We all love deer and all their magnificent colors and stunning horns. Seeing them while drinking morning coffee always feels right, that is until they start tearing through your garden.
Do not let their beautiful coats and elegance deceive you. As much as we love them, when it comes to our farms and gardens, that is where we draw the line.
Deer are Hard to Control
If you leave your precious garden or farm unattended, you are bound to have uninvited visitors that will wreak havoc on every plant on the farm.
Deer are herbivores, and these animals feed on plants. If they come across your farm and see some delicious greenery, they will look for every way possible to access the delicacies.
A mere fence is not enough as these animals are known to jump high; they will get over your fence in no time.
The funny thing is, not only can a deer can destroy your many days and hours of work. It can trample over the well-raked planters and consume your vegetables and fruits like a plague.
There are several ways to keep deer away from our farms. Some are very effective, while others are mildly effective. This guide covers a type of repellent used to chase away deer. Follow along to discover how to keep deer away from your farm using the dawn dish soap deer repellent.
Why Dawn Dish Soap?
Remember that even as you try and devise ways to keep away deer, you should be careful not to kill your precious plants.
Using chemicals to keep away the deer can be harmful to your plants if you are not careful.
However, the dawn dish soap is not like other dish soaps that come with harsh chemicals. This repellent is effective and will not harm your plants. The other advantage is that this dish soap is affordable and almost readily available in local homes.
Should you use Dawn as deer repellent?
The answer is yes. You can effectively use this dish soap to keep away deer while considering some factors. As you make this repellent, your main aim is not to hurt the deer but just keep it off your farm. You are, therefore, advised to follow the instructions given to the letter.
The other thing to keep in mind is your flowers, vegetables, and fruits. Ask yourself if applying more soap to the mixture will have any effect on the plants. Dawn dish soap cuts through grease, and this means it can strip waxy cuticles from plant leaves, making them lose water.
Dish soap repellent has antibacterial meaning as you spray the farm, small insects and bugs will die. That is why you are asked to apply only a small amount of dawn dish soap to drive away deer.
Dish Soap Repellent Recipes
The best part about this repellent is that it is readily available for putting away deer. You use dish soap to make it, and you are spraying it on your farm in no time. However, it is always good to first test the solution on other plants before spraying it on the intended area. The main aim is to see how these other plants will react and behave towards the solution.
1. Spicy formula
This technique was created based on the fact that deers do not love spicy things. After making this liquid mixture, you can easily use it right away. You can even add spices to spice things up, such as cinnamon and garlic. To make this solution, here are some of the things you need:
- 1-2 tablespoons of Cayenne
- 1-2 tablespoons of the dawn dish soap
- Garlic or cinnamon, but this is optional
- Gallon of water
Procedure
Add a sufficient amount of dawn and all the other spices you need in a spray bottle. Fill your bottle with water and then shake it well to diffuse all the ingredients.
2. Easiest method
This is the typical dawn dish soap deer repellent if you wish to keep things simple and easy. Here what you need is water, a spray bottle, and dish soap. Doesn’t get much easier than that!
Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the dish soap inside the spray bottle and then dilute it with water. After that, you need to shake the bottle thoroughly to ensure the content has formed a homogenous solution. Your solution is now ready to repel away deers.
3. Essential Oil Recipe
Like with the other recipes, you need dish soap, essential oils, and water with this one.
- 1-2 tablespoons of dish soap
- 1 gallon of water
- 5-10 peppermint oil drops
Water and essential oils mixture is enough to keep deer away from your farm. However, as you may already know, water does not mix with oil. That is why you need dish soap in the mixture to them a soluble solution.
Bonus: Egg Formula
I haven’t tried it. But an old timer I know swears by this one:
You can also use eggs to keep deer from harvesting your months of labor and hard work. All you need is:
- One egg
- 1-2 tablespoons of dish soap
- 1 gallon of water
You will be shocked at the number of people who prefer using this method to drive off deer.
The preparation procedure is quite easy. Add one or two tablespoons of dish soap in your spray contain. Add one egg to the mixture and top it up with water. Make sure you vigorously shake the mixture to form a perfect solution. The repellent is now good to spray on your farm and drive away deer.
A bonus repellent is the use of vinegar. Deer have a strong sense of smell, vinegar will easily put them off even if it is dried. So, you soak a piece of cloth in vinegar and then place it at the access point. The deer will be put off by the smell and walk away.
Dawn Dish Soap Deer Repellent: Final Thoughts
Dawn dish soap repellent is great in keeping away the deer. However, it would help if you were careful to apply too much soap to the solution that may possibly affect your crops. Add other ingredients such as eggs and essential oils to make the solution stronger and more effective.
Related article: Does dish soap kill grass?
Deer Resistant Privacy Trees: 8 Varieties to Consider
Privacy trees are something that most homeowners have thought about at one time or another. If you live in a wooded area, deer-resistant privacy trees may be an absolute necessity. You’ve likely caught deer munching on your plants at one time or another.
If your local deer are degrading your privacy trees while also feasting on your plants, you have more than one problem. We’ve compiled a list of the best deer-resistant privacy trees for your yard to remedy this problem. They include the Thuja green giant, the American boxwood, and the lovely Japanese plum yew.
Thuja Green Giant
The Thuja green giant, also known as the Thuja green giant arborvitae, is a sizeable deer-resistant tree that’s well-suited for blocking the road or your neighbor’s yard. They are also pest and disease resistant and grow more than five feet per year. So even if you start with a small tree, you’ll have a towering privacy tree that’s easy to maintain before long.
They grow to between 40-60 feet in height and have a maximum width of 15 feet. The best zones for growing these trees are 5-9.
American Boxwood
The American boxwood plant is a classic privacy tree that’s sure to transform your yard and is resistant to any annoying munching by local deer. It grows to a width of around 8 feet and a height of up to 12 feet, making it a shorter, wider tree than others on this list. You’re sure to get this plant to thrive in zones 5-9.
Amazingly, the tree will continue to grow for up to 150 years after you plant it!
Japanese Plum Yew
The lovely Japanese plum yew, or Cephalotaxus harringtonia, has exotic-looking leaves that will add some variety to your yard while also serving as a deer-resistant privacy tree. You should plant this specific plant with the thought that it will grow to up to 8 feet in height and 10 feet in width. It’s also very popular for gardeners hoping to make every part of their garden interesting and filled with beautiful greenery.
Wax Myrtle
The wax myrtle is a medium-sized privacy tree that’s very fast-growing. In only a few years, you can expect this tree to cover the area you intend for it. It reaches around 15-20 feet and can grow to a width of 10 feet. They are also very hardy, capable of enduring different temperatures.
Colorado Blue Spruce
The Colorado blue spruce has a silver-green color that is very popular with those seeking out trees to add some privacy to their yard. Its peak height can reach an incredible 75 feet, and up to 20 feet spread. It grows best in various zones, from 2-7. The trees enjoy full sun, making them a great addition to your yard’s brightest, open spaces.
Mugo Pine
The Mugo pine tree from central Europe is an ornamental tree that is well-loved for its broad-spreading leaves. It grows in zones 3-7 and up to 20 feet in height. The tree grows much more slowly than other plants on this list, around 12” a year. The mugo pine is best in a partially shaded area of your yard with well-drained soil.
Cedar Deodar
The cedar deodar is a long-lived, fast-growing tree that homeowners use to increase their yard’s privacy. It is also a very durable tree, capable of adapting to different soil types. It’s also drought tolerant and is capable of recovering from long winters and heavy storms.
Howardi Ligustrum
The howardi ligustrum is an evergreen bush that, with its bright yellow and green colors, adds a pop of excitement among other, less colorful, privacy trees. It’s a dense shrub that easily fills gaps in the garden. The leaves are yellow at first, and as they plant ages, it takes on a greener shade.