Deer find raw eggs on plants disgusting and a scientific study backs it up!
6 eggs & one gallon of water working effectively as a deer repellent for several Garden Club members who’ve tried it!
A study at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 2001, titled “Comparison of Commercial Deer Repellents”, showed that two commercial products, that were effective at reducing deer predation, included “putrescent whole egg solids“. The study can be found here: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1568&context=icwdm_usdanwrc
The above home made recipe, using raw (and slightly stinky) eggs, has resulted in very effective reduction in deer damage, as well, for several garden club members who live in and adjacent to wooded countryside in Clark County, Washington state. (You can cut it back to smaller volumes, same ratios.)
S.L. says:
“If you let the eggs sit out on the counter for a day or two, the little white parts of the egg white will absorb a little so your sprayer won’t clog as much. When it does clog, just unscrew the spray head and pull out the lumpy egg white and continue. Be sure to mix the eggs well, before putting them in sprayer. Then add one gallon of water and spray.
“You need to spray anytime there’s new growth. (Two to three times during the spring/summer season works quite well for most.) The egg will stick so you don’t need to reapply if it rains. Spray on a dry day for best results.
“I don’t spray plants when they are fruiting. The deer won’t touch anything that’s been sprayed.
“I’ve been doing this for years. