How to Keep Deer Out of Your Garden

Create physical barriers like tall fences or use natural deterrents such as specific plants, scents, and motion-activated devices to protect your garden from deer damage.

  1. Build Your Garden Fortress. Build an 8-foot tall fence around your garden perimeter. Use welded wire mesh, deer netting, or wooden slats. Deer can jump up to 6 feet easily, so height is crucial. Angle the top of the fence outward at 45 degrees to make jumping even more difficult. For smaller areas, use row covers or cloches over individual plants.
  2. Choose Plants Deer Despise. Replace attractive plants with varieties deer typically avoid. Plant herbs like rosemary, thyme, and sage around garden borders. Use flowers such as marigolds, lavender, and daffodils as natural deterrents. Deer dislike fuzzy, aromatic, or poisonous plants, so incorporate lamb's ear, foxglove, and strongly scented varieties throughout your garden.
  3. Layer on Offensive Smells. Spray commercial deer repellent on plants every 2-3 weeks or after rain. Make homemade spray using cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and dish soap mixed with water. Hang bars of strong-scented soap from branches or stakes around the garden. Sprinkle human hair, dog hair, or predator urine around the perimeter to create a scent barrier.
  4. Surprise and Startle Intruders. Install motion-activated sprinklers that spray water when deer approach. Hang reflective tape, aluminum pie pans, or wind chimes to create movement and noise. Set up a radio on a timer to play intermittently during dawn and dusk feeding times. Rotate these deterrents weekly so deer don't become accustomed to them.
  5. Remove Deer Hiding Spots. Keep grass and vegetation trimmed short around garden borders to eliminate deer cover. Create raised beds that are harder for deer to access. Plant the most attractive crops closest to your house where human activity naturally deters deer. Remove fallen fruit and vegetables promptly as these attract deer to your property.
  6. Combine Multiple Defense Lines. Install bright outdoor lighting with motion sensors around garden areas. Apply bone meal or blood meal fertilizer which deer find offensive. Create a gravel or mulch border around garden beds that deer dislike walking on. Consider getting a dog whose presence and scent will naturally deter deer from your property.