We’re doing some landscaping and it was recommended by the nursery to use Plantskydd as an organic way to keep the deer and rabbits away from our new plants. Plantskydd uses pigs blood as the base ingredient, which naturally repells the deer and rabits. It comes in both granular to spread on the ground (relying on the smell to keep them away) and a spray to apply to the plants (because the deer and rabits don’t like the taste). The nurery also pointed out that since it is blood based it’s a natural fertilizer.
Obviosuly there are reasons some people would choose to not use this, but I’m curious if anyone has used this, or has thoughts on how a blood based repelant might interact with our containerized environments. I’m going to try it on the area around my plants, as there’s no risk to my bonsai, but want to understand more before using either the granulars or the spray on the bonsai.
I did sorry long day work after the stream last night. I have used Plantskydd, I work in the landscape industry. I haven’t used in several years. It was successful for a short bit before everything you are trying to keep away got use to it. It has a strong odor to it as well. Since then we have found a rotation of products works best. We use an organic fertilizer called Milorganite and Predescent. The Milorganite has a human scent and the Predescent has a coyote smell. They have well for us in the landscape with the exception of the really heavy we had last fall and winter. Around me you can find Milorganite in home depot stores.
lol. I’ve done the same thing, no worries.
That’s a really good point about rotating products. From your experience how long does it take them to get used to it? Do you rotate monthly? My father-in-law says he “marks his territory” to keep deer away, but he also lives in the mountains and doesn’t have neighbors, and I can never take anything he says seriously. Besides, I don’t want to have to explain to my neighbors.
I empty a urinal in the opening of my bonsai enclosure and have a bucket of “dog bombs” from my 100 pound dog. The squirrels and rabbits work all around the area but stay out of the dead end enclosure. The 3 feet of snow showed lots of deer traffic but none entered this three sided enclosure. I also use physical barriers with bags of soil and garden carts blocking the access to the trees during the winter. So…… as long as you are not urinating or marking your territory in public any and all of these have worked for me. My wife uses Liquid Fence on her expensive perrenials.
We rotate products every 3-4 weeks depending the amount of rain we get between applications. We shorten the timing between apps when we are getting heavy rain.
