Deer vs Bird Feeders: Deer 1 / Bird Feeders 0

[Pat Riot]

I love to feed my birds. I have so many wonderful species of birds that come to my feeders. A month or so ago I commented about “something” eating my bird seed and learned that Groundhogs do climb. So I assumed it was the whistle pigs but then after moving the feeders and placing makeshift squirrel barriers in the poles birdseed kept vanishing. Not every night but every couple of nights. Then one day I noticed a deer hoof print next to my one of my feeder poles. 
“Aha!” I say…this makes sense!

So, I went on a mission to deter the deer from eating my birdseed. I do not want to harm the deer, just repel them or scare them off. Up to this point I haven’t found anything reliable enough to spend money on, but I found a blog where a guy mentioned hanging pieces of bars of soap so the odor repels the deer. So I decided to try it out. 
It seems the deer do not like this. So much so they beat the hell out of one of my bird feeder poles lasts night around 23:00 hours. 
 

Deer repellent installed. Zest soap in nylon mesh bags.

 

Oh, The Carnage! Last night just before I shut off the TV to head to bed I heard the weirdest noise outside my living room window. It sounded like short pine boards being dropped down some stars. It turns out it was a couple of deer, I am assuming, using their hooves to try and box the hanging soap off the feeders. 

 

When I went outside last night with my light I saw the bird feeders had been vandalized. As I scanned the area with my flashlight I saw the culprits standing in my neighbor’s lawn about 150 feet away staring back at me. 
 

Good, the little meat sacks don’t like the soap. I am putting everything back the way it was. 

[Sedalia Dave]

They make motion activated sprinklers that might keep the deer at bay. Deer and Racoons will set them off. I don't think that birds will.

 

 

[Rip Snorter]

2 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

They make motion activated sprinklers that might keep the deer at bay. Deer and Racoons will set them off. I don't think that birds will.

 

 

They work well, but sound too much like a rattlesnake for me to really like them.

[Utah Bob #35998]

I’ve never had any deer interested in the bird feeders and they’re right by the pond where there are plenty of deer. 
Bears are another matter.

[Eyesa Horg]

17 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I’ve never had any deer interested in the bird feeders and they’re right by the pond where there are plenty of deer. 
Bears are another matter.

Same here, I watched a year old cub at 2:00 PM stand on it's hind legs eating out of our feeder like it was good bowl!!

[Pat Riot]

47 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

They make motion activated sprinklers that might keep the deer at bay. Deer and Racoons will set them off. I don't think that birds will.

 

 

Trouble is it below freezing every night now so the hose would probably freeze AND as annoying as the deer are I wouldn’t want to get one hosed down with water then have it freeze to death. 
 

I looked at some electronic options on Amazon but many of them do not work only at night and the ones that do either get really bad reviews or flash lights all night long regardless if there is a pest there or not. 
 

 

[Eyesa Horg]

A freezer will keep them away.

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

The deer eat from our bird feeder pretty much year round.  They also drink from the bird bath, even though there's a quarter acre pond next door.

[Finagler 6853 Life]

Dogs.  The deer eat out of our feeders as well.  Beat the dickens out of them.  We see them on their hind legs reaching to get the feed.  The dog will chase them but she is getting too old and doesn't like to be out in the cold long.  Right now there is a lot of down corn from picking that they don't come too near the house.  They will eat the buds off the fruit trees, dig up tulip bulbs, reach up to eat crab apples, etc.  We had one that bedded down on the deck next to the furnace exhaust to stay warm one winter.  I think she was injured and didn't get around well.  Others bed down against the house.  It is deer season right now and I'd go out and shoot one but I really don't want to deal with the clean up and butchering.  I like selecting my meat from the met market.

[Pat Riot]

Well, I set the bird feeders back up with seed and the soap. We’ll see what happens tonight. 
Side note: Now the birds aren’t hitting the feeders like usual. The titmouses and chickadees are eating from the feeders but the sparrows, cardinals and other birds aren’t landing on them. 
Maybe they need to get used to the new thingamabobs hanging from the feeders. 
If they act this way tomorrow then I will ditch the soap idea. 

[Michigan Slim]

9 hours ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I’ve never had any deer interested in the bird feeders and they’re right by the pond where there are plenty of deer. 
Bears are another matter.

Me too with the bears. I've got the racoon population way down now. That helps.

 

[Eyesa Horg]

14 minutes ago, Michigan Slim said:

Me too with the bears. I've got the racoon population way down now. That helps.

 

We bring ours in before hibernation due to the bears. The cubs are cute though.

[Texas Joker]

Go to the barber shop or dog groomer and ask for hair. People smell or predator smell will give em pause

Or cayenne peper

[Pat Riot]

1 hour ago, Texas Joker said:

Go to the barber shop or dog groomer and ask for hair. People smell or predator smell will give em pause

Or cayenne peper

I read that knit or mesh bags of human hair will repel deer. It repels me too. 
 

I have used cayenne to repel cats and dogs, but not deer. 

[Warden Callaway]

Marlin 1895 45-70 makes a good deer repellent. 

 

 

[Pat Riot]

7 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

Marlin 1895 45-70 makes a good deer repellent. 

 

 

Yeah, in town I don’t think it would go over so well. 
 

 

 

 

Well, that soap idea is a bunch of hogwash. All 4 of my feeders were half full with soap sentinels at the ready. This morning the bird feeders were unmolested…empty, but unmolested…

If you look close at the photo you’ll notice 2 things of interest. The deer leave the suet blocks alone. Also, we have have been noticing broken fence post, mostly the tops knocked off of the pickets. It’s from the deer whacking them with their hooves when jumping over the fence. All the nylon fencing around this property has deer damage. 
Dirty Vegan Bastages! 

[Oak Ridge Regulator]

I use dryer sheets to keep the deer from eating the buds off the new apple trees, usually they will work for a month or two depending on how often it rains, I just tear one into 4 strips and tie it around the limbs every 90 degrees and the deer won’t touch the tree

[Warden Callaway]

1 hour ago, Pat Riot, SASS #13748 said:

Yeah, in town I don’t think it would go over so well.

 

Urban areas are sanctuary cities for deer. Missouri allows archery, air rifles, cross bows and even spears. 

[Pat Riot]

1 hour ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

Urban areas are sanctuary cities for deer. Missouri allows archery, air rifles, cross bows and even spears. 

They actually have a city bow season here in Morgantown. I just heard about it recently. It’s a Draw type permit system. 
 

1 hour ago, Oak Ridge Regulator said:

I use dryer sheets to keep the deer from eating the buds off the new apple trees, usually they will work for a month or two depending on how often it rains, I just tear one into 4 strips and tie it around the limbs every 90 degrees and the deer won’t touch the tree

I will give this a try. Thank you. 

[The Blarney Kid]

Cayenne pepper works. My MIL's bird feeder was always being raided by deer until we put cayenne pepper in the feed. Deer won't touch it but it doesn't bother the birds.