We live in a suburban area of Baltimore, MD adjacent to Patapsco State
Park.  We enjoy gardening and landscaping, but the deer have become
voracious, and are eating everything.  We have about .75 acre (120 ft
x 250 ft).  We are looking for alternatives to fencing, which is not
an attractive solution because of the suburban environment.
http://www.wirelessdeerfence.com/wdf/index.htm is a website which
advertises wireless deer fencing.  You put up posts that are battery
powered, and insert pellets that attract the deer.  They receive a
shock when they sniff the post, and supposedly learn to avoid the
area.  The website contains the usual positive testimonials.  Can
anyone give us independent confirmation that this product does or does
not work as advertized? Can you evaluate the quality of the materials
used to manufacture the post, and the composition of the pellets?  Is
the firm offering this product reliable?  How many posts would be
needed to protect the area (landscaping occupies about 2/3 of site)? 
How often should they be moved?  Is there another alternative to
fencing?

< There is a testimonial on the ‘how have you coped with deer’ forum,
posted by Blueridgeroses, someone that has tried out the wireless
fencing amongst other products. This person says ‘None of these
products have been 100% effective (as their manufacturers would have
us believe) but they do appear to help.

In the article ‘Truth, lies, maybes in controlling deer’, Ross
Penhallegon, a horticulture agent with the Lane County/Oregon State
University Extension Service in Eugene, advises that most deer control
measures including wireless fences are a waste of time and money. He
recommends a 10 foot high fence as the only effective solution.

The article ‘Animal pests of flowers’ is written Dr. Leonard P Perry –
he recommends triangular, slanted fences or high fences.

Melinda Myers at JS Online says there is no cure for deer apart from a
high fence. Things like repellents and noises only tend to work for a
short time. As a solution she suggests growing plants that are
disliked by deer including spireas, viburnums, boxwood, sumac,
daffodils, hyacinth, clematis, lily-of-the-valley, lobelia, marigold,
geranium and lungwort. However they will even eat these if they are
hungry enough.

The link to ‘controlling deer damage’ gives a number of solutions that
are used by commericial growers to protect their crops but there is no
mention of wireless fences.

The wireless fence construction.
The construction of the post appears to be weather resistant. It is
made from UV stabilized PVC plastic. This means it is resistant to the
sun’s rays which are capable of decomposing some plastics. This type
of plastic is commonly used for other outdoor products like guttering.

The pellets consist of sweet smelling food scents.

15-18 posts are recommended for a ¾ acre plot.

There are no exact guidelines given for moving the posts except that
they should be moved seasonally to the areas where new plants are
growing.

I have searched for complaints about the firm and the product but can
find none.>


<Additional links:>

<Truth, lies, maybes in controlling deer.>
<http://www.kpnw.com/downloads/DeerControl.doc>

<Controlling deer damage.>
<http://muextension.missouri.edu/xplor/miscpubs/mp0685.htm>

<Controlling deer in the landscape.>
<http://www.northerngardening.com/deer.htm>

<How have you coped with deer.>
<http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vagard/msg091153032521.html>

Deer repellent suppliers.
<http://www.deer-busters.com/dee-3005.html>

<There is a review of  the product in the Cincinnati Enquirer but the
reviewer hasn’t actually tried out the product.>
<http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/08/25/tem_in_know.html>

<Animal pests of flowers.>
<http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/pubs/oh52anml.htm>

<How can I discourage deer from eating everything in my landscape.>
<http://www.jsonline.com/homes/garden/oct01/myercol14101301a.asp>

<UV stabilised PVC>
<http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=772>


<Search strategy:>
<Controlling deer>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=controlling+deer>

<wireless deer fence>
<://www.google.com/search?q=wireless+deer+fence&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=30&sa=N>


<Hope this helps.>

If you haven't tried some things that less "high tech"
you might want to check out some ideas presented at:

http://www.mydeergarden.com/Solutions/deterrents.htm

Deer Deterrents

Deer will almost always stay away from plants that offend two or more
of their senses. As such, if a plant not only tastes bad, but smells
bad too deer will stay away from it and the general area it is planted
in. The deer resistant gardener can use this to his or her advantage.

If you have some mature plants that are all of the sudden being
devoured by deer, or if you long for one or two specimens of a plant
deer think of as candy, deer deterrents are possibly just what you
need. While they may not be practical to use on every plant in your
garden, they are very effective and relatively easy to use on a few
select specimens. When two deer deterrents, one that offends the sense
of smell and one that offends the sense of taste, are used together
they will render your tasty plant repulsive to deer.

Some of the most effective and natural deer deterrents are: Hot Pepper
Wax, Garlic Oil, Predator Urine, fragrant Soaps and Home Brews.  Hot
pepper wax is possibly the most effective deterrent available that
works on the sense of taste. Deer hate spicy foods! Combined with a
deterrent that offends the sense of smell, hot pepper wax will render
your plants almost deer proof.

Garlic oil, predator urine and fragrant soaps are all highly effective
companions to hot pepper wax. When deer smell the urine of their
natural predator, the coyote, they literally run for their lives. If a
brave deer decides he or she needs a quick bite to eat before they
start running they will think again once they bite into a plant
covered in hot pepper wax. A deer would have to be on the verge of
starvation to eat a plant covered in hot pepper wax, when the scent of
his or her enemy is nearby and the food smells like soap or garlic. It
just doesn’t get worse than this for a deer.

For more details, see the individual deer deterrents on the navigation
bar to the right. You can also explore Deer Barriers, Poisonous Plants
or Landscaping (two other ways to stop deer eating your garden).


There is also:

http://www.notheredeer.com/home.html

That uses an ultrasonic system to that is supposed to repel deers.


There is also:

http://www.bennergardens.com/fencedetails.php3

Benner's Deer Fencing is a light-weight, high strength material
constructed of UV stable polypropylene (black). The fencing is 8 feet
high, cost-effective, easy to install, and provides 100% deer
protection without detracting from the appearance of the property.


http://www.deer-busters.com/

has all sort of things including the Baited Electric one...


http://www.havahart.com/nuisance/deer/deeroff.htm

About Deer-Off®
Deer-Off® is biodegradable, environmentally-friendly and not harmful
to humans or animals. Keeps deer and other garden guests from browsing
on plants, flowers, hedges, buds, shrubs, grass, bulbs and small trees
'year round'.