This Two-Ingredient Homemade Spray Will Keep Deer Far Away From Your Garden

If you notice that deer are nibbling — or devouring — your garden, it's understandable to want to keep them away. Although some gardeners defer to chemical deterrents, these are harmful to the other local wildlife, the planet, and your garden. You also run the risk of exposing your family to these chemicals, especially if you have children or pets who play outdoors. Luckily, you can keep deer far from your garden using a two-ingredient homemade spray that contains items you probably have in your home. Even better, there are variations to choose from based on what you have available. One of the most effective options is to make a mint and garlic deer repellent spray. 

All you need is a spray bottle, some water, and the ingredients listed above to keep your garden thriving despite your local deer population. You may even find that other small critters avoid your garden as well once you use this helpful hack. For extra insurance in your garden, you can consider planting deer-resistant shrubs, but we're confident that these deer sprays will do the trick. 

For this two-ingredient homemade spray, start with a blender or food processor. Add garlic and mint. Blend until smooth and pour your mixture into a pot, add water, and boil it. Let it cool and then sit overnight. The next day, strain your mixture, pouring all the liquid into a spray bottle. Most deer-repellent solutions will suggest that you add cayenne pepper, but it's advisable to skip this step. You run the risk of getting cayenne pepper in an animal's eyes. This may lead to temporary blindness or corneal lesions, so it's best to rely on cruelty-free measures of deterring deer.

Spray your mixture around your garden to keep deer away. Deer find mint and garlic to be two offputting scents, which may save your garden from unwanted visitors. If you find that this mixture isn't effective enough, you can try another two-ingredient deer repellent that only requires a mixture of fennel and lavender essential oils, which are also scents that deer will avoid.

Deer find garlic to be an unappealing scent. When you spray your mint and garlic mixture around your yard, the scent won't be so unappetizing that you'd rather sit indoors, but will be strong enough to deter deer. The same goes for mint, although deer aren't necessarily repelled by the scent. Instead, mint makes it difficult for them to smell anything else, leaving your blooming vegetable garden off-limits. Even better, you can grow mint in your yard, using the leaves for various dishes while adding a layer of natural deer-repellent. 

If you still notice that deer are nibbling in your garden, you can try keeping them away with Irish Spring soap. Use a cheese grater to shave off a bit of soap, place it in cheesecloth, and hang it around your garden. Some gardeners will even take a chunk of Irish Spring soap, attach it to a stake, and place it around their garden that way. Experiment with different methods using scented deer repellents and see which works best in your garden to keep deer away.