Sammy, The clip on thing works. The only problem I have with it is that I often forget to put it on :O and that it will slip off my waistband when I bend over (I don't wear a belt). I didn't think about breathing in anything, I can't smell it. There is a little fan on the clip on thing that disributes the repellent. I don't think it is harmful, it's the same stuff that is in other mosquito repellents (not sprays) like the ones that we use when we sit outside.

I tried this idea to keep dogs, deer, rabbits & foxes away from plants & shrubs, but the dogs, foxes & rabbits were dancing right thru in just a couple days, so I took it out. It may have worked for the deer, but once the snow came the wires would have been covered anyways. However, I've had success w/ a similar idea using wood lattice laid flat to deter squirrels from burying walnuts at the base of delicate or juglone sensitive plants. A couple of my dogs can smell recently buried items & become obsessed with digging them up, leaving a much bigger hole than the squirrel originally made. I'm not even covering the whole ground area - just scattering scrap pieces - and so far it seems to work.

I agree with Flora--planting like this may do a little bit, but won't completely solve the problem. As she stated, chives are super easy to grow, but they do grow in clumps. It would take a lot to make an actual 'fence'. Garlic chives are also nice, with pretty flowers, though they'll take longer to mature. (they're pretty puny the first year) Both chives can spread if you don't cut the flowers to prevent seeding. Basil you might want to do more research on--I seem to remember that it might be a help to roses in other ways, but as I don't grow roses, didn't pay much attention to that when I read it. Catnip grows easily, but you will attract every cat in the neighborhood to your garden, and it can spread. Catmint doesn't attract the cats as much, but does become a nuisance as far as spreading. Garlic and onions are relatively easy, but may not have much effect, especially in raised beds. I'm a city girl, so don't have much problem with bunnies and deer (do have to worry about rats eating my seedlings). I do remember something I read saying she plants a ring of parsley around some beds--the bunnies just stay on the edges and eat that and leave the inner stuff alone. Aphids will be a problem, and if you want to stick organic, the best way to combat them is your garden hose. A good spray will knock most of them off, and if you keep it up, they're weak little critters and many will die before climbing back up. A spray bottle of a dishsoap solution will help kill eggs organically--make sure you're spraying the bottoms of leaves. Neem may be an option too. Maybe check out the rose forum for other suggestions? The herbs that have been mentioned here are all easy to grow. Most like average soil, well draining (which your raised beds would be). Very little fertilizer is needed for in-ground herbs, if any as long as the soil was amended with compost, etc. They all like to be kept more moist (moist but not sitting in water) unlike some of the Mediterranean arid types--if you look at thyme, oregano, rosemary--you'll have to do more research to learn their water needs. Basil is annual, easy to grow from seed or buy transplants, but you'll plant it each year. Chives are perennial and would come back after winter each year.

Thanks everyone - I guess the idea was to play off of the habit of deer to not jump horizontally very far - similar to the way people use two 4 ft tall fences running parallel to each other, spaced about 5 ft apart, to control deer. But maybe the outer barrier actually needs to be tall (as opposed to laying on the ground like I'm considering) and not just a certain distance away from the inner fence. I'd probably set the chicken wire a couple of feet out from the fence, so the edge of it would be more like 6 - 7 feet away from the actual fence. So the deer would need to jump 7 feet horizontally and then still clear the fence at the end⦠There's also something like this with just wire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbRRgIbYKgw I was hoping to avoid needing to rely on sprays and other such deterrents - it's a fairly large area that I want to keep them out of⦠:(