Do Deer Repellents Work?

Do Deer Repellents Work? MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Pest Animals 25-5-5 It seems like every week there's a new deer repellent product on the market with exotic ingredients like hot pepper spray or tiger urine. The question is: Do they really work? A recent story in the Wall Street Journal concluded that many of the products work, but only for a while. Then the deer get used to them. The article quoted a landscape designer named Howland Green, West Kingston, R.I., who was almost bankrupted by deer who went after his expensive landscaping plantings. He started mixing an existing repellent called Deer Away, which is made from putrefied egg-white solids, with other bitter ingredients like chili peppers, garlic juice, chlorine and a product called Bitterguard that's used to keep children from biting their nails. During the first year, Green thought he had come up with a fantastic new formula. The next year, deer started eating the stuff the day he sprayed it on. After several more years of testing, Green came up with a method he calls North American Deer & Rabbit Proofing. It's not foolproof but he feels he can do as well or better than any method on the market. "No matter how strong a product is, deer will eventually get used to the taste," he says. Under Green's program, gardens or landscaping are sprayed three times a year, each time with a different concoction. Business is booming as Green and his network of custom applicators have some 8,000 customers in just their second year of operation. Green's products are available direct from his nursery, or through his network of dealer applicators. For more information, contact: Howland Green, Holly Ridge Nursery, 895 Liberty Lane, West Kingston, RI 02892 (ph toll-free 877 782-1270; Website: www.nadrp.com).

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