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We love roses, and so do the deer in our neighborhood. They also have had quite a feast in past years pulling up my carrots and munching on the leaves of the green beans. We used to spray repellent, but as you said, it must be reapplied frequently. Last year, we tried something new: it's called a Scarecrow - a motion-detecting sprinkler. It is hooked up to a garden hose and can be set to varying levels of sensitivity but will spray a random shot of water for several seconds whenever something moves within range. It sprays in a sweeping motion so it's not just spraying in one place. It worked great - it even scared us a few times when we went out into the yard and forgot it was there. For the first time, our roses looked beautiful all summer long and it was no work to keep the deer away. The initial purchase was a bit spendy (about $75 I think) but compared to the cost of buying sprays over time, I think it will turn out to be a bargain in the long run.
We would turn it off whenever we were out in the yard, but always made sure to turn it back on again, especially at night. There were several times we heard it going off at night through the open window but we just smiled and went back to sleep, knowing our roses would still be safe in the morning. :-)
Hi geekgirl (love that screen name!). I did mention sprayers in the article and they will work for protecting individual areas are not practical for protecting entire gardens. But I am glad to hear that it's working for you! One other possible problem is water restrictions, which many areas of the country have. Thank you and continued good luck!
