does human pee deter deer?

[kenny_j]

Jennifer, as a child I spent every summer with my Grandparents on their farm in Nebraska, I cant tell you how many times I got poked by an electric fence.
One time they had it running as a cross over to the next area about 5 feet off the ground, so you could duck under it to get to the barn. I forgot to duck and kissed it hard with my forehead . I HATE when that happens!!!!

Human urine will NOT work. I have read that dear hunters when using mock scrapes actually pee on them if they happen not to have deer urine, and it works well to attract the deer. I have hung out a smelly tee shirt after working in the sun all day, or an old pair of wet sneakers. As others have said, change it up, deer are smart! My neighbor told me yesterday that liquid fence works well. He works at a hardware/farm store and has tried them all. Tomatoes dissappearing may be the work of woodchucks or raccoons, get a live trap. The last few days we have caught 2 woodchucks and one coon, and the vanishing maters has stopped. The rain washed out the smelly shirts and the deer ate an entire short row of pole beans. Going for the liquid fence now. Add: Just read the ads for liquid fence, and they avoid mentiong any edible plants, so my guess would be don't use it directly in the garden.
ken

OK, adding again, just read the MSDS on liquid fence, its main components are rotted egg and garlic, plus several items that are all generally used as food additives for presevation, thickening and soubility. Still I would not spray directly on edibles.

[tjg911]

ok it's obvious this free resource will continue to visit the septic system!

i'd be curious on an update on the liquid fence.

keith, your fishing line fence is similar to something i am considering. i have a 28" tall fence around the garden and there are posts naturally. put a 5' piece of schedule 40 pvc pipe over each post. drill holes into each piece of pipe that will be around the 4' and 7' level off the ground and run rope thru the holes. this would surround the garden and present a barrier where they couldn't step into the garden (the 4' level) and at 7' may discourage them from jumping it tho i have read 8' is probably the highest a fence needs to be as they don't or won't jump higher. it's an expense and will look like crap but it's far less of a cost than an electric fence. if the 4' and 7' isn't working i can drill another hole at 5.5'. anyone ever try this?

tom

[rxkeith]

you could make that fence a double one. have a second one a few feet outside the first one. make them go through a gauntlet if they are determined.

regarding an electric fence, someone cracked me up when he told me what you want to do is put some aluminum foil strips along the top row, and then put some peanut butter on there. the deer comes along to take a lick, and ZAPPO. good bye deer.




keith

[kath]

Had a neighbor who kept 5 gal. buckets at the corners of his very tiny garden. Well, he would make daily deposits there and he swore it kept the deer away. Since it was in the front of his place next to the driveway it might also have kept people away but that's another story.

I didn't share this earlier since others with direct experience all feel that human urine doesn't repel and might actually attract deer, but I can vouch for Liquid Fence as the only thing that keeps deer away from plants that are out in the open in our yard. It does need to be reapplied after rain, though, and it does smell really terrible. Since you wouldn't want to spray your food, I can't tell you how well it works sprayed as a border to repel them.

With regard to fencing, deer will actually jump 10' fences depending on the conditions and how determined they are to get over. We have a 7' fence which they can see through enclosing a 60' x 60' area and they have never jumped it. The smaller the area, the less likely they are to jump inside and they are also less likely to jump solid fences as they can't see what's on the other side. Double fences, as Keith mentioned, are a deterrent even when they're only a few feet high and about 3' apart. Sounds to me like your idea would work if the highest strand was high enough. What are your garden dimensions?

kath

[tjg911]

the garden is 30' X 40'.

sounds like liquid fence is not for vegetables you'll be eating any time soon.

tom

[BigBrownDogHouse]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

No way. Pee will, however, deter clients and girlfriends.

and nosey neighbors who constantly borrow lawnmowers and power tools.

When I bring this up with my wife, I'm sure she'll think I have spent a little too much time in the sun.

[kath]

Originally Posted by tjg911

the garden is 30' X 40'.

sounds like liquid fence is not for vegetables you'll be eating any time soon.

tom

With that area, I'd make sure the top strand is 7'. The fence/rope should be clearly visible to them- not sure what you were planning to use. When our fence was put up the guys attached strips of white plastic all the way around at about a 4-5' height.

The Liquid Fence says that it's "For repelling deer & rabbits from landscaping, garden areas, flowers, shrubs, plants, trees and vines."

The active ingredients are whole eggs and garlic. Directions: "Apply liberally to plants and their perimeter during a dry period. Repeat process 1 week later and them once every 3-4 weeks thereafter. THIS WILL "TRAIN" THE ANIMALS TO AVOID YOUR YARD! Reapply after heavy rain and as new grow appears on plants."

There's a caution on that label that says the product may be harmful if swallowed.

I wouldn't spray it on anything I was going to eat- sooner or later.

kath

[ElectraJim]

Deter deer? Yeah, just like bugs...first ask them nicely to leave.

+2 on the electric fence..Go big or go home on the unit I think. I went to a farm and fleet style store to get a "setup". I use a nylon string that has a small stainless conductor woven into it. I use a few metal posts, insulators, and "temporary fencing" plastic fence support posts. I set it up and easily break it down at the end of the season.
The surplus nylon string with the stainless wire in it works great for a Florida weave to hold plants up too. (UN energized..duh!) I'm glad I got a BIG roll.
I have read the same thing about the peanut butter on strips on the fence, but it isn't necessary.. This year, I haven't even energized it....yet..
I don't even have a gate. I just arrange a narrow channel of fence at one end, and walk through it to harvest or mess with the plants.
Sure, this is getting expensive, but you'll feel the pain when your first red tomato is stolen by a deer...and they won't stop at just one!!

I tried "deer repelling spray" once...I thought it smelled SO BAD, I didn't even want to go into the garden.. I can't imagine if any got on anything that I would want to eat..Never ever again!!!

ElectraJim

PS, think it got hot and dry here? Check out the brown lawn!!!

[deerhunter]

i hunt them in the fall and try to put a couple in the freezer. it helps. peeing will not keep them away. an 7 ft mesh fence seems to work for me. i tryed moition senser lites . didn't work. they would stand right in front of the lites and keep eating. one or two ain't bad but when you get 5 or 6 in the garden. theres nothing left.

[nativeplanter]

I use both Liquid Fence and the fishing line method, depending on which is easiest. My tomatoes get Liquid Fence (although for some reason, I haven't had problems this year). The Liquid Fence company says it is safe for vegetables: http://blog.liquidfence.com/tag/vegetables/. I also use it on some ornamentals. It works exceptionally well for me.

The fishing line I have used to protect sugar snap peas and a peach tree. I was surprised by how well it worked. For the peach, I just wrapped it around T-posts in three rows, to about three feet off the ground. The new tree had been completely defoliated the night before. It had no problems for the rest of the year. The sugar snaps were in a raised bed, and I used bamboo stakes to an extra height of, oh, maybe two feet, and wrapped two rows of line around those. It kept them from sticking their heads in and again, worked the whole pea season. This was last year.

The deer in my area are pretty street wise. Even dog urine doesn't work. I have much more of a problem here than I did when we lived in a more rural area. In the more rural setting, leading the dogs to mark the perimiter of the garden worked pretty well. But here, the deer don't seem to care if there are dogs about or not. At night they sometimes graze in my front yard, right where one of our dogs likes to sit and watch the world go by. But the Liquid Fence and fishing line do work well.

[BigBrownDogHouse]

Originally Posted by ElectraJim

PS, think it got hot and dry here? Check out the brown lawn!!!

We must use the same lawn service!

[Tormato]

Tom,

I think peeing on 00 buckshot, before loading, might work.

Tormato

[Skaggydog]

When I was at Vandenburg Air Force Base they were using lion pee to keep deer off of the runways. There are not many places more secure than V.A.F.B.

[Skaggydog]

...or was it rabbits?

[Farmette]

Originally Posted by meadowyck

electric scare crow, move it every 5-10 days, or how ever often it take for the deer to lean it. When we lived in northern Ohio there is lots of money in deer seminars on how to keep them away.

They have learned that patterns need to be changed every 5-10days (which is based on how fast your particular deer learn new deterrents).

The electric scare cow worked the best, (only during warmer months) well besides my 6 collies in the back fenced yard...LOL

Pee, especially human never did a thing to make them stay away.

Guess you are talking about this:

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-CRO101.../dp/B000071NUS

I saw it on a thread from T'ville and while we've only had it 2 weeks, we have not had any more issues with deer. Had tried a granular product as well as the liquid Fence (previous years worked ok, but this yr, they seem to be especially hungry, probably due to the drought). Hope the scarecrow continues to work because it was very easy to setup and very reasonable, when you consider the alternatives.