Notes from the Lake

Some people see deer as gentle and loving creatures like Bambi. Others, like my brother Mike, imagine them in venison chili. Gardeners like me see them as competition for our flowers and vegetables and they can be a real challenge. We have had our problems with deer over the years here at the spa. I don’t mind them in the wooded areas or on the lawn areas near the figure 8 trails, but I would prefer not to share the vegetable and herb gardens with them. A few deer can wipe the vegetable beds out in one night.

In the past we resorted to smelly sprays, electric shock stakes and netting to keep them out of the gardens. They worked to some degree, but we still lost plants on occasion and it was a full time job to keep up with the control methods. The severe drought for the last several years forced more deer to forage within our green oasis and they considered the vegetable garden an all night salad bar. Our security guards tried shooing them off and even squirting them with water guns and pelting them with nerf balls. The deer quickly learned that they were not in any danger and ignored the disturbances and kept on eating.

I found a product last summer that has worked extremely well. (I am knocking on wood here!) They are called Sweeny’s All Season Weatherproof Deer Repellant. They come in a package of six units and stakes. The plastic unit looks like a spray paint can cap. It contains blood meal and is vented on the bottom so the deer can smell the blood, but rain does not affect it. Since deer are a prey species they are highly afraid of the smell of blood and will stay away from the smell. Adding blood meal directly to the garden can be effective in the short term but I have found it to attract flies, cats and dogs and work only a short time without reapplying. Its high nitrogen content can burn plants.

The color of the deer repellent units is greenish brown so they are not highly visible in the garden. They are supposed to last up to six months.

We placed them close together (every five to six feet) along the lake side entrance to the garden, as I knew that was where the deer entered. We have them scattered throughout the gardens, especially near the plants that deer love best, like the rose bushes.

Since placing the All Season units in the garden last August we have had no deer browsing at all and had wonderful rose blooms for the first time last fall. Our sorrel and lettuce can remain uncovered and there is no netting to get tangled up in and no stinky rotten egg and garlic smells to endure.

I have found them online and in Lowe’s. BWI Company Inc. supplies many garden centers and they carry them so you can ask your local nursery if they can order them for you if you do not find them on the shelves. Customer comments on some of the online retailer’s sites that I read gave them mixed reviews. If you have tried them I would love to get feedback from you about your experiences with them. So far, they get a five star rating from me! I even found that they reduced the problems I was experiencing with armadillos (and deer) in my home gardens. Learn more about them at www.wrsweeney.com.

More good news – The record setting severe drought for Central Texas appears to be over for now. Lake Travis is now above normal level and we have received higher than normal monthly rainfall totals for this year. The rains came at the right time for wildflower seed germination and the slow, deep soakings are setting us up for one of the best wildflower seasons in years. The bluebonnet plants are massive and I think we will have amazing wildflower displays. Don’t forget to bring your camera when you visit us this spring!