Keep Deer Out of Your Garden with Nite Guard?

Deer can destroy a yardscape and expensive plantings overnight! You need all the help you can get to keep the deer away. Nite Guard claims it can help you win the deer war. Can it?

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#deer #garden #wildlifecontrol

Deer can be extremely destructive to gardens and yardscapes. A single evening of deer free-ranging in your yard can result in losses of ornamental flowers, specimen plantings, and your veggie garden.

Urban deer - those that have been born and live in an urban or suburban setting - can be extremely persistent and tend to be the most difficult unwanted yard visitor to control.

The NiteGuard Solar® was invented in 1997 by the owners of one of the largest game bird farms in the United States. Their problem was owls that were decimating their flocks. They needed a way to strongly deter the owls and found that a flashing red light had a strong effect on the owls. After experimentation with the spacing of units, placement spacing, and height, and when the units operated, they found that they GREATLY reduced their losses.

Word got out about this and others started using the units with similar success for owl problems. Users also discovered that these were effective on other types of wildlife that are active at night that could cause problems on the farm in a yardscape. These included a wide range of animals, including raccoons, skunks, bobcats, coyotes, hawks, and even bears!

The unit activates at dusk and continues through dawn. It is not motion activated, the flash occurs ongoing. When a night predator sees the light, from up to a ¼ of a mile (about 400 meters), it triggers a cautionary response.

To maximize effectiveness, there are three keys to nighttime predator control:
The units must be mounted at the correct height for the animal you want to deter. Set the unit at 48”/121 cm for deer, 30”/76 cm for coyotes, 15”/38 cm for raccoons, and 10’/3 M for owls and hawks. These are the typical heights that the eyes of the animal you are controlling and give the best likelihood of the NiteGuard® being seen.
All paths of access to an area need a unit facing that way. In a large area with good sight lines, a great method is to place 4 units at the correct height facing in 4 directions.
Changing up placements keeps the animal “off guard”. Leaving the units in the same place ongoing greatly diminishes their effectiveness.

The NiteGuard Solar® units operate only in low light and dark situations, so they will not provide protection during daytime hours. You will need a combination of deterrent measures such as motion-detector sprinklers (some call these “water scarecrows”), holographic flash tape, ways to randomly create noise, and so forth.

Our friends Dennis and Rosemary own a setting that has been regularly harvested by multiple deer. They were kind to conduct a field test. They used a combination of water scarecrows, NiteGuard® units, and flash tape. While not completely eliminating the problem, these measures have greatly reduced nighttime visits and resulting damage.

Units are mounted on 5’ (1.5 m) sections of gray PVC conduit and slipped over metal stakes that are placed in the yard. They mount the units 4’ (122 cm) above the ground on the conduit, and they move the units ongoing, as well as placing the water deterrents in different directions and places.

During the daytime, the deer in our test setting quickly acclimated to the tape, even with placement changes, and ignored it. In fact, on two different occasions, the deer were observed grazing lilies and roses while standing under the flash tape. Boy, those deer can be persistent!

NiteGuard Solar® units will operate continuously for about 3 to 5 years, even in extreme weather conditions, and are charged ongoing by sunlight.

Many people have found alternative uses for the units, including keeping curious wildlife away from a camping trip in the wild, as a safety beacon in the wilderness, or giving the appearance of a security system/camera on a residence.

NiteGuard Solar® units, as well as holographic flash tape, are available at:
www.niteguard.com. You should expect to pay about $25 for a genuine NiteGuard Solar® unit..

You’ve worked hard to create a beautiful setting around your home. Protect your investment without harming the wildlife. We think you’ll like the NiteGuard® solution!

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