Oh Deer!

I woke up this morning to look outside and find out that the word had spread to the deer community that there was an all-you-can-eat salad bar in our front yard.  (Sorry about the quality of the picture.  I took it from inside so I wouldn't scare them away.  Then I opened the door so they would leave, and they just stood there looking at me.  How rude!)  A few days ago, I had noticed that our daylilies were several inches high and then yesterday, were chopped off, all the way to the ground.

I suspected the deer were eating them, and then this morning, I caught them in the act.  They are driving me crazy.

Up until last year, we never had a problem with the deer eating all the flowers.  So what changed?  Last year was the first year that we didn't have a dog.  We had to put Molly down on June 25, 2009 (yes, the same day Michael Jackson died).

I miss you, Molly.

So now we are engaged in a war with the deer.  Last summer, they ate every daylily just as it was about the bloom.  They came right up to the house and ate my begonias and geraniums.  They even jumped the fence in the back yard.  Last summer, I told my husband he had to take over where Molly left off and start marking his territory.  I was half kidding, but he took it to heart.  So one night, as he was taking the garbage out, he decided to see if my strategy would work.  After checking to make sure the neighbors weren't around.......well, you can imagine what he did.  Several days later, all the plants turned yellow.  So much for that idea!

We then tried the deer repellant sprays, Milorganite (Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen-the fertilizer made from Mikwaukee's sewage), and so far, nothing works.  One of my patients suggested moth balls, so we picked some up after church today.  

I've sprinkled them around the plants in the front yard.

I guess we'll know in a few days.  Does anyone else know of anything that works, aside from a ten foot fence?