Deer Deterrents

Deer are difficult to deal with. As much as we enjoy seeing wildlife near by it is aggravating to find they have made your garden a salad bar or your new tree a scratching post.  Some methods of protection are fencing that is either high enough they can't jump it (8 foot or more) or hard for them to see over. Unless pressured they don't usually jump where they can't see their landing. There are also a wide variety of sprays and granules that can be applied to the plants or around the plants to help ward off the hungry deer. Most of these products contain urine or blood parts from their natural predators and can be quite odoriferous when first applied. This type of repellent must be reapplied on a regular basis due to weather and decomposing. In the end if the deer is hungry enough they have been found to eat even irregular plants.  Short of picking off Bambi's family with a rifle, giving them another food source might work.  The easiest solution is to plant that which is most distasteful, but you can pick your own battles.