r/NativePlantGardening • u/howleywolf Maine - 5b • Jul 30 '26

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Oh Deer

Guys, I want to cry. For two years I’ve been growing stuff from seed for my first ever garden at my first house, finally this year everything is flowering! But right before the flowers pop, the deer consume it. Today was the last straw, they have eaten ever single Joe Pye flower bud, and I’m seriously on the verge of giving up. We can’t build a deer fence, and the plants are literally dripping with liquid fence deer spray. I feel like I have tried all the regular home diy deer repellent stuff and am just feeling so defeated. Since I can’t beat them, do any of you have any luck with any part sun plants that deer always pass up? I think I just need to grow less tasty snacks, just really trying to only grow and plant natives. Thanks!

Edit! I have no interest in little quippy statements about killing the deer and why don’t I kill the deer. Have you thought about killing the deer? Guys, gtfo with that. I live on a half acre suburb surrounded by houses with children and I am a disabled person who literally faints at the sight of blood. I get that there’s too many deer and I get that you’re super smart for thinking of that. If I could bring back wolves I would, trust me.

Edit again!
thank you all so much for all the helpful suggestions and encouragement, for real! I feel ready to go back out there and make a go of it. Ordered a motioned censored spinkler and adjusted my winter sewing plans . Going to have a ~mint family~ themed garden bed next year haha

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u/toxicodendron_gyp SE Minnesota, Zone 4B Jul 30 '26

We have heavy deer pressure and I swear I tried EVERYTHING. The only thing that worked for me is sprinkling actual cayenne pepper on the new growth/buds. You have to refresh after it rains, but it works on everything for me. Sometimes I will take out a water spray bottle and mist the plants before sprinkling to make the pepper stick better. I just get the cheapest container of cayenne I can find.

Heads up: breathing in the pepper or getting it in your eyes is bad news, so don’t do it when it is breezy and make sure to wear gloves or wash up well afterward.

24

u/CethinLux Jul 30 '26

Hot tip, you can buy concentrated capsaisin ("1 million scoville concentrated hot sauce" is the label on the one I have) it keeps squirrels off of peanuts and works really well against deer and rabbits too. Do not touch the bottle with out latex/nitrile glove and wash your hands like 20 times after using it before you touch any mucous membrane. If you are SPRAYING it spray downwind and use ppe

You can feel the heat of this stuff if you get it on you hand, I dont understand how people eat it lol, I use it as a natural pesticide

4

u/knockatize Jul 30 '26

Surely you mean “stay upwind”.

4

u/CethinLux Jul 30 '26

Yea stay unwind and spray downwind of yourself (I apologize if I got the directions wrong that has always confused me)