Natalie said: My Dad has the same problem. Dogs don't work at his place. ... He buys a spray at Home Depot, and it works wonders, but I don't know what it's called.
@Natalie
Home Depot sells Bobbex, which a U of Connecticut study showed was the most effective repellent tested. It was second only to a fence.
Here, Home Depot does not carry it in stock. It can be special ordered and delivered free to the store (or your home if the order is for enough $$). It can be purchased ready to use in a trigger spray bottle or as concentrate to mix yourself. It isn't foamy. It is smelly. It repels by scent and also by taste. Stay upwind, wear long sleeves, long pants, gloves, socks. Toss them in the washer when you are finished.
We use it and they don't touch anything treated with it. We watch for the first evidence of "tasting" the early season daylilies. They usually like to try the green buds when they get about nose high. We lightly spray the ones they've bitten and any others with buds at that stage. It's not necessary to drench things.
As the season goes on, if we see more "tasting" we repeat that.
So far this episodic spraying has been enough. We also occasionally have to treat other kinds they've sampled, such as hostas and hydrangeas (especially oak-leaf in winter).
We are in the country with some natural around which do provide them with other things to browse.
There is a small group which resides on our property. They walk along one of the mowed paths. Sometimes they try to take shortcuts through the beds. I put hoses, pots, and chicken wire in the way to re-train them. They won't walk on chicken wire.
I wonder how the deer war is going there?
Pat
