Deer Repellent Buying and Spraying Tips

Deciding to spray deer repellents on your own requires some basic knowledge before you even make your purchase. First you must determine your specific needs. Obviously you need to discourage deer, however you should classify your needs into 2 categories. Inedible plants and/or edible plants. Edible plants require a repellent that washes of easily. There are specific repellents approved by the EPA for edibles plants. These repellents require constant spraying usually every 7-14 days or directly after heavy rain or watering. Inedible plants can be sprayed with a repellent that does not wash off very easily.
Next determine your spraying season. Certain deer repellent ingredients work better depending on what season they are sprayed. Odor deer repellents work best during warmer seasons. Cold and ice take away from odors thus opening up the window for deer damage. Taste deer repellents work better in colder seasons, although remember that a taste deer repellent allows for deer damage. Deer must take a bite of the protected plant in order find its bad taste, so if you have a single rose bush and 10 deer each deer will likely take a bite or two in learning that the plant tastes bad. The best type of deer repellent to chose would be a taste and odor deer repellent. Then you will be covered for any season.

Now you should be able to determine if you need an odor or taste deer repellent, and a deer repellent for either edible or non edible plants. Next read the product info section to determine what ingredients fit your needs, and then go shopping by that ingredient.
Take careful note however, by checking your active ingredient percentages. A deer repellent that is cheaper or an off brand may lack sufficient active ingredient percentages to do the job. Always chose the highest active ingredient percentages you can get and avoid lower active ingredient percentages as they may not do the job very well.

Once you purchase your deer repellent you should read the instructions carefully. This is the main problem for many consumers! Improper spraying can be dangerous to your plants and unsuccessful. Never over or under dilute your product. Over diluting simply makes the product ineffective while under diluting could burn or damage your plants.
When you are actually ready to spray pretend as if you are painting your house. Always spray on a non windy day when the temperature is between 40 and 90 degrees, and when you know it will not rain within the next 10 hours.

The final thing to remember is that when you are spraying during high growth periods, such as spring, the plant will out grow the repellent in days or maybe even hours. Some blooms open and close quickly. Remember that these parts of the plant are very susceptible to damage. Because deer browse and smell before eating thus they will find what has and has not been sprayed. We strongly advise that you spot spray your new growth during these seasons.

Finally, deer are creatures of habit and they are neophytes which mean they are afraid of anything new! Therefore, it is not uncommon for deer to become used to a particular taste or odor. That means your deer repellent may not last indefinitely. You should rotate your deer repellent from season to season. Don't rotate the brand name just rotate the active ingredient. Some brands have the same ingredient just a different name so check your ingredients so that it changes from season to season.