Deer Prevention - How to keep Deers away from pond or stream

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Deer are pretty fast creatures, but they're not that smart. By that, we mean, if you were to block off a route that they regularly used to get to a certain place and they couldn’t find another way in, the spot would soon lose their interest and they would move on, looking for a new place to find a good and stable source of food. This works in your favor if you are a property or land owner having a bit of a hard time with a few deer.



Although there are a few different approaches you can take to removing deer from your land and keeping it away, it is generally recognized among professionals and reliable exclusion methods are one of the only ways of going about it. That's if you want to have any success at all, of course. Trapping these creatures is renowned for being close to impossible. They are fast, as we've said, and they'd much rather run away than stay and fight. If you see a deer working it's damage on your trees or shrubs, clapping your hands and loudly shouting will often do the trick at scaring it away. However, these deer are becoming quite well adapted to living alongside humans, so they'd generally only wander onto your land during dusk and dawn -- times when you probably wouldn't have the time to check out your back yard, and they're also really good at keeping a wide berth if they know we're hanging around. Trying to get rid of an animal that can smell and hear you before you arrive, and then scamper off before you can see them, is a rather difficult task.

One of the best exclusion methods to use for deer is a mesh wire fencing that is fully fixed so that the deer can't lift from below. It also needs to be high enough to ensure the deer can’t jump over it. At the same time, you could look at using certain plants that deer are well known to steer clear of. This generally only applies for the winter months, as deer will eat almost anything plant-based during the winter to stay alive, but is a good trick to use if you want to add more flowers, rather than keep taking them away. There's nothing worse than stripping your back garden because of some nuisance wildlife, especially when you have only just gotten it looking how you wanted it to.

The soft and wooly texture of lambs’s ear doesn’t appeal much to deer, or so that's what scientists say. Studies are ongoing on this topic — so-called “deer-resistant” plants, but if you take a peek on the internet, you'll see that quite a few people have had varying degrees of success with them.

Poppies, particularly the oriental variety, are also a deer repellent. They actively avoid eating poppies because they are toxic to them. There are alkaloids present in the flower that deer, as well as a few other wild critters, can actually become quite ill after digesting.

If you live in an area that has dry soil and hot climates, you could look at planting a wildlife, such as yarrow — a nice and hardy perennial flower that bursts with vibrant colors, attracts bees, and has a truly bitter taste that deer don't enjoy eating.

If you’d rather look at herbs, how about sage? It's a smelly one, and great for making a wide range of dishes taste fab, but deer don’t appreciate the taste of it much. It has a strong smell and taste — too strong for the delicate noses and palettes of the humble deer. Daffodils, peonies, and lavender are also great choices. These flowers will give the bees a hand — something they so desperately need (and deserve), and the strong fragrances given off by them will work magic at keeping deer at bay … or so we’re led to believe.

For more information, you may want to click on one of these guides that I wrote:
How to Get Rid of Deer
How To Guide: Who should I hire? - What questions to ask, to look for, who NOT to hire.
How To Guide: do it yourself! - Advice on saving money by doing wildlife removal yourself.
Guide: How much does wildlife removal cost? - Analysis of wildlife control prices.