used to any 1 product these can be more effective. These do need to be reapplied after rain and it is a good idea to put them down before deer are a problem. Another product looks like a post but lures the deer in then gives them a shock. The lure smells like an acorn which deer love. Put the acorn scent all around the garden, even on the post. Place the posts around the garden, 3 posts will cover about 1,200 square feet. The deer come in, get excited about the acorn scent, go for the acorn, get shocked and learn to stay away from that area. The coil is connected to batteries which provide the electrical shock. The final product is hooked up to a hose. It has a motion detector with an infrared sensor and when the deer come close they get a sharp stream of water. It will reach about 35 feet so anything that moves will activate it. If you have deer and from our email it seems almost everyone does, these products may offer some relief. Let us know.