Making Homemade Deer Plant Repellent

Overview

Few things are worse for a gardener than to find the garden ravaged by hungry deer. Many products can keep deer away from gardens and landscapes, but you can make easy, inexpensive deer plant repellents using common household ingredients. Make your own deer-repellent concoctions with the things that deer hate the most, such as fragrant soaps, spicy and strong-smelling garlic and hot peppers, as well as human or dog odors. Try one homemade recipe or combine them all to repel the most persistent deer in your area.

Egg, Hot Sauce & Garlic Spray

Step 1

Place three raw eggs, 1 cup water, 3 tbsp. hot sauce and 3 tbsp. minced garlic in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Step 2

Add the mixture to 1 gallon of water, and mix well. Fill a spray bottle with some of this mixture.

Step 3

Spray all the plants in your garden or landscape, counting them thoroughly to repel deer. Reapply the mixture to the plants after each hard rain.

Sheets, Bloodmeal & Hair

Step 1

Mix 1 cup hair clippings (human or dog) with 1/4 cup bloodmeal in a bowl.

Step 2

Cut an old sheet into 4-by-4-inch squares. Place 1 tbsp. of the hair-and-bloodmeal mixture into the center of each square.

Step 3

Lift the four corners of each sheet square, and tie each together with string, leaving a 12-inch length of string remaining.

Step 4

Tie these pouches to the branches of trees that surround your garden, using the extra length of string. These will frighten deer.

Milk, Oil & Dish Soap

Step 1

Put one raw egg, 1/2 cup milk, 1 tbsp. liquid dish soap and 1 tbsp. cooking oil in a 1-gallon container, such as an empty milk jug.

Step 2

Pour into the container 1 gallon of water. Cap the container and shake it to mix the contents well.

Step 3

Pour some of the mixture into a spray bottle, and spray the plants, coating them well. Repeat spraying once every two weeks to keep deer away.