Deployed two Contech Scarecrow sprayers in the garden to irrigate and irritate the deer as they approach the garden. They're aimed at the two spots in the fence where I've seen bambi jump over. I hope they work.

Not sure I'll know whether they are working since I also deployed a bag of hair I got at the barber's shop. Would have been more scientifically meaningful to change one variable at a time, but I think I have a slightly better chance of success with my roses with both changes in place.

I remember somewhere here that someone uses hair from their poodles (I think.. I just remember black fuzzy dogs) as deer deterent. Maybe you could go to a doggy groom shop & pick up a bag full of that?

hehe, coyote urine, dead goldfish, now dog hair. The things we do for our roses.

Yeah. The things we do...

Craigslist, maybe?

"Wanted, 50 lbs of poodle hair. Certified nit-free. Reeking of dog."

Since poodles don't shed, you'd probably only get some from the groomer but it won't reek of dog either. Mine never smells. Got to find a dog with fur, not hair.

If someone has a husky or a chow, St. Bernard, Bernese Mountain Dog, Newfoundland, Great Pyrenees.. any of those could produce a mountain of fur quickly. Even a golden retriever sheds like no tomorrow. Plus it'd be a factor for squirrels and birds who'd use the fur for nests and homes. Every time I use the Furminator on my golden, I always scatter the fur in the back yard because I love watching the goldfinches & house finches flying around with giant tufts of fur in their beaks for their nests in the summer. I just can't see that much fur coming off of a little dog, even though they probably would get groomed more often. And yes, my golden stinks, which is why he has to get bathed at least once a month, but it's rough in the summer because he loves to roll around in the dirt. Winter time isn't as bad, he just rolls in the snow, so he smells like wet dog instead. Spring is the WORST.. he rolls in the mud!

OK. Bambi blaster has been installed for six days and there's no trace of bambi. DW won't go into the garden for fear of getting wet. And when the wind sets them off it still gives me a good start, even when I'm on the dry side of the gadget.

Meanwhile, I trapped three voles.

So for almost a whole week straight my roses have gone unmolested by nibbling critters.

Yay!! But, will this still work when it freezes? I'd be afraid of it blowing up.. or at least it cracking a pipe because it's still connected to a hose in cold weather. I accidentally busted an interior pipe that way a few years ago by having a hose hooked up.

They make coil things that are hose heaters. Would that work?

I dunno. I suppose I'll turn off the water when we get some hard freezes in mid December or so.

May have to let the rose leaves fend for themselves after frost. I'm guessing the cool season grass will be out and the pressure on roses will be a little lower.

It seems a pair of bobcats has moved into a small cave beneath our driveway. They walked across the patio this morning on their way home from breakfast. I saw them once or twice before in the last week. So maybe they are responsible for low deer count over the last several days.

All very confusing.

You have a cave beneath your driveway?
Keep a camera handy, they are so beautiful!

If not the deer, perhaps the gophers.

Try 2

Here's a photo of Bob returning from breakfast yesterday morning, getting ready to climb down the patio stairs. Gladys returned moments earlier and jumped the railing.

Wow, big kitty! You weren't kidding when you said they were walking across your patio! They are usually so shy, surprising how comfortable they seem to be walking through your yard. We have seen a couple on hikes (as well as 2 mountain lions, that was nerve wracking!)
Oh please keep up the pictures of Bob and Gladys!

How gorgeous! My cats and I are so glad we don't have any of those.

Winston the pug gives poodles a wide berth while we are walking. Yup, he ignores rodents and is afraid of poodles. Definitely lap dog material. He gets defensive around other dogs, probably because of his traumatic earlier life. I am glad that I don't have bobcats, mountain lions or gophers. Yikes.

Glad that the Bambi Blaster works.

They had to be turned off during freezing weather. Went out six weeks ago and a herd of five deer were in the area. Only one had jumped the fence,(Bambi Blaster was off at the time) but it was nibbling on Hermosa. I went out and waved the shovel menacingly. They've been in the area a few times since then, but haven't jumped the fence.

And now for the seasonal update.

Several sizable perforations in the hoses forced me to shut down Bambi Blaster in May. There were hints that Bambi was visiting the garden, occasionally taking some new growth and some nice rose buds. But Bambi and all her friends (which I estimate number three to six judging from the small herds I've observed nearby over the last weeks) last night removed every single rose bud and every single new leaf on all my roses (which I would guess to exceed 60 in number.)

I guess it's time to get those hoses repaired.

No, I think it's closer to time for some Bambi burgers. Fire up that grill!

My mom, who lives in southern NM in the Lincoln National Forest, has only 4 roses and 2 of them are inside "the dog fence" (a fenced in area where her chow goes out to tinkle & do his business.. he's an inside dog). The other two roses not in the dog fence have their own fenced in area and both are growing, but only what's inside the fencing. A stray leaf or cane sticks it's nose out becomes instant deer breakfast. And super bad thing is that the deer have actually nibbled on the two roses inside the dog fence in the middle of the night, which sets the dog to barking, which wakes up my mom, which makes her grumpy. I keep telling her to pour cayenne pepper on the roses, but to no avail...

I keep imagining Bambi burgers. Yum. I'd have to strangle the beast. And it would take a long time for the household to consume a whole deer; DW is a vegetarian.

All my roses are inside a "dog fence." Came out yesterday morning, about 6:00AM, and Bambi was busy deadheading my carnations. Chased her with a stick and she deftly leaped the fence, though not by many inches.

I like the cayenne idea, although I will have to buy it by the pound.

Sadly, I'm grumpy even without being woken up at night by barking dogs. Need to find a good excuse...

Steve - see if you can find an Asian supermarket near by. They should have powdered red chile that would be hot enough to peel the paint off your car in large quantities (like 5lbs or so).