deer and hops

I love deer meat and hops. But deer eat the hops. So, I can only have deer meat. It would be simple if you could plant the hops, then shoot and eat the deer until you harvest the hops...

But some boneheads in our community board and the local game warden don't want me doing this. Worse, if you use a 30-06 for deer repellent, you get a $500 fine in my cute little community. Worse yet, these morons don't like fences--they make money off people who put those up too.

Those deer are persistent too. I live in the poconos where they eat everything... They'll go right up on their hind legs to get your stuff.

So, how does one keep deer off hops without making the hops undesirable for use?

I guess it is a matter of supply & demand, nothing eats my hops. Deer, elk, coyotes, whatever seem to have plenty of other things they prefer. On the other hand, my business partner in the Oakland Hills says the deer eat everything in her yard except the eucalyptus.

chemist308 said:

I love deer meat and hops. But deer eat the hops. So, I can only have deer meat. It would be simple if you could plant the hops, then shoot and eat the deer until you harvest the hops...

But some boneheads in our community board and the local game warden don't want me doing this. Worse, if you use a 30-06 for deer repellent, you get a $500 fine in my cute little community.

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Crossbows are pretty quiet....

:rockin:

I've heard these work well: Havahart Spray Away Motion Activated Water Repellent at BestNest.com

make a fence out of fishing monofilament line. the deer feel the line but can't see it so they don't try to jump over it.

Whoops. Saw a thread that answered my question. Sorry!

Try a dog. picked up a stray at my place and it has chased every deer away. btw, i have a dog for sale, cheap.

I was about to chime in and say I bow hunt every year it works great and is deadly silent. use a big broad head and it shouldn't run to far.

Tell the truth, your baiting those deer in for some hop flavored buck meat. Probably go good with an IPA.

I read somewhere that blood meal makes a good deer repellent.

chemist308 said:

I love deer meat and hops. But deer eat the hops. So, I can only have deer meat. It would be simple if you could plant the hops, then shoot and eat the deer until you harvest the hops...

But some boneheads in our community board and the local game warden don't want me doing this. Worse, if you use a 30-06 for deer repellent, you get a $500 fine in my cute little community. Worse yet, these morons don't like fences--they make money off people who put those up too.

Those deer are persistent too. I live in the poconos where they eat everything... They'll go right up on their hind legs to get your stuff.

So, how does one keep deer off hops without making the hops undesirable for use?

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Im up in your area, Milford PA. And I have the same problems, there came a point the dogs didnt scare them away anymore because of the fence. Then I decided to let him out the front door and teach them a lesson every once in a while. ;-) Short of that I would go with what Parker posted, I hear they work well.

As a game warden, I can tell you that the only repellent that consistently works besides the firearm is Voltage. You have to put up an electric fence. It doesn't have to be elaborate. One strand with a piece of tinfoil every few feet baited with peanut butter. Deer come for a nibble and get a surprise. After a while the deer will avoid just the smell of peanut butter.

chemist308 said:

So, how does one keep deer off hops without making the hops undesirable for use?

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What about ringing it with boards flat on the ground, with nails placed about 0.5" apart, points sticking up about the same distance through the board? It'll take a bit of work to drive all those nails, but if you use boards wide enough that they can't just step over, you should be good to go. You just have to remember to pick up the boards before visiting your hops.

This technique is often used by beekeepers to keep bears away from hives, but since bears have bigger feet, the nails can be farther apart.

Human hair works pretty good, although if you're in the burbs the deer may be more used to the smell of people?
My dad goes to the local barber shop and gets grocery bags of hair and spreads it around his sweetcorn patch every summer. Works well, but we live way out in the sticks where deer run for miles when they smell a person.

Good luck

Parker36 said:

I've heard these work well: Havahart Spray Away Motion Activated Water Repellent at BestNest.com

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Yep! Those work great for deer!

...and a-holes that park in your grass. Last time our neighbors threw a party, they let people park in our grass. I just scooted our network of motion activated sprinklers away from the garden and a little closer to the road and laughed my tail off as people dodged torrents of water trying to get to their cars. They couldn't figure out that the sprinklers were motion activated, and they kept trying to figure out the "timing" so they could make it to their cars without getting wet. I'm such a good neighbor...

I am a head groundskeeper for the University of Iowa and we use a product called Milorganite. It is an all organic fertilizer made out of sewage sludge. It comes in 50 pound bags it is good for plants too. You just have to put it on after it gets rained on.

wardenwheat said:

As a game warden, I can tell you that the only repellent that consistently works besides the firearm is Voltage. You have to put up an electric fence. It doesn't have to be elaborate. One strand with a piece of tinfoil every few feet baited with peanut butter. Deer come for a nibble and get a surprise. After a while the deer will avoid just the smell of peanut butter.

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That's AWESOME! I'm considering trying the peanut butter idea without even having a crop--just for the entertainment purposes. Can't be much more expensive than running a bug light all night

Peanut butter, i had a great laugh at watching racoons eat peanut butter sandwitches. If it is half as funny as that, I would go with that. Sounds like a great way to drink more homebrew.

funny ass thread. deer are constant in my yard, i think i can keep them out of my garden (10' horse fence), but the rabbits get anywhere/everywhere.
SWMBO wont let me do an electric fence, my dumb ass dane would not be able to leave it alone, and my 3 y/o would have to touch it once a week im sure.

I will also confirm that my grandpa, an avid gardener would always stop by the barber shop and pick up some hair and then spread it throughout his garden. This garden was away from civilization and the deer were not accustom to human smells... Worth a shot since its free!!

Pit trap with spiked bottom.
Also effective for the whining neighbors and game warden.
Added advantage...also tenderizes deer.

