I'm Bill Elzey with Showplace Lawns. Want to talk about deer control. As we, as a society
build out farther and farther and into areas where we haven't been before, deer population
is starting to become a problem for us. As one person told me one time, they had a deer
problem, and I laughed and told them that the deer had a people problem because we were
moving into the country. The problem with the deer is that they will eat your plants
and grass and do some disruptive damage. So we'd like to have a plan to keep that from
happening. Now, you'll notice in some areas where people will put cages around their shrubs,
and things like that. That's not a very attractive solution. But there's several things you can
do from a natural standpoint that maybe would at least slow them down. On the perimeter
of your properties, or at least in the area where you know the deer are coming from, you
can plant several different types of plants. The oleander shrub is poisonous, the deer
recognize that by it's smell, and they will stay away. The hollies, different hollies
with the jagged-edge leaf, the deer don't like that either. Lantanna has been a long
detriment for the deer, they turn from that as well. So by planting some lantanna, holly,
or oleanders, either one or combinations along your border area would serve to help keep
them away. Another thing, of course, would be to put up a fence. But in order to keep
the deer off with a fence, you have to have a fence about ten feet high. Another thing
that you can do would be to take an egg, beat it, mix it with one pint of water, and spray
the perimeter. But first, before you spray it, you need to let that egg sit for two days.
So let's go over that again. Beat the egg. Mix it with one pint of water, let it sit
for two days, then spray your perimeter. That smell will drive the deer away. But this is
a process that needs to be repeated once a month. Another nice, safe thing to do would
be to visit the local hair salon or the barber shop. Get the hair that they sweep up off
the floor. Pack it in an old pair of pantyhose or something of that nature, an old fruit
sack or something. Tie it to a stake, and put stakes up ever so often across and around
the perimeter of the property. They smell the human smell of the hair, the deer won't
come near you, either. And I do know from a personal standpoint that that does work
rather well. Sometimes it's not the best in the world, because as the sack or the things
deteriorate, you start having hair, but it is a very good, safe practice and it does
work. The only other thing that you might consider, and this is only going to depend
on your area, in some areas this is illegal to do, and I'm not recommending it because
of that, but it is something to consider if it is allowable. And maybe in the far corner
of an area, you could put a deer feeder. Have the deer come to that feeder, and maybe by
doing so they will leave your property alone. But before you do that, please check with
your neighbors to make sure they don't mind you doing that, and check to make sure that
it is not illegal, because some places it is, some places it isn't. The egg-water spray
is good. The hair is good, and the plants. Those are probably your three best bets to
control your deer.