Rotisserie motors are readily available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Expect to pay anywhere from 20 to 30 dollars for a small unit and upwards of 150 dollars for the big ones, which might power a super large moving deterrent for extreme deer predation.


I've had this small one operating 24 hours a day for 2 weeks now.

Found it at a local Walmart. A recent visit reveals it might be a seasonal item.


The next thing you need is a large hex key. They usually come in a set, which helps make it easy to choose the size that fits your rotisserie motor shaft holder. I'll save those details for the next post.

Everybody knows that the best and most effective backyard deer deterrent is a well placed bullet.

I know there's still a thing or two I could learn on how to convert a backyard deer into dinner, which has promted me to put WM. Hovey Smith's new book on the list of books I want to read.

You might have noticed from my last post our local library only had a juvenile book on the subject, and although it covered some interesting subjects in regards to deer behavior, it said nothing about how to shoot and dress out a deer. This strikes me as odd because deer hunting almost seems like a religion around here. Perhaps when I hunt down a copy of Backyard Deer Hunting I'll donate it to the library after Anna and I devour it.

I learned from reading Jim Arnosky's excellent juvenile book "All About Deer" a key element that must be fully understood by the back yard deer deterrent maker.

"A deer can swivel each of its ears around on its head to listen in two different directions at once."

This fact indicates that even the smallest garden could benefit by deploying at least two deterrents at each end of the protected area.

In my opinion the sound puts a deer in caution mode, but it's the movement that usually provokes bolting.

One mistake to avoid in putting a do it yourself deer deterrent together is over protecting the transformer.

Those things generate a small amount of heat, which isn't an issue in the winter, but summer temperatures could cause a condensation problem.

The remedy is proper ventilation. Configure the plastic protective cover so that it allows air to flow in and out of the bottom while still keeping any rainfall out.

I've avoided any permanent enclosure because this project has demanded on the fly adjustments and repairs.

Any system that helps to deter deer could use a back up.

One such method I've been thinking of lately is a field of marigold flowers also known as Calendula Officinalis.

California poppies, bleeding hearts, calla lilies, and corn poppies all have been reported to help keep deer out of your garden.

It should be noted that just because a deer doesn't like something doesn't mean he or she will never partake of its forbidden flavor. Deer do seem to shy away from marigold flower smells, but if times are desperate they just might nibble on whatever they can get. It's these times that require some mechanical help in the form of a noise and motion contraption.

While our garden is 80% better protected than last year, I have to admit that our foes got in a couple of times this month and nibbled on some beans, sweet potatoes, and strawberries.  Looking back over my notes, I noticed that the deer chomped on our garden at the exact same time last year.  I think the deer life cycle must involve shifting feeding strategies in mid summer as the wild foods lose their spring luster (especially when drought slows down growth in the woods.)  Now is the time to be hyper vigilant and stop deer damage before it starts.

On the other hand, I think at least half of this year's deer damage could have been prevented.  After seeing no deer activity at all for months, we got a bit lax and let some of our deer deterrents stop working for a few weeks.  Bad idea!  Mark's currently inventing a more dependable deterrent that won't get hung up or burn out its motor at inopportune moments to prevent this problem in the future.  Meanwhile, we're keeping an eye out for signs of deer so that we'll know when to upgrade our defenses.  It also seems to have helped to mow down a huge weedy patch at the edge of the garden where the deer could find cover.

The video above describes what the advertising display industry calls a solar rocker motor.

It uses a tiny solar cell that self starts the motion and keeps swinging till the light is taken away.

I'm thinking this could easily be adapted to a small AAA battery for night operations. The company that sells them is currently out of stock and has no plans to build any more in the future, but you might find one in a small store moving some sort of advertisement back and forth. Offer the person behind the counter 20 bucks and see if you can't negotiate a deal to take it home for some back yard deer deterrent experiments of your own.

It's unclear if this is strong enough to create a banging sound, but the movement is worthy of more research.

It's easy to become complacent in the fight to keep deer out of the garden area.

I highly recommend you never drop your guard no matter how well the mechanical deer deterrents work.

Last week I noticed how our most important deterrent had stopped swinging due to a rather larger weed blocking its path. It gave me unhappy flash backs of when I had a technical problem with one last year and before I knew what hit me a pair of deer were nibbling on part of the garden in broad day light!


In my opinion the key is constant vigilance. Make a point to check on each one and note any changes in operation. Trim down the surrounding weeds to prevent any obstructing blockage.
 


It's a good idea to have a back up deterrent on hand for any problems you might encounter. This way you can minimize your possible down time which can be  a dangerous window of opportunity for the enemy. Once they break through and take their snack prize it's much harder to keep them out.

I started using these shower curtain connectors because I found a jar of them in the barn.

You could use any type of string, rope, or chain, but each material will give you a different swing.

The best way to find out is just to experiment with what you've got. I like the shower curtain connectors because it makes it easy to adjust the length and the part that rubs on the clanger gives you an additional metal on metal noise that helps vary the noise signature.

I've been on a quest to find a low budget timer that will give the deer deterrents a short break from time to time to extend the life of the motor and keep the deer guessing that much more. I'm thinking somewhere around 1 minute on and then 1 minute off would be close enough to the ideal interval.

The above timer will run you about 20 bucks when you factor in postage fees. It's what the industry calls a "delay" timer. I thought the off period was adjustable and it had a built in 4 minute on interval.

Once I wired this unit up it was obvious I had made a mistake. The delay happens right after you turn it on. Once the time has elapsed the unit comes on and stays on.

I'm open to any and all suggestions. There is a heavy duty solution, but expect to pay anywhere from 70 to 90 bucks for the CAP recycle timer which allows for both on and off times to be adjusted.