Cows blood works okay and you can get it at most gardening centers. I live just outside of DC and we have a huge deer issue. They are very bold and eat everything, even when their natural foods are plenty. They just love to come in our yard. My neighbor is an amazing gardener and has about 1000 azalea bushes that he tends to daily when in season. His yard is truly the most amazing piece of property I've ever seen when it;'s in bloom. The deer know this as well...I have watched them, on may occasions, jump his 9 foot fence. It is a combination split rail and semi invisible mesh. Deer young and old can and do jump it. Even my Great Dane doesn't do the trick. We have an invisible fence, and he will bolt outside and chase the deer. They leave...only to return later. His scent (and I imagine to an animal that an unfixed Dane must be worth something) isn't enough.

Another neighbor uses a series of high stakes and drapes mesh over the poles covering the plants like a tent. It lets in all the light the plants need and the deer can't get to them.

Oh, FWIW, I've 'caught' deer on my deck nibbling on herbs etc.

Jerry Baker is a well know gardener. He has a recipe for an egg/cayenne concoction that I used on a few grape plants last year (too small to electrify). The deer ate a few of the green shouts one night, but after applying it to the plants, I never had a problem again. You can find his books at most local libraries. Probably should just spray the leaves and leave the clusters alone.

I am a City Forester and I am in charge of a municipal nursery. I have used PlantSkydd successfully as a repellant.

Plantskydd Deer & Rabbit Repellent

Its swedish for 'Deer go away and don't come back', or something.

This guy will protect the Hop Crop...

The mule deer in my area can leap a 7' fence with ease, and are completely "at ease" around people, large dogs & coyotes. Everything that I grow ( citrus, avocados, peaches ) must be protected with poultry netting at least 6' high. Here in L.A. county fire-arms and electric fences are a no-no. I tried Dear-out a year ago ( smells loke peppermint ) and I doesn't work either. I will rely on the netting for my new hop plants, but I am also going to my nearest Turner's Outdoorsman and buying a good 150# crossbow. LOL

wardenwheat said:

As a game warden, I can tell you that the only repellent that consistently works besides the firearm is Voltage. You have to put up an electric fence. It doesn't have to be elaborate. One strand with a piece of tinfoil every few feet baited with peanut butter. Deer come for a nibble and get a surprise. After a while the deer will avoid just the smell of peanut butter.

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Zap Zap Zapparoo... About what I was thinking.
I have also used Cayan pepper to keep wild life out (squirls to be exact). The nose is a wonderful thing. Well if your a bird. Birds unlike Sqls and deer don't have the moisture in the nasal cavity and like us if makes them uncomfortable.
I have heard about the hair thing some locals do this to guys in deer blinds to piss others off for invading there scouted areas.

Best of luck!

My wife uses a spray bottle of tabasco -- I think it has worked for her. That's what I'm planning on using.

Crash said:

My wife uses a spray bottle of tabasco -- I think it has worked for her. That's what I'm planning on using.

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that must really hurt your eyes

Has anyone tried these...?

Havahart Electronic Deer Repellent

My rhizomes will arrive soon, but our yard is a "deer run" and I want to keep those buggers off my hops.

Hmm.. maybe the 30-06 on the "politicians" THAT would be worth the fine

the only sure deer repelent is camo...

tndave said:

the only sure deer repelent is camo...

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Untrue, Camo is actually an attractant to "illegal" deer, tiny scrawny bucks and baby does!

Camo is actually an attractant to "illegal" deer, tiny scrawny bucks and baby does!

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dont forget squirrels lol

Evidently tiger dung is extremely effective and readilly available most anywhere........

So, I have mixed up some deadly 7 pot pepper powder and a little garlic and a tad of dish soap in a sprayer full of water (mashed at 154 for 15 minutes and strained through a coffee filter )

This has worked so far this year but must be re-applied after every rain.

grow a bunch of bahut jolokia put them out around your hops. if you grow them in your house through the winter and then bring them out in the spring and summer you can get enough peppers to launch chemical warfare on the deers(i would send you some peppers but mine were killed in the winter by white flies so my new plants will not have peppers till around oct if i can get them to grow again).

quincannon said:

grow a bunch of bahut jolokia put them out around your hops. if you grow them in your house through the winter and then bring them out in the spring and summer you can get enough peppers to launch chemical warfare on the deers(i would send you some peppers but mine were killed in the winter by white flies so my new plants will not have peppers till around oct if i can get them to grow again).

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cheezydemon3 said:

So, I have mixed up some deadly 7 pot pepper powder and a little garlic ..........

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The Bhut and the 7 pot are both so blisteringly hot, I honestly can't say which is hotter, but my 7 pot way outproduced my bhuts, so that is now my goto.

I sprouted all my seeds so I can't send anyone any. I also don't isolate for pure seed production, but I will have some open air pollinated seeds in a couple of months.

I mixed up 2 quarts of juice with 1 tbsp of 7 pot powder and 2 quarts of water.

I could barely spray it, the wind kept changeing and I thought I was going to cough up a lung.

I can tell you that the Cayenne Pepper mixed with egg whites works well. I used to use a little hand pump garden sprayer. It worked well. Make sure you dilute it with enough water to spray.

If you have a Zoo arround check and see if you can get some cat scatt it works really well the deer will not hang out where thay think a big cat lives and it will work a a fretalizer also.

Sacdan said:

I can tell you that the Cayenne Pepper mixed with egg whites works well. I used to use a little hand pump garden sprayer. It worked well. Make sure you dilute it with enough water to spray.

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I steeped my peppr powder in hot water and strained through a coffe filter.

I HATES me some clogged sprayer.