Spraying Your Plants vs. Installing Deer-Terrent Netting: Which is Better?
A common conversation amongst both amateur and professional gardeners is “what is the best deer repellent for gardens”
There is no one size fits all fix to keep nuisance deer from chomping away on your prized plants. So many times we all have been the victim of walking out the door first thing in the morning to find your Hosta’s now look like mowed crabgrass and or your Arborvitaes look like horticultural lollypops.
Sprays can be a good deer repellent for gardens.
The advantages are…
- Sprays are invisible
- Relatively easy to apply if you have a small number of plants.
The disadvantages of sprays as a deer repellent for gardens are….
- Their effectiveness wears off quickly over time
- Therefore reapplying is paramount to make sprays effective.
- They can smell putrid when initially applied.
- Deer many times will just get used to the taste over time.
- Expense and time can be high especially in larger gardens and/or larger plants
- If applied routinely by a commercial service the cost will be even greater.
Deer-Terrent Netting Barrier also has pros and cons.
The advantages are…
- The netting can be removed and applied quickly.
- Unlike sprays, once applied you can forget it.
- Lightweight, so it fits the plant's contours
- Strong, so the deer will not bite through it.
- Virtually invisible due to the color and construction
- Reusable
- With the netting available in covers, wraps and even rolls, Deer-Terrent offers a great option as a deer repellent for gardens
The disadvantages of Deer-Terrent Netting Barrier as a deer repellent for gardens are….
- Netting presently offered will not cover every plant in your garden. This is the case with smaller plants such as Hosta’s
- Although Deer-Terrent is virtually undetectable to the eye, it is still not 100% invisible like sprays are.
The fact is all deer repellents for gardens offer advantages and disadvantages. Maybe combinations of both are right for your garden.