Fabric Softener Deer Repellent

There is no scientific evidence that dryer sheets themselves deter deer. However, what dryer sheets are made of (perfumes & fatty acid) has been known to repel deer. You can use dryer sheets to deter deer by tucking them into bushes, placing them under rocks, and hanging dryer sheets from trees.

There are lots of effective and natural ways of keeping deer away from your garden fabric softener is not one of them. According to House Digest, "not only do deer not like the scent of dryer sheets very much, but other more beneficial critters dislike it as well. Deer are beautiful creatures, but they love practically anything edible you can grow in your garden, plus grass and flowers, too.

But there is one laundry staple that may help keep these gentle giants at bay: a bar of soap. spraying liquid (downy) fabric softener in a sprayer? Straightest path to killing your plants all the while not affecting the deer at all. We use baling twine, not plastic but the hemp kind to keep deer out of our flowers and away from new trees.

All you have to do is put up one strand and they will not cross it. I didn't believe it would work but the deer do not like the smell and stay out of the flowers. It last about a month.

While some gardeners swear by hanging fabric softener strips or wrapped bars of soap from trees, others prefer using hot pepper sprays, garlic and rotten egg mixtures, ammonia-soaked rags, and bags of hair and/or blood meal.