i use this stuff called liquid shotgun... it is a spray that smells like slim jims (just my opinion) and it keeps all sorts of animals away, it doesn't harm the plants and what it does is slightly burns the nasal passages and/or mouth when the animal sniffs or bites the plant. i read on the bottle that you can also use it around decks, sheds, garbage cans, etc. it doesn't harm the animal but creates a less than desirable environment for them. you spray it once and it lasts up to two months. i use it to keep deer away, this is my 2nd year with it and i actually haven't even seen a deer near the yard this year. last year they were eating my plants EVERY night. i also spray my fruit trees with it and it keeps the deer from them, it also wards off birds from the fruit too. if you are interested i will get the exact name off of the label for you. i believe the company that makes it is called bonide. it smells strongly for the first day, but after that i don't even notice it. i have been finding suspicious teeth marks on my pumpkins this year- i have no idea what it is, but i sprayed the whole patch with this stuff and haven't seen any more yet. i like this stuff because i don't like to harm or kill anything, i used to not even kill bugs but since i began gardening i can't help but squoosh the ones that are eating MY food. anyway, i hope this helps... it cost me $20 and i am almost at the end of the bottle (2nd season using it) a good investment if you ask me. i got it at my local nursery/landscaping store. sarah

i have thought of that, and mine are young, so i'd have to make sure that it was sturdy enough. and of course i'd have the problem that if they were excited enough, they'd want to jump right in there with me and probably try to 'help' lol. i also know that dogs don't like the texture of walking on chicken wire, and i've heard it works to keep them off of dirt and things. i've thought about trying it with grass to keep them out of an area, but i am wondering if they would just end up walking it into the dirt, so they wouldn't notice, lol. that would be my luck. thanks for the advice! i'm beginning to think i'll have to put up some sort of barrier. thanks bunches! ~naughty wildcat

Hi socks, Thank you for your response. I see people with dogs on leashes and without leashes. However, people are just rude. I even talked to a guy in my building that is considered the leading dog walker of Chicago! He was even in the newspaper which explains his background. In any case, he said that people have no excuse for letting their dogs in the garden. He said a sign would actually make it worse because dog walkers then intentionally have their dog stop! are there any type of fragrances that dogs don't like maybe? I've never had a dog personally. They are cute, just not their poop.

A compilation of suggestions from our readers: I've had pretty good luck using bird netting. It's been especially good if I stretch it over a pvc pipe framework (which I spray painted green to be less obvious). I use it over some raised bed planters. I've watched the deer react to it from inside my house. They apparently don't see as well as they hear and smell. They poke their nose into the netting and it startles them and they shy away. Anything protruding through the netting, of course gets trimmed off. It's fairly inexpensive but sort of a nuisance when you want to work in the bed, since you have to roll it back out of the way. It also keeps out the wild turkeys. But the gophers still come in from below. I lost an entire bed of asparagus to gophers after keeping the deer out all season with the netting. I've battled deer forever and these are my tried and true working solutions to the problem....My favorite is grating Ivory soap or Irish Spring all around the items you need to protect. It's good to do this before the deer establish their trails in the very early spring. I also buy small drawstring bags made of a loosely woven material (from a local garden supply store) and fill them with Milorganite (its a fertilizer with an odor that repels deer). I hang these on the bushes and shrubs the deer love to munch! The scent of humans is repulsive to wild animals, or scary as natural enemies, and marking your territory with your scent is a natural deterent. It may be a bit unorthodox to have your husband use the garden as a toilet, but you can accomplish the same thing by soaking rags in a bucket, and then ringing your garden with the rags (using plastic gloves of course) and bury them at the outside rim of your garden with some mulch. Here's something that works great, is cheap and environmentaly safe - Mix one slightly beaten egg with 1 quart of water and spray onto anything that the deer eat. You have to re-apply this about every 4-5 days or after a rain but it really works! We've tried many things - and we have a dog but the eggs work the best. Here's what worked for me: coyote urine. They have all different types of urine drops at Agway (and probably similar stores-find out what the local carnivore is and give it a try. I also sprinkled my stuff with a ton of black and red pepper, garlic and curry powder-nothing went near my tomatoes! Spray with a little water first so it sticks to the leaves and such. You do have to redo it though-every time it rains. I've been trying everything. Here's just a few: 1) Human hair clippings from your local beauty shop sprinkled around the plants. 2) blood meal. 3) Moth ball flakes sprinkled all around. These seem to work but eventually I let any of the treatments lapse and the deer feast. . One year we had a deer problem and after the first feasting in early spring wiping out everything, we lined each bed with chives. It seemed to work and we had flowers the rest of the year, but you have to stay on top of the chives or they can take over the garden.... but when you weed the garden you can just weed out some of the chives as well. (chives bloom adding a nice variation...) Here's my list of plants that deer won't eat: for annuals use:ageratum,snapdragon,salvia,nicotiana,petunia, alyssum,marigold,begonia. Do NOT use impatiens,geraniums,pansies. For perennials, I have excellent luck with these:columbine,coreopsis,foxglove,aconitum,lavender, salvia,nepeta,daffodils,hyacinth,rudbeckia,beebalm,babysbreath.Do not use hosta,daylily,any type of mum or shasta daisy,obedient plant,echinacea. *Note* Any native plants are high risk too, except for the poisonous plants. Deer proof trees and bushes are hard to come by because the ones they don't eat can still be damaged severely by a buck. For evergreens try Spruce,hemlock,Pieris,Leucothoe,and boxwood. Do not use Yew,Arborvitae,pine,rhododendron,and azalea. There are more deer proof plants out there. Actually alot more than people think. I just can't think of them all at this time. Also, plan on using a deer repellant. I use an excellent one called Deer-off. It is completely organic and is comprised of eggs,pepper,and garlic. It is sprayed on the plants and lasts up to 3 months depending on rain and growth rate of the plants. Keep this in mind when it comes to deer: Any plant in the herb family is usually disliked. Any plant that is native is usually eaten with gusto! Any fruiting plant like an apple tree, cherry, or berry bush will be devoured. Hope this will get you started. I deal with deer on a daily basis so I am speaking from experience. I have excellent luck with; Dragons-eye pine, any ornamental grasses, butterfly bush, caryoptoris, anything with really fuzzy leaves, any mints, asiatic lilies, barberry, artimesia, gold thread juniper, trumpet vine, scotch broom, St. Johnswort and contorted hazel. Try Deeroff: Rutgers University ranked deeroff number 1 out of 35 repellents tested. Now labeled for rabbits and squirrels.