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Deer sure are beautiful creatures, but if you have roses, you may appreciate them more from a distance. Lush, well-watered roses aren’t just a favorite of gardeners – our furry friends are also fans. If they’re able, they’ll munch on the foliage, buds, blooms, and even the thorny stems! We do have some good news, however: you can stop deer from eating your roses! If you want to know how to most effectively keep deer out of your rose bushes and keep them looking pristine, look no further because we have the best tips right here!
How to Keep Deer from Eating Roses
1. Install a Fence
While not foolproof, installing a fence can be an effective deterrent. Deer can jump quite high, but a 6-foot wood privacy fence or something similar will likely deter most deer from entering your yard and garden. If you’re considering adding a fence for other reasons, this can be an excellent additional benefit.
2. Make Them Smelly
Okay, we already know that roses smell like, well, roses. Their signature floral scent is part of their timeless appeal! Unfortunately, that’s also a reason why deer are drawn to want to snack on them!
While it may not sound all that appealing initially, you can always make your roses smell less rose-like by spraying predator urine around the roses. The scent will naturally ward off the deer, as they’ll get the idea that a potential predator is nearby.
Other options are planting notoriously fragrant plants like mint, cloves, or garlic around the rose bush. If you like cooking at home, this is double the fun! Just remember that if you choose a fragrance like predator urine, this scent will likely be washed away when it rains, so reapply accordingly.
3. Use Pet Fur
We understand that predator urine may not be the most ideal solution, so you can try other scents as well. Our preferred method is simply letting your dog play around the roses, letting them shed their fur around them.
An easy way to do this is by brushing your pet, and gathering and sprinkling the fur around the bush and onto the soil around your rose bushes. Sometimes, even human hair may be enough to keep the deer away.
4. Ultrasonic Devices
If you’re dog-free, try getting some ultrasonic deer repellents. They’re handy because they require little-to-no maintenance once installed. These are designed to hold up against the elements, and broadcast frequencies that are annoying to deer. Of course, they aren’t harmful to the deer, so you don’t have to feel guilty.
You’ll find that the best products come with built-in sensors which activate as soon as they detect deer nearby. Some even include lights which helps shoo the deer away as well.
With integrated solar panels, they’re eco-friendly and budget-friendly as you don’t have to worry about replacing batteries! Covering up to a whopping 5,000 feet, these ultrasonic animal repellers work well for any size of yard or property!
5. Solar Deer Repellent Lights
That brings us to our next point, which is deer repellent lights. These dedicated lights do not include ultrasonic features and are made to be used solely at night. During the daytime, the integrated solar panels soak up the sun’s rays to keep them charged and always ready.
These are so effective as deer are frightened by the specific light patterns produced by these devices without harming them. They’re also practically maintenance-free, so you just have to set them up once and can go about your time knowing your roses will be in perfect condition.
6. Deer Sprinkler Repellent
While humans may enjoy a fun run in a cool sprinkler on a hot summer day, the same does not go for deer. If you already have a built-in sprinkler, like the Orbit Yard Enforcer, you may not even have to buy anything else! You may have everything you already need to ward off deer.
If not, then dedicated deer sprinkler repellents are a great help. They feature sensors much like those in the lights that detect when deer are nearby and can spray them up to 35 feet away! These can be nice because they not only keep deer away from your roses, but they also help keep your grass well-hydrated!
7. Deer Repellent Granules
The granules are handy because they smell like dead deer, which will alert deer to “danger” and keep them far away from wherever you sprinkle them. Not to worry, though, no deer were harmed or used in making these pellets. They’re made of organic materials and break down into a biodegradable fertilizer which can actually help your plants!
To use deer repellent granules effectively, try sprinkling them on the ground a few feet away from your rose bushes. This ensures there’s a wide enough barrier that the deer don’t just reach their heads over and snack on your flowers.
8. Deer Repellent Sprays
These sprays not only smell bad to deer, they taste bad, too! They use natural ingredients such as rotten eggs or chili peppers; two things that deer definitely aren’t fans of.
Deer repellent sprays will let the deer know that they’re not worth eating. The good news is that the best sprays are virtually odorless to the human nose, and won’t harm your roses either.
9. Keep Them Tasting Bad
Adding on to the last point, you can also make your own mixture to ensure the roses taste gross to any grazing deer. You can create a kind of pepper spray made of 1 cup of water, 3 eggs, 1/3 cup of hot sauce, and 1/3 cup of liquid dish soap.
Combine them all and shake them up in a spray bottle, making sure to add a nice layer onto your roses. As we mentioned before, make sure to reapply after it rains. Also make sure not to get the spray into your eyes and wear long gloves.
