In this post: Want to keep deer from eating your flowers and plants? I’m sharing the flower and plant spray that works for me plus five other tips for keeping the deer away!
Do you have deer that love your hydrangeas and other flowers and plants as much as you do? Me too! After they completely decimated some of my hydrangea bushes last year (and my daughter took this picture through our front window catching them in the act!), I was determined to find something that worked to keep them away.
Instead of this abundance of hydrangeas we had in past years:
after this deer and his buddies (yes, he brought friends!) did their damage, only the bushes closest to our house had blooms remaining. So bummed!
So this year, when I caught the first deer starting to nibble away, I put out a plea for advice on Instagram, talked to some local garden centers, and did some Googling to figure out the best way to keep the deer from eating my plants. What was the most recommended solution? Bobbex Deer Repellant that you can buy {here}:
[affiliate links included in post – full disclosure statement available {here})]
One of the main reasons I chose Bobbex over these other repellant sprays (Liquid Fence, Plantskydd, Deer Off, Coyote Urine, and Repellex were other ones I looked at) is that a report from the State of Connecticut Department of Forestry and Horticulture that found Bobbex was the most effective of the bunch (93% effectiveness). Bobbex comes in several different forms including {this simple spray bottle {HERE} and {this ready to use Bobbex pump sprayer {HERE} that is already premixed so you can just take it out of the box, pump and spray. The sprayer is a good one and it’s super easy to use but let me warn you – Bobbex is seriously the most foul smelling stuff EVER! Definitely use gloves to spray and plan on taking a shower after spraying it. Bobbex is made with all natural ingredients and can be used on almost all plants including edible vegetables but there are a few exceptions including edible leaves, herbs, and berries. The product info states that it will last up to two months without washing off even during rain and normal watering but if you have a significant deer problem, you may have to spray it more frequently than that, especially after heavy rain.
The first time I sprayed my bushes with Bobbex, I actually saw a deer chewing on my hydrangeas the next day and thought the Bobbex must not be working but he must not have liked what he tasted because they never came back all season long and my hydrangeas bloomed like crazy! After picking bouquets for almost every room in the house, I still had hundreds more! We have tons of white hydrangeas in the front yard plus purple and pink in the back including these beauties:
Update!: I’ve now been using Bobbex for several summers and it works great for me. One thing I’ve learned is to spray EARLY – deer love those tender buds before the flowers actually bloom so I try to spray for the first time pretty early in the season and then every 6-8 weeks after.
A Few More Tips for Keeping Deer From Your Plants & Flowers
Here are a few more tips to try that have worked for others:
- Zest, Irish Spring, or Ivory soap bars or moth balls – you can either cut the soap bars into pieces and spread them around your plants or garden or put full bars or moth balls in mesh bags or stockings and hanging them nearby.
- Human hair – getting human hair from your local hairdresser and sprinkling it around the bushes you’re trying to protect works for some
- Physical deterrents (other than obvious use of deer fencing) include stringing fishing line about chest high to the deer around the bushes you’re trying to protect or try laying out chicken wire on the ground in front of the bushes you’re trying to keep from getting eaten (the deer don’t like stepping on it!). Both great suggestions that I got on my Instagram post!
- Motion activated water sprinklers like one of {these} that spray a powerful jet of water when the motion sensor detects movement. They can be highly effective if positioned correctly!
And one last very important tip: you might need to rotate different products or types of deer repellents for the best results! In some cases deer get accustomed to a specific spray or other deterrent and it becomes less effective – rotating different deterrents may be your best long-term solution.
Have you guys tried any of these deer deterrents with success or have any suggestions of other ways to keep the deer away that aren’t on my list? I’d love to hear about them! If you want more hydrangea tips including advice on pruning and fertilizing, be sure and check out {this post} on hydrangea care that answers those questions and more!
XOXO,
Lisa | Shine Your Light says
Human hair, hmmmm, every summer I give Sean a buzz cut and had I known I would have saved all the clippings! HA. I will have to look into this product. I love the deer around here but I just want them to dine elsewhere and keep their ticks to themselves 🙂
Kris Jarrett says
Yep, I definitely have a love-hate relationship with the deer too. They’re so beautiful but can be so super destructive. You will have to put that buzz cut to use from now on!!
Ct Granny says
We have been fighting the deer in Northern Fairfield county for 40 years. Nothing is very effective for very long. Including chasing them. They are feasting this year on the flowers of my lilies. They leave my neighbor’s alone so this has clearly become a “war” between the deer and me.
Kris Jarrett says
Ugh! That’s so frustrating!! My deer are fearless too – if I yell at them or chase them they’re almost unphased. I hope you come out on top in your deer war 🙂
Cheryl says
When we lived in Ohio my husband and I put in beautiful planted beds surrounding our home. Apparently they were attractive to deer as well! After trying some deer repellant sprays to no effect we used the soap option. We tied pieces of Irish Spring (using knee hose) in a few of the bushes within the beds and never had a deer problem again. We did not need to sprinkle additional pieces in the beds themselves.
Kris Jarrett says
That’s great to know that the Irish Spring worked for you! If I find my spray become less effective at some point, that will be the next thing I try!
Alice says
IRISH SPRING is THE way to go!!!!
I used to use my potato peeler to “shred” the Irish Spring.
