One topic that frequently arose two weeks ago at Extension Master Gardeners College was the statewide deer problem. Master Gardeners from Alexandria, Virginia Beach, Blacksburg, Winchester, and Gloucester all complained about losing azalea and daylily buds, hosta flowers, and other greenery to roaming bands of deer that have set up feeding stations in communities all over the Commonwealth. The problem seems to grow worse every year, and no one seems to have a solution.
Deer are elegant, graceful, beautiful mammals. The bucks are majestic and the does lovingly care for their sweet fawns. I just wish they didn’t like to sample my plants, and I hope that someone will discover a magic potion to make them enjoy grazing on Japanese stiltgrass and English ivy rather than my expensive perennials.
We have tried every spray and pellet repellent on the internet; hung bags of fragrant soap in the beds; put out little devices that flash a red light and emit a sound we can’t hear but the deer can. E...