I woke up late this morning, and it was already getting hot by the time I headed out to finish in the garden. I still made sure to check my daughter’s tulips, after so many flower bulbs got eaten the other night.
At first, I was please; the rope I’d put around the front and side had worked. No new damage.
Then I looked further back.
The deer had just gone around the back, through the lilacs and caragana hedge. They didn’t just eat the flower buds, either, but the leaves as well.
My daughter was quite upset. It looks like all the ones with black flowers got eaten. We have no idea if the tulips will recover from having so much of their leaves eaten. We’re hoping they will still be able to grow more leaves, but so much has been eaten!
This evening, the girls added more rope around the area, and dug out some chicken wire that was among the junk stacked around the garden shed. You can’t see it in the photo, but it’s along the lilacs in the back. I still have some plastic spinners I’d picked up from the dollar store, then we raided my craft supplies for some Christmas bells. Those got strung onto twine. In some areas, there are short lengths hanging down. At the back of this photo, plus on the other side of the lilacs at a more open area covered by the chicken wire, we tied longer strings of bells.
Hopefully, this will keep the deer away from the rest of the tulips.
Of all the green things coming up that the deer are going after, why does it have to be my daughter’s flowers? š¦
I suspect the girls will not be so averse to my goal of hunting, anymore. Especially if it’s venison with a hint of tulip.
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 
Hate to say it but that rope won’t deter them for long either. They’ll just treat it like a tree branch in the woods and duck under it.
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I know, but it’s all we have, for now!
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Hair, socks or other clothing with human scent, the bells and spinners you mentioned..marigolds are supposed to work also.
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You know, I’m going to have to start planting marigolds all over. They’re good for so many different things!
The girls are already talking about what deer-deterrent plants they want to get for this fall. š
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Human urine is supposed to work, too. Maybe some cat hair? Garlic?
I gave up planting tulips in my yard. They would eat the leaves and dig up the bulbs to munch on.
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We might have some difficulty getting human urine! Lol
Cat hair is something we have lots of. š. Might be worth a try!
They dug up your bulbs?? Wow! These ones had to be buried 15-18 inches down. I would hope they wouldn’t try digging that far!
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We have many deer in our small town. When I was still on FakeBook in local groups, many gardeners were using their own urine to keep the deer away from their gardens. That being said, some stated that the deer got used to the particular urine smell and returned some time later. Others use coyote urine but, that has a tendency to attract other coyotes.
Perhaps I should have said “pulled them up.” My bulbs never bloomed. Once the green shoots came up, they bit them and pulled up the bulbs. They ate the whole thing(s). I guess I didn’t bury them far enough down?
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Using human urine is not something I’d ever want to do! Granted, our situation my be a bit more unique. My husband certainly has the ability to aim to collect some, but he’s on so many medications, I wouldn’t dare use it around any plants I want to keep alive! š
And yeah, coyote urine would certainly do that – and we have coyote in our area. I suspect they are the cause of many a missing cat.
As for how deep the bulbs are buried, it depends on the variety, and if you want them to come back every year. At least in our zone. The deeper they are buried, the more likely they will survive the winters here, and my daughters really wanted them to survive!
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Yikes. Yeah. Meds no worky on plants.
Oh, ‘yotes love kitty treats. Eat ’em in a heartbeat.
We don’t really get harsh winters here. We have big, occasional snow storms but, on the whole, we are a warm, mid-atlantic coastal state.
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As for garlic, we have been planting alliums around other things we hope they will protect. I have read of home made sprays to deter deer that use garlic. Irish Spring soap is something else that is recommended. I think we will be trying lots of different things, at the same time!
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The definitely don’t mess with my Egyptian walking onions, either.
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