It's nice to see deer around your home, prancing in the fields. But it can be excruciating to see your beautiful rose bushes eaten up by deer.
So how do you stop deer from eating your roses without hurting them or keeping them away from your fields? There are different solutions on the market that you can buy, but a homemade solution will work just as well. The best part, you know what is going into it because you are making it. This can give you confidence that it won't hurt your roses, the deer, or your family.
In this article, we share five different homemade deer repellents you can make with products you have around the house.
Dawn dish soap deer repellent for roses
It only takes one deer to destroy an entire rose garden. But you can keep that from happening with products that are already around your house. Deer hate the smell of soap, but you have to use dish soap because it’s not as strong as detergent, which can destroy your roses.
Dawn dish soap is especially good for this purpose because it has a good smell, but it’s mild enough to not cause harm to plants and animals. This dish soap can even help you get rid of any aphids in your roses, so it’s a great choice for a deer repellent.
To make your homemade Dawn dish soap deer repellent, you simply need to combine liquid soap, cream or milk, garlic, eggs, spice and water in a blender until all the ingredients are mixed well. You can then transfer this solution to a spray bottle and use it to spray on your roses.
Some experts even recommend making a big batch and storing the solution somewhere in the house where you don’t go often. Wait for a few days until the solution has a strong smell.
You might not like this part, but the worse this deer repellent smells, the more effective it will be against deer.
Aside from spraying directly on your roses, you can also pour a small amount over planters and beds to make the smell stay longer. Re-apply the repellent every 6-10 days and after rainfall to make sure that the deer don’t come back.
Cayenne pepper deer repellent for roses
Deer are like humans in that they usually need to taste something to determine if they want to eat it or not. This is why you’re going to see a lot of chewing damage not only to your roses, but also other plants within their vicinity.
So if your deer problem isn’t solved by the strong smell of dish soap deterrent, you might have to try targeting their sense of taste.
A pepper spray is one of the most common taste repellents that you can find in the market. Spraying it on your roses will make the leaves and flowers bitter and spicy so that deer will not come back to feed on them again.
The only downside to using pepper spray is that it could be strong enough to also kill good pollinators. This will cause to get less flowers from your rose bushes. But if you don’t want to spend any thing on a commercial pepper spray, you can always make your own by mixing a 1:16 mixture of hot sauce and water plus soap to spray on your roses.
If you don’t have hot sauce around, you can combine a gallon of water with a quarter cup of cayenne pepper, and a little olive oil. You can then transfer this solution to a spray bottle and apply it to your plants.
The only downside to using cayenne pepper instead of hot sauce is that the seeds can get stuck in the tip of your sprayer. This could make you have to replace sprayers regularly.
Homemade vinegar deer repellent for roses
Vinegar does a lot of wonders as an all-around product and deterring deer is no exception. Vinegar has a very strong scent that could linger for a while, so it’s an excellent way to keep deer away from your roses.
To create your own homemade vinegar deer repellent, you will need a cup of white vinegar, four tablespoons of ground cayenne pepper, one cup of oil soap and ammonia, and three heads of garlic that are peeled and diced.
First, combine the white vinegar and cayenne pepper in a saucepan until it boils. Then, you need to strain this mixture using a coffee filter, after which you have to blend the garlic together and strain it in another coffee filter.
Combine both mixtures and add ammonia and oil soap before pouring it into 2 ½ gallons of water. You can then transfer some of the solution into a spray bottle to apply on your roses. Adding garlic and cayenne pepper makes this deer repellent stronger because it targets both the deer’s sense of smell and taste.
Essential oil natural deer repellent for roses
Essential oils are very popular nowadays because they promote calm, relaxation, and even treat simple ailments. But essential oils are also excellent deer repellents because deer don’t really like the way they smell.
If you are fond of using essential oils at home, you can create your own homemade deer repellent by combining eight ounces of white vinegar with six drops of peppermint essential oil and four drops of rosemary essential oil in a spray bottle.
Shake the bottle to mix all the ingredients and start spraying it on your roses to serve as a deterrent to deer. You can also use this solution for other plants but not for those that you plan to eat.
Rotten egg deer repellent for roses
Now, if you’ve tried all these solutions and they haven’t worked in keeping the deer away from your roses, you might want to go for the strongest deer repellent you can make at home.
If the smell of spoiled milk and rotten eggs can easily make you want to run away, deer will also want to do the same.
To make this strong spray, you will need to beat several eggs and use a funnel to transfer it to a spray bottle. You can then add one tablespoon dish soap, one tablespoon cooking oil, and ½ cup of milk to the bottle. After which you can add water and close the container tightly before shaking the bottle to mix everything together.
You can then temporarily store this spray bottle in your refrigerator until you are ready to use it on your roses. Spray it directly on your plants and pour some on the bed and planters.
After a few days, the solution will start to smell as the egg rots and the milk spoil. That pungent odor will be enough to keep the deer away for a while.
The conclusion
There is no reason you can't enjoy deer in your field and your roses. A good homemade deer repellent will keep deer away from your roses and playing in the field where they belong.
