Irish Spring Deer Repellent

Because we live five minutes from a county park, I have a real problem with deer getting in my flower bed. They have acres and acres of every bush imaginable to munch on and yet they'll climb down a steep embankment at the back of our yard to get to my flowers. Grrrr...

I tried this at $12 a bottle...

and and it worked okay but you have to reapply after every rain so it was getting to be expensive.

Then I found a homemade recipe which was basically the same thing.
Chopped garlic - $1.00
crushed red pepper - $1.00
 water
I was able to get the items inexpensively at the dollar store which was a bonus.
 I put the mixture in a large glass jug with a lid and sat it out in the sun. The longer it sits the more potent it is! After couple days, I poured the liquid through a fine strainer and put the liquid in a spray bottle. Even though this was a cheaper alternative, I still had to constantly reapply it.
Then a friend told me about Irish Spring soap. You just cut the bars into fourths and skewer each piece onto dowel rods. I had my husband to drill some holes into the soap so that it wouldn't crack, and it worked nicely. ( the dowel rods I got were 3/8 inch diameter and I got three 12 inch pieces out of each rod.)
They look like green lollipops!!

It's been six weeks now and it appears to be working.



Cheap, easy and an extra bonus is even with plenty of rain here, it takes a long time to melt!

Here's a tip:
To keep your gardening tools sharp, store them in a old bucket, filled with sand and some motor oil. I did this last winter and now my tools are rust free and well oiled!
Here's where I'll be sharing:

Nifty Thrifty Sunday * Sundays at Home Amaze Me Monday * Mix it up Monday * Make it Pretty Monday * Cooking and Crafting with J and J *  Busy Monday * Keep it simple Monday * You're gonna love it Tuesday * Tasty Tuesday * Delicious Dishes * Inspire me Tuesday * Talk of the Town  * Thrifty and Vintage Finds *Moonlight and Mason Jars Before and After Wednesday *the Alder Collective * You Link it, We Make it * What's Cookin' Wednesday Wordless Wednesday * Create it Thursday * Creatively crafty *  Full plate Thursday * Throwback Thursday * The Handmade Hangout * The Pin Junkie * Anything blue Friday * Friday Finds * Photo Friday * Friday Features * Floral Friday Fotos  * What To Do Weekends * Happiness is Homemade Saturday Sparks *

18 comments:

  1. I didn't know about this tip but I can definitely use it! Thanks for sharing your post with us at Creatively Crafty #CCBG http://tryit-likeit.com/link-party-it

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    1. Thank you Janet for your comment, have a good week!

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  2. Oh WOW!!! I needed this. We live out in the woods and the deer destroy all of my landscaping. I bought the deer repellent also and it stinks so bad. Last year I bought the little stakes and they helped some. I am so hitting the store tomorrow for some Irish Spring. Thank you

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  3. Pamela, it's been about 6 weeks now and nothing has been eaten!!

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  4. wow who knew?!? how easy is using the soap! I did the red pepper stuff too and it ended up melting the sprayer! This will be so much easier to do!

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  5. I live near the foothills in Colorado and deer are always walking through my garden. I'll try this and see if it will help. I wonder if it will also keep rabbits from eating my flowers?

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    1. The soap smell is pretty strong. I like it, but I guess animals don't.I used to have groundhogs too but haven't seen any.

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  6. This is a great tip! I'm sure the strong scent of Irish Spring could be a deterrent even though it's "manly, yes, but I like it, too!" (sorry, had to go there, lol) Thanks for sharing with us at Creatively Crafty #ccbg Have a great week!

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  7. HaHaHa love your comment!!!

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  8. Hi Suzy, What a great tip and timely too because we just had deer 2 nights ago nip off the top of our tomato plants! Thanks for this information! Blessings, Janet

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  9. Give it a try, what do you have to loose?

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  10. Love this, going to try it this week! Will it keep rabbits out?

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    1. It's been six weeks now and nothing has been eaten by anything! (although some of the soap has teeth marks on it) lol

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  11. Such a great tip! :)

    I would love for you to add this to my Recipes and Crafts Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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  12. I am going to give this a try! Your garden is beautiful. I am glad the soap is keeping the deer away. Thank you for sharing on Talk of the Town Link Party. Hope to see you again.
    Julie @ Love My Simple Home

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  13. Thanks Julie! Yes, give it a try!

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  14. I have never tried the soap but I know Irish Spring is pretty strong smelling!

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