Horse Manure Chases Deer

Horse Manure Chases Deer MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Pest Animals 23-6-29 Deer populations are on the rise all over the country. Here's an idea for keeping them away that we recently spotted in Mother Earth News, sent in by Joyce Tomanek, Clarkesville, Ga. "I've found a simple, chemical-free inexpensive way to keep deer from devouring my gardens and shrubbery," says Tomanek . "Throughout the years I've observed the feeding habits of cows and horses in our pastures and have learned a few things. Horses will eat where there is cow dung but they won't graze in an area contaminated by other horses. "Sometimes deer join the horses in the pasture and I noticed that they seemed to have similar grazing habits. So when a new crop of asparagus came up in my garden, and the deer devoured it, I decided to try keeping them away with horse manure. I sprinkled it on one part of the asparagus bed and left the other part of the bed alone. The next morning there was plenty of asparagus still sprouting from the manure-covered area, but every shoot was eaten where there was no manure. "After that, I covered the entire asparagus bed with manure and had no further problems. Now I use it on everything, including corn, peas, blueberry bushes, etc. "Riding stables will usually provide manure for free. Be careful that it's not too fresh or it will burn the plants."

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