I live in the mountains of Utah and I am no stranger to deer-ravaged plants. How annoying is it to realize your entire landscaping is falling victim to a deer’s digestive system? Over the years I have tried SEVERAL deer repellents to keep my plants safe, but I wasn’t comfortable with using animal urine or any harsh ingredients. Keep your plants safe from deer AND harsh chemicals with this all natural DIY deer repellent spray.
DIY Deer Repellent Spray
Did I ever tell you about the one night when my dogs woke me up because there were 12 deer in the yard munching away as if my shrubs were part of a 24/7 all you can eat buffet? It’s true. 2am and I threw on the robe and slippers to run at the deer like a mama bear protecting her babies. Don’t you treat your plants like they belong to you? Everyone does that, right? To prevent a middle of the night rush on your buffet plants, follow the recipe below.
Here’s what you’ll need for my all natural DIY deer repellent spray:
1 gallon of warm water.
The next step is easy, combine all of the ingredients listed into a large 1 gallon pump sprayer and mix thoroughly. You can apply the mixture directly to any flowers, shrubs, or trees to keep deer away from your plants and out of your yard. Depending on the rainfall in your area, I would recommend re-applying the spray every 2-6 weeks. Apply it more frequently should you feel it’s necessary. Not only will you protect your plants, you can sleep more soundly knowing your guard dogs won’t need to wake you up in the middle of the night.
Are you looking for other ways to keep pests out of your yard and garden? Check out my other pest control posts for more tips and tricks:
This stuff has kept the deer in our neighborhood from eating my tulips. It really works! Thanks!
You’re welcome! Glad it helped 🙂
Can i use this mixture in my vegetable garden?
Hi! That’s a great question. Yes, this spray will work in your vegetable garden. Not only is it all-natural, and therefore safe for the veggies, the siracha sauce is not liked by aphids, beetles, whiteflies, mites and or rodents. Thanks for asking 🙂
Is this formula safe for bees?
Hi Jocelyn! While I haven’t found this harmful to bees, they do not like the smell of the garlic powder or the peppermint. After the repellent is applied, the bees stay away for a day (maybe two) until the more potent smell is gone. After that, they return but the deer don’t. 🙂
Hi, How do you keep the siracha sauce and garlic powder from clogging the sprayer nozzle?
This has not been a problem for me. I am sorry you are having issues. Can you adjust the flow in the nozzle?
Will it also keep rabbits away?
That’s a good question. I do not have a problem with rabbits, so I am not sure. Curious if it worked for you. Please let me know.
I was excited to find a natural remedy for deer! They are destroying our potato patch! We followed the directions and the mixture would NOT go through the sprayer. Maybe we should have strained the mixture before putting it in the sprayer. Anyway, we poured it in a gallon flower watering can and it worked.
Can’t get it to go through sprayer even after straining several times.
I have never had this problem, nor has anyone else mentioned it.