deer problem solved!

tjg911 · August 9, 2012

in thread http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...=boards&page=3 i was asking how to stop deer from coming into the garden and eating the pole bean and cuke leaves on a trellis. 3 people mentioned fishing line, rxkeith was 1st in post #15. funny no one commented again after i put out boards with nails in them which did not work!

anyway i got 4 old 6' tomato stakes that i don't use anymore, surrounded the trellis with a 2' path for me to walk around for picking and drove them 1' into the ground leaving them 5' tall. i then strung dental floss on them starting at the top and about every 7-8" apart down to 2 1/2 to 3' off the ground.

i thought i solved the problem until one evening about 7:15 i looked out and there's a 125-140 pound deer (not a small female but no rack) standing inside the dental floss fence eating bean leaves! the sob actually crawled under the bottom line of floss - i watched it leave that way a few seconds later!

the next morning i went out and ran 2-3 more strands so it went to about 5-6" off the ground. so now there is absolutely no way to get under it and the trellis is inside so there is absolutely no way for them to jump into this area.

since that i have not seen any bean leaves or cuke leaves eaten, no footprints from them walking thru the garden and no deer in the garden. this worked perfectly, they never tried to break thru the floss (which i was certain they wouldn't). now this just protects the trellis but the inability to get to the beans and cukes has apparently been so successful that they don't even bother walking into the garden anymore which is fine since they were crushing lettuce and chard plants. so for 99 cents i used 100 yards of dental floss and effectively deterred them and my plants are recovering. if you have deer problems this works but if they can jump over this and into an open area it wouldn't, the trellis inside prevents that.

tom

Fat Charlie · August 27, 2012

Now that's some good... economical fencing!

tjg911 · August 27, 2012

and this has worked so well that i don't see deer tracks in the garden now. so discouraging them from being able to eat the bean and cuke leaves has stopped them from being in there which is what i wanted to accomplish! electric fencing is way more expensive than dental floss plus you could floss your teeth in october!

tom

Sherry_AK · August 27, 2012

Good job, Tom! Do they respond to "regular" or "minty" floss??? Ha!

Seriously, it's amazing that such a simple set-up could deter the little buggers. We put in an electric fence this year to deter the moose and (knock on wood) so far it seems to be working.

Sherry

deerhunter · August 27, 2012

i can take em out for ya if you want come bow season.

lakelady · August 27, 2012

good idea Tom! And if anyone has antlers left over from hunting, I'll take some pieces. Apparently my dog likes them! lol

tjg911 · August 28, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by deerhunter

i can take em out for ya if you want come bow season.

i'd be happy to feed you! if you're serious it would have to be a bow, there's a house across the road and on both sides of me and they're not real close but there's no safe way to shoot.

tom

marc_groleau · August 29, 2012

I've heard of similar approach with fishing line. Glad you found a fix. I'll be out doing my part to control the population in two weeks.

tjg911 · August 30, 2012

yeah it was fishing line that was suggested in another thread where i was asking for help. the dental floss was on sale so for 99 cents i got 300' so i figured that's all i'd need and it's cheaper than fishing line. still working and i have not seen a deer footprint in there since.

Buzzard II · March 9, 2013

A couple drops of diesel fuel every foot around the edge of a garden will keep deer away.

Longlake · March 10, 2013

Glad to hear that the dental floss worked well...It's also good for cutting sheet cakes into nice/pretty portions! Love multi-use items

I used monofilament line around the raised gardens last year, and that worked great for keeping the deer out. At least for one season! We'll see if they 'honor' the line this year?

jillybeantx · March 12, 2013

I know the regular or minty question was a joke, but I used minty dental floss to sew up a hole in a butterfly/dip net that I use to dip weeds & bugs out of a water trough in the pasture. One night something (I'm guessing a skunk) knocked the net down from where I kept it and chewed it to pieces! So if anyone has a choice, go with regular floss - you sure don't want to encourage the little striped guys to stop by for a visit!

August 27, 2012	#3
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	and this has worked so well that i don't see deer tracks in the garden now. so discouraging them from being able to eat the bean and cuke leaves has stopped them from being in there which is what i wanted to accomplish! electric fencing is way more expensive than dental floss plus you could floss your teeth in october! tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

August 27, 2012	#6
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	good idea Tom! And if anyone has antlers left over from hunting, I'll take some pieces. Apparently my dog likes them! lol __________________ Antoniette

August 30, 2012	#9
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	yeah it was fishing line that was suggested in another thread where i was asking for help. the dental floss was on sale so for 99 cents i got 300' so i figured that's all i'd need and it's cheaper than fishing line. still working and i have not seen a deer footprint in there since. __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

March 10, 2013	#11
Longlake Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: MN Posts: 142	Glad to hear that the dental floss worked well...It's also good for cutting sheet cakes into nice/pretty portions! Love multi-use items I used monofilament line around the raised gardens last year, and that worked great for keeping the deer out. At least for one season! We'll see if they 'honor' the line this year? __________________ My garden is like a teenager - One minute I'm basking in it's glow and the next I'm cursing it's attitude and headstrong independence.

August 9, 2012	#1
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	deer problem solved! in thread http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...=boards&page=3 i was asking how to stop deer from coming into the garden and eating the pole bean and cuke leaves on a trellis. 3 people mentioned fishing line, rxkeith was 1st in post #15. funny no one commented again after i put out boards with nails in them which did not work! anyway i got 4 old 6' tomato stakes that i don't use anymore, surrounded the trellis with a 2' path for me to walk around for picking and drove them 1' into the ground leaving them 5' tall. i then strung dental floss on them starting at the top and about every 7-8" apart down to 2 1/2 to 3' off the ground. i thought i solved the problem until one evening about 7:15 i looked out and there's a 125-140 pound deer (not a small female but no rack) standing inside the dental floss fence eating bean leaves! the sob actually crawled under the bottom line of floss - i watched it leave that way a few seconds later! the next morning i went out and ran 2-3 more strands so it went to about 5-6" off the ground. so now there is absolutely no way to get under it and the trellis is inside so there is absolutely no way for them to jump into this area. since that i have not seen any bean leaves or cuke leaves eaten, no footprints from them walking thru the garden and no deer in the garden. this worked perfectly, they never tried to break thru the floss (which i was certain they wouldn't). now this just protects the trellis but the inability to get to the beans and cukes has apparently been so successful that they don't even bother walking into the garden anymore which is fine since they were crushing lettuce and chard plants. so for 99 cents i used 100 yards of dental floss and effectively deterred them and my plants are recovering. if you have deer problems this works but if they can jump over this and into an open area it wouldn't, the trellis inside prevents that. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

August 27, 2012	#2
Fat Charlie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: NewHampshire Zone 5a Posts: 83	Now that's some good... economical fencing!

August 27, 2012	#4
Sherry_AK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Alaska Zone 3/4 Posts: 1,857	Good job, Tom! Do they respond to "regular" or "minty" floss??? Ha! Seriously, it's amazing that such a simple set-up could deter the little buggers. We put in an electric fence this year to deter the moose and (knock on wood) so far it seems to be working. Sherry

August 27, 2012	#5
deerhunter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: hopkinton ma. Posts: 70	i can take em out for ya if you want come bow season.

August 29, 2012	#8
marc_groleau Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 444	I've heard of similar approach with fishing line. Glad you found a fix. I'll be out doing my part to control the population in two weeks.

March 9, 2013	#10
Buzzard II Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Northern N.J. Posts: 7	A couple drops of diesel fuel every foot around the edge of a garden will keep deer away.

March 12, 2013	#12
jillybeantx Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 40	I know the regular or minty question was a joke, but I used minty dental floss to sew up a hole in a butterfly/dip net that I use to dip weeds & bugs out of a water trough in the pasture. One night something (I'm guessing a skunk) knocked the net down from where I kept it and chewed it to pieces! So if anyone has a choice, go with regular floss - you sure don't want to encourage the little striped guys to stop by for a visit!