[lottielearner]

We are used to defending our crops from slugs, snails and birds at our allotements, but the latest muncher is a wild deer!! He visits the site every night munching the tops off lettuce, spinach, strawberry plants and even runner beans!! Its starting to look like an enforcement area up there as people build structures to keep him off their produce!!

[gobs]

I know, I know. We have badgers.

We just losen up the soil for them to be nice and easy to dig holes in.

Someone saw a hare the other day, too, that will be fun.

[arugula]

You don't say what kind of deer they are. If they are one of the smaller in stature kinds such as Muntjac, you might be able to build up thorny barriers etc to help deter them, but this won't work with the larger kinds. Have you seen how high deer fencing is in the Highlands? You might have some success with hanging CDs or something which flaps about like pennants of material.... Perhaps reminders of human scent would help too as most deer are very nervous of humans.

Whatever you try, good luck with it!

[lottielearner]

I havent actually seen him myself, but have been told that he lives in the 'wild'area in the middle of the site!! Just hope he leaves some veg for me 

[arugula]

Sounds quite likely to be Muntjac then and very probably not just one....

[Spana]

Not sure if this will help but might be worth a try if all else fails.

Years ago i visited a yellow book garden.  It was a beautiful garden bordering open fields and woodland.  All around the perimeter were posts with bars of coal tar soap hanging on them.  The garden owner said he'd had a big problem with deer eating the shrubs and plants  but  since the soap was put up hardly any deer trouble at all. 

Dont know how much a bar of coal tar soap is these days but i suppose you could cut the bars in half to make it cheaper as you would need quite a few to go round a whole plot.

[arugula]

I understand that any soap can be used, its one of those human scent things.

[plum crumble]

but don't get into a lather about it ... I'll get my coat

[arugula]

 

[plum crumble]

and don't let anyone soft-soap you either.

[lottielearner]

Ha Ha that is brilliant, thanks ever so for that, I will hot foot it to Wilkos tomorrow to buy up their stock!! hee hee cant stop giggling at the thought of Mr Deer bumping into a bar of coal tar soap!! 

[Spana]

Theres another of my serious posts turned into a farce. I dont know, you lot, what're you like

[hamstergbert]

They no longer make proper Coal Tar soap.  What they now sell in a similar looking wrapping but as 'traditional soap' is pretty well standard soap with tea tree oils and assorted artifically added chemicals to simulate the proper colour and smell of real coal tar soap.   I understand it is also made in Turkey and imported from there.

Depends how accurate in aroma differentiation the pesky deer are!

[Stratts]

Get a local stalker to solve the problem, get it butchered properly and you'll have some nice venison to go with your fresh veg!!  Muntjac is proper tasty and not seasonal so can be shot any time of year 

[davejg]

you beat me to it stratts