deer
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: deer
- From: h*@ccnet.com (Jerry Heverly)
- Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1999 21:33:05 -0800 (PST)
I just happened to read a University of Illinois publication on deer this
evening. They cited an article in the US magazine, Consumer Reports, an
article I'd not seen (Oct. 1998). CR tested deer repellants and apparently
had best luck with something called Hinderu. They also touted a home-made
remedy with eggs, red pepper sauce & garlic. Both substances needed weekly
applications to demonstrate any real effectiveness. Soap apparently did
some good but only for a distance of 12 inches. Hair, urine, etc. did
little. Another US University, Cornell in New York, isolated the repellant
ingredient in soap. It was tallow fatty acid. The scent had nothing to do
with it, Cornell reported. Coconut fatty acid did nothing, they added.
All the repellants I've seen in California nurseries are based on either
egg solids, capsacin(from peppers) or urine.
Every scientific article I've ever read on the subject says: repellants
don't work very well, dogs sometimes help(but not always) and, ultimately,
only sturdy, tall fencing is reliable.
Jerry Heverly, Oakland, CA
