oh deer
Is it my imagination, or did the Mt. Lebanon deer population nearly double this year? Formerly shy deer stare me down when I’m watering the plants, wishing I would leave so they could enjoy their suburban buffet. I live in Sunset Hills and I’ve never seen so many deer walking through yards and wandering down the middle of the street.
This year I planted a tidy little vegetable garden, and it was a raging success, until the deer chomped off all of my tender tomato and sweet pea shoots. I noticed that they ignored my cucumbers, basil and bell papers, but the tomatoes and peas were daily targets. Having tried everything from cayenne pepper to scary, off-putting dances (performed by me in the hopes of disturbing the deer), I finally surrendered. 
Fast forward to mid-August. My sad little garden was still making tomato blossoms, so there was still a glimmer of hope. I discovered something called a “deer net.” I found one at Rollier’s for less than $10. The net is made of durable nylon, and all I had to do was drape it over the garden. Apparently nose-touching is offensive to deer, so they back off when they come in contact with the net. I am happy to say that I now have a late summer crop of tomatoes, and I plan to reuse the net next year. I only wish I had discovered deer nets in May.
Jen
Posted On
How timely! The deer study just came out, so maybe next year’s growing season won’t be so dismal!
Yvette
Posted On
Thanks for the tip. I wonder if it’s effective for groundhog, too…
Mark Griskey
Posted On
I have used deer netting in the past and if has been very effective, I eventually made a make-shift fence using bamboo poles and deer netting to surround my 3 raised beds. I did this for several seasons before getting the backyard permanently fenced in.
As for the ground hogs, they will easily chew through the deer netting. After years of battle, I finally installed a 3 foot high wire fence with a foot folded forward and buried (so they can’t dig under). I complimented this with an electric wire that surrounds that at 6 inch, 1 foot and 2 foot intervals. It is powered by D batteries, and is designed for livestock (the shock is like the static shock you get when touching a door knob in the winter). I bought my system at a farm supply store in Derry, but you can buy them on Amazon.