Cute and destructive
It’s called the Bambi Syndrome. Although depending on the
wildlife it could be named for Peter Rabbit or Rocky the Flying
Squirrel or Roger Raccoon or Wiley Coyote.
It works this way: You see the wildlife and think
”
Oh, isn’t that adorable to have a deer or a raccoon or whatever
walking around your yard?
”
Cute and destructive
It’s called the Bambi Syndrome. Although depending on the wildlife it could be named for Peter Rabbit or Rocky the Flying Squirrel or Roger Raccoon or Wiley Coyote.
It works this way: You see the wildlife and think “Oh, isn’t that adorable to have a deer or a raccoon or whatever walking around your yard?”
Yes, it certainly is adorable. Unless it’s your tomatoes or your roses being eaten, or your lawn mauled by little feet. Then, cute adorable turns to dismay. And your main goal is figuring out how to discourage the little visitors.
Because of where we live and the way housing has spread out, wildlife sees our yards as fast-food takeout. All those nice, edible plants spread out like a banquet is hard to resist. So they don’t resist.
Deer are particularly troublesome in our area. It’s not uncommon for a deer to peek in the window at residents as it nibbles on the roses. There is an entire market of garden products devoted to discouraging deer.
Besides what you can buy at the garden center, there are a number of home remedies to repel deer. But they get mixed reviews. One is to hang bars of Ivory soap (some say Dial, others claim Irish Spring) from the branches of the plants to be protected. Another belief is that gobs of hair (ask your hairdresser or barber to save hair for you) stuffed into pantyhose and then suspended around the garden will smell bad and discourage deer.
The trouble with these deterrents is that they work for a few days. But soon the deer realize there is no danger and so they came back for a late-night snack.
Lion dung and/or lion urine should scare away the bravest deer. Then the deer realizes there is no lion in this particular garden and so it returns for a meal.
Home-made repellent sprays are fairly effective. But the downside is that the spray needs to be re-applied regularly. This recipe comes from “The Original Deer Resistant Gardening Handbook” by Craig P. Scheiner.
Mix in a blender two eggs, one cup of skim milk, one cup of water, and a tablespoon or so of spreader sticker. Spray plants at planting time, and repeat every two weeks or so. Respray after rainy periods also. The mixture seems to make plants taste awful to deer, Scheiner writes.
If regular spraying to deter deer sounds like a never-ending job (and, it is), take a closer look at ScareCrow. This is a motion-activated sprinkler developed for the garden industry by Canadian manufacturer Contech Electronics The ScareCrow detects animals as they approach and deters them with a startling spray of water.
Not only deer get this unwanted bath. It responds to raccoons, heron and cats that invade the garden or are drawn to fish ponds. Of course, if you wander out into the garden you may end up with a bath of your own since ScareCrow can’t tell the difference between a human, the family dog or a curious deer. (ww******@co*********.com or call 1-800-767-8658 for more information and local outlets).
There are many plants that are reputed to be deer resistant, including lavender, trumpet vine, cape honeysuckle, aloe, alyssum, daffodil, California poppy and iris, just to name a few. Among the vegetables that are more-or-less safe are asparagus, potatoes, onions, Swiss chard and cucumbers. Deer eat the tops of carrots but the carrot itself, in fact anything growing underground, survives. Sunset Western Garden Book lists more than 200 deer resistant plants ranging from tall trees to tiny groundcovers and annuals.
Keep in mind, though, if a deer is hungry enough it will eat anything and everything. So, no plant is 100 percent safe.
Raccoons are a different story. Raccoons are attracted to garbage cans, pet food left outdoors, and grubs in the lawn. Put a brick on the garbage can lid to anchor it in place. Feed your pets indoors, and treat the lawn with a product to control grubs, which are available at garden supply stores.
Another deer deterrent is a nice big dog that barks when deer come calling. Or, even a little dog. Deer don’t like the noise of a barking dog and will go down the street to your neighbor’s yard instead.
Remember, too, it is illegal and dangerous to shoot at the wildlife. Instead, turn on a radio outdoors to an all-night talk show. All that chatter would discourage the most determined deer.
E-mail Joan Jackson at bl*********@cs.com.
