• Overview



  • In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook explains how to deer-proof shrubs.

    Steps:

    1. Fill nylon mesh bag with human hair and tie to branches of shrubs.
    2. Drill hole through bar of deodorant soap and hang in shrubs.
    3. Cover entire shrub with fine-mesh nylon netting.
    4. Attach a motion-detector sprinkler head to a garden hose and place in front of shrubs; sprinkler will automatically spray deer with burst of water.
    5. Fill pump sprayer with deer-deterrent chemical and spray onto leaves of shrubs; repeat every eight to 10 weeks.
    • Difficulty: Easy
      although you may need to try a few techniques to find one that works

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      Tools List

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      • garden sprayer
        Garden sprayer,
        used to apply deer-deterrent chemical
      • drill
        Drill and ½-nch spade bit,
        used to drill hole in bar soap

      Shopping List

      Close
      1. Nylon mesh bag, filled with human hair
      to frighten deer

      2. Human hair
      gathered from local barbershop, placed in mesh bag

      3. Strong-smelling deodorant bar soap
      used to scare off deer

      4. Rope, used
      to hang mesh bag and bar soap in shrubs

      5. Nylon-mesh netting
      used to cover shrubs

      6. Motion-detector sprinkler head
      used to spray water at approaching deer

      7. Deer-deterrent liquid chemical
      odiferous and bitter-tasting liquid that's applied to foliage