Last weekend I was admiring my backyard grapevine and how nicely it was coming along after I had severely clipped it back this spring. I am now training it to go the way I want it and not the way nature persists!
Well, as I was walking around the yard the following day I noticed little bites here and there on other plants and as I circled the yard I found my grapevine completely stripped of it’s beautiful leaves! Some little lovely deer came into my yard and helped themselves. Shame on me for not protecting it but arghhh…
As I was getting ready to write this week’s blog I was wondering how many times you have heard this tale over the years and found several. Some things never change!!!
My DEER blog from 2015:
The first clue I had that the battle was near was when I wandered around my yard a couple weeks ago and I could see that someone had feasted on the new shoots and beginnings of flowers on my hydrangeas on the north side of my house. After a quick investigation I could see that my enemy was that dear sweet mama DEER and her babies. I love to see them wandering the neighborhood – I just wish they hadn’t found my favorite hydrangeas!
So the battle begins with me putting netting on all the north side plants. And then I think I just drove them around the house because a few days later it was nibbled plants on the east side and days later the south side. As I was finishing draping netting over the grapevine on the southwest corner I begin to notice the back or west side of the house has been nibbled too. I was standing there staring at this new development when Mr. Blogger went in the house muttering something about getting out of my way lest I put a net over him!
I looked on Google to see what it is that deer like about our yards and found the following:
“The primary diet of a whitetail deer is leaves, new shoots twigs, nuts, berries, shrubs and wild flowering herbs. These non woody plants are very important to a deer’s diet especially in the fall.”
As much as I love them I can’t imagine wanting to attract them. I am back to arming myself for battle with them until fall comes and they decide there is a better diet elsewhere.
Short blog this week. Enjoy the week ahead. – Cindy
3 COMMENTS
HA! Get some Irish Spring soap, tie it up in the toe of a nylon or other such small netting, hang strategically around the yard. One per location should be enough. It won’t hurt the soils chemical balance. Good luck.
Cindy,
We were having the same sort of problem too. Someone suggested Blood Meal to put on and around the plants. We thought what did we have to lose. So we tried it and by golly it worked! We got the granuals and about every week or so we sprinkle some around the vegetation we want preserved!
You might want to give it a try!
Good luck my friend!
Love the “verdammte” bambies. Where else could one have pure nature enjoyment and medium-anger at the same time? That’s one more reason why we live here.
Klaus & Marianne
Comments are closed.