Intentional double posting means... something, rigga. Anyway. It's time for the end-of-summer report on the Bobbex
deer repellent. Short version: It works.
You will want a [
files.catbox.moe]
canning funnel, an 8 oz measuring cup, and a 48 oz pump sprayer. The one Bobbex sells preloaded appears to be made by Delta Plant Care, and it works well. If you open the twist nozzle up a bit, you can spray very quickly.
The directions say to use up the entire batch you mixed at once. In my experience, you do not need to do this. Just keep the bottle in the woodshed so you always have it ready to go.
I first did a heavy spray every two weeks. Then we got a torrential rain right at the end of the two weeks, it washed the remaining protection off, and the deer attacked the roses. I tried half as much every week, so one would be at most halfway through the cycle of protection. That still resulted in new growth at the tips being eaten when the roses were growing quickly. Then I tried doing a quick touch-up spray focusing on the new growth every second or third day or so, about as often as you deadhead (just do it at the same time), plus a moderate spray after every significant rain, and there has been no deer damage since.
The directions say to apply long enough before rain that it has time to dry. It's supposed to have a sticking agent to protect it from redissolving. In practice, to protect during several consecutive days of hard rain, I went out and resprayed every day in the rain, and it still kept the pests off. If I didn't, they attacked.
So, it will work, if you are there to maintain it. If not, try a barrier of granular repellent that gets more activated by rain (it's 50% blood meal by weight, so it rots), or try an 8 foot fence.
And remember, it's always deer season if you follow the three esses.
What was the last thing you thought?, general edition
Sep 26 2021, 02:43
