While our garden is 80% better protected than last year, I have to admit that our foes got in a couple of times this month and nibbled on some beans, sweet potatoes, and strawberries.  Looking back over my notes, I noticed that the deer chomped on our garden at the exact same time last year.  I think the deer life cycle must involve shifting feeding strategies in mid summer as the wild foods lose their spring luster (especially when drought slows down growth in the woods.)  Now is the time to be hyper vigilant and stop deer damage before it starts.

On the other hand, I think at least half of this year's deer damage could have been prevented.  After seeing no deer activity at all for months, we got a bit lax and let some of our deer deterrents stop working for a few weeks.  Bad idea!  Mark's currently inventing a more dependable deterrent that won't get hung up or burn out its motor at inopportune moments to prevent this problem in the future.  Meanwhile, we're keeping an eye out for signs of deer so that we'll know when to upgrade our defenses.  It also seems to have helped to mow down a huge weedy patch at the edge of the garden where the deer could find cover.

Any system that helps to deter deer could use a back up.

One such method I've been thinking of lately is a field of marigold flowers also known as Calendula Officinalis.

California poppies, bleeding hearts, calla lilies, and corn poppies all have been reported to help keep deer out of your garden.

It should be noted that just because a deer doesn't like something doesn't mean he or she will never partake of its forbidden flavor. Deer do seem to shy away from marigold flower smells, but if times are desperate they just might nibble on whatever they can get. It's these times that require some mechanical help in the form of a noise and motion contraption.

One mistake to avoid in putting a do it yourself deer deterrent together is over protecting the transformer.

Those things generate a small amount of heat, which isn't an issue in the winter, but summer temperatures could cause a condensation problem.

The remedy is proper ventilation. Configure the plastic protective cover so that it allows air to flow in and out of the bottom while still keeping any rainfall out.

I've avoided any permanent enclosure because this project has demanded on the fly adjustments and repairs.

I started this deer deterrent project with a medium sized box of advertising display motors. Not the optimal set up, but I was determined to find a use for these motors because I've carried them from a few locations for the past several years.

It solved the problem right away, but some of the motors would only last a few weeks. The longest I had one of them going was around 4 months before it burned out or one of the plastic gears within the drive section broke or wore down.

Now the box is empty, which has motivated me to come up with a new design that uses a pendulum movement. More on that in the near future.

In the meantime I rigged up this mini compressor to funtion as a desperate stop gap measure. Someone gave it to me a few months ago thinking I could use it for something like this. It made a moderate noise that was a weak substituition due to the lack of movement. Long story short it only lasted about a week before the motor burned up. I thought I could make it last longer by bumping down the voltage from 12 volts DC to 4.5 volts DC. I guess it was worth it due to the device being junk at the time, but I wouldn't do it again.