Deers are majestic and beautiful woodland animals that are a sight to behold. Even though coming across these graceful creatures is an experience, their regular visits to your home can become annoying.
This is especially true if you have bird feeders hanging about, and the deers come in and eat it all!
So, how do you keep deer away from bird feeders?
Deer are massive with an even bigger appetite, but thankfully, here are 5 ways you can keep them away from bird feeders:
- Remove the feeders after sundown
- Hang the feeders high
- Spice up the birdfeed
- Install motion sensor lights or alarms
- Keep the feeding area clean
For bird lovers, these simple DIY tips can prevent the pesky deer from devouring the food meant for your little birdies.
The best part about the ways mentioned above is that they do not harm or injure the deer in any way.
So let’s get into the details of how deer invading your property can be a problem and how you can fend them off.
Issues When Deer Visit Your Property
It may seem difficult to think of deer as nuisances, but when they enter your garden or backyard, you won’t find them so charming anymore.
The issues with deer visits are as follows:
They Eat and Destroy Gardens
With a hearty appetite and the willingness to eat almost anything that smells and tastes good, deer can graze entire gardens.
They’ll stomp all over your landscape, dismantling the flower beds, plants, and shrubs and pooping all over the place.
Carriers of Parasites and Lice
Deers can spread diseases as they’re known to carry a variety of ticks, lice, fleas, and other parasites.
With regular or prolonged visits, these parasites can establish themselves in or around your yard.
This can lead to a potential health hazard for humans and pets.
Ensure you clean your yard by hosing the area before letting your kids and pets play there.
They Can Damage Bird Feeders
Eating out the bird seeds is one problem, but when deer damage the bird feeder, now that is a new expense.
Deer have tough teeth, so they can bite and chew through the bird feeders to get to the food inside.
This can cost you extra if you keep buying new bird feeders while filling them with seeds daily.
5 Ways To Keep Deer Away From Bird Feeders
Here are 5 sure-way methods to prevent deer from reaching your bird feeders:
1. Put Away the Bird Feeders
This is the simplest (but tedious) way to safeguard your bird feeders.
Deer usually come at night into human settlements, so the best way would be to take the bird feeder inside after sundown or before going to bed.
Once the deer notice nothing of interest to eat, they’ll stop paying you regular visits.
2. Make the Feeders Unreachable
The bird feeders are for birds, so the higher it is shouldn’t be a problem.
Deer are tall animals but will have trouble getting to a tall bird feeder. Putting it up around 8 to 9 feet above the ground will ensure it’s unreachable.
Deer are awesome athletes, as they can jump as high as 8 feet and run up to 30mph!
If somehow the pesky mammal reaches it by standing on their hind legs, put the bird feeder a couple of feet higher to make it totally out of reach.
3. Spice Things Up
Deer can eat almost any type of food, but there are some seeds they won’t be too happy to find in the bird feeder.
Bird foods like Nyjer, suet, and Safflower are among the bitter-tasting items deer are not fond of.
You can also use seeds that have hot pepper flavorings to spice things up. Being mammals, deer won’t appreciate the heat!
You can even sprinkle some cayenne pepper on your regular seeds before putting them in the feeder. The pungent smell will deter the deer as well as the squirrels!
Birds can eat spiced seeds without feeling the spiciness as they resist the hot capsaicin molecules.
4. Install Motion Sensor Alarms
If you live in an area where deer have become uninvited guests way too often, you need to get motion sensor alarms to fend them off.
Deer are shy animals, so they will run away when exposed to direct light or loud sounds.
You can install floodlights and powerful sprinklers to scare them away humanely.
5. Keep Your Property Clean
The deer won’t bother entering your space if there’s no food.
Even if you have placed the bird feeders up high, there might be some spilled seeds deer can graze on.
The best way would be to NOT fill the bird feeder to the brim.
Only fill the feeder so it lasts for a day or two, and clean up any spillage before or after sundown.
Conclusion
Like your beloved birdies, deer also seek food and sustenance to fill their tummies.
Being wild animals, the deer’s instinct to survive may bring them to your bird feeder.
However, now you know how to keep deer away (humanely!) from bird feeders by doing the following:
- Remove the feeders after sundown
- Hang the feeders high
- Spice up the seeds
- Install motion sensor lights or alarms
- Keep the feeding area clean
Remember not to take any steps that would harm or kill the deer.
If nothing works, you should call your local wildlife officials for help!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hot Pepper Birdseed Work?
Yes, hot peppers contain high levels of spice that deer find unappetizing. The same goes for squirrels as well!
What Is the Best Spot To Place Bird Feeders?
Placing bird feeders on trees or hanging them atop super-tall decorative poll posts is best for birds.
Can Bird Feeders Be Messy?
Yes! Birds can make a mess by spilling the seeds to the ground attracting deer, and pooping all over the place.