This spring I bought little burlap pouches, from Amazon. I put the whole Irish Spring soap bat in. Perfect fit!! I have about 24 of these tied all around my flower beds.
The deer haven’t touched ANYTHING!! Not my hydrangeas, petunias, roses,…NOT a thing!!
I’m well stocked in the soap and pouches, but the bar lasts much longer than shredding because it’s protected!!
cassie @ primitive & proper says
my mom uses bobex, too! works wonderfully! we don’t have problems with the deer as much as we do the rabbits!
Kris Jarrett says
Bobbex is amazing stuff! I think we have too many foxes and coyotes to have rabbit problems 🙂
Sharon says
Try mothballs around area you want squirrels and deer to stay away from I sprinkled them about foot away from base of hydrangeas will keep them away, hopefully feral hogs too.
Genny says
Maybe that’s where my hydrangea blooms are going — we do have deer in our area. I just thought they weren’t blooming. I have seen a lot of bunnies around and they like dandelions — lucky for us. Have to get some of this product! Thanks for the info!
Kris Jarrett says
It could be! Actually before my daughter caught that deer munching away outside our window, I had blamed my husband for trimming the bushes when they shouldn’t be trimmed, having no clue that the deer could do that 🙂 And send some of those dandelion-eating bunnies our way – I could use them!
Daisy says
I tried chunks of Irish Spring. Apparently the groundhogs really liked them – carried off and ate every single chunk within 48 hours. I cut up more bars of it and put them out. Same result within 48 hours. Whomever is promulgating this myth must work for the company that makes Irish Spring.
Gale Slayton Harris says
Hi Daisy, I promise you not only do I not work for Irish Spring, I p personally hate the smell of it, too. I have found that cutting the bar into 4 or 6 chunks and skewering them on a shish-kabob stick about 2 feet long for sticking in dirt around whatever I want to keep the deer from eating works well. Also, maybe the woodchucks don’t reach it as easily that way, I don’t know. But it does indeed work for some of us.
Garden, Home and Party says
Kris,
Even though those deer are darling, I’m with you. I’d be searching for something to deter them. We get rabbits but we haven’t had them in a while. Your hydrangea look great.
xo,
Karen
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you Karen! They are cute, aren’t they?! Just wish they’d be cute a little farther away from my hydrangeas 🙂
Anonymous says
Try coffee grounds once aweek on the beds or put them on nylon mesh.i here the deer hate the smell ofcoffee the
Hailey says
Well, I am living in the city so we don’t have any animals around. Except some cats. I thought deers are sweet and cute not destroying things. I am glad you fond a good way to get rid of those invaders.
Kris Jarrett says
I use to have nothing but love for deer too but with them eating so many of our plants and spreading ticks, I wish they’d find a different spot to hang out in other than my yard!
Joan says
I feel your pain! This year for the first time ever, my bush was loaded with stunning deep blue blooms. Overnight, one entire side was gone along with all of my hostas. The deer repellent I bought seems to have protected the rest of my blooms.
At our last house, I used another method. if you have a large area to protect, deer scarecrows are very effective. They consist of a motion detector, sprayer, and garden hose connected to a water supply. When the deer enter the area, a burst of water shoots out like a pulse lawn sprinkler. It scares them and they run. We had three in our back flower beds for years after losing every flower I had planted. The deer never got used to them and we never lost another plant. Also they were environmentally safe as nothing but water was used. Found them on the internet priced anywhere from $100 each to 3/$100. E
Kris Jarrett says
Thanks so much for the suggestion Joan! I had read that those motion sensor sprinklers worked really well for people. My only hesitation is that if something went awry and there was a water leak that I didn’t notice, our well can run dry (which happened to me once before when I forgot to turn off the hose watering our garden – yikes!). Definitely something to think about though if the Bobbex stops working!!
Jenny says
We don’t have this problem in England so I’m sorry but I would have no idea! Those hydrangeas are gorgeous!
Kris Jarrett says
Thank you Jenny!
Allyson says
Thanks for this info, I’ll have to check out the product you suggested. I’ve had a mother deer and her fawn come into my yard and eat ALL of the leaves on my hydrangea bushes. Surprisingly, they have left all the blooms. I’m worried the their leaf removal is going to prevent them from blooming next year. Did you notice any changes in your hydrangeas the following year after the deer nibbled on them?!
Thanks!
Kris Jarrett says
Allyson I think if it’s just the leaves you should be totally fine next year, especially if it was fairly early in the season!
Bobbie says
Have you used a product called Hot Pepper Wax. They use cayenne.
Nathan says
If you’re using neem oil to spray for pests instead of poisons, the smell also keeps deer away, but you have to spray every few days to keep the new schemes from being eaten. A two gallon sprayer should keep you covered all summer per large hydrangea. We also have friend that use a different method of putting ammonia on an old rag and staking it hidden near the plant, and the deer absolutely 💯 % stay away
Nathan says
Chutes not schemes
Cate z says
Where is gray dresser featured above from?
Kris Jarrett says
It’s actually a really old dresser from Crate & Barrel that I painted…
Nina says
Will the Bobbex make the whole area around the plants smell so I will not want to walk by it? Will the smell linger on edible vegetable plants?
David says
Can you smell the Bobbex after you spray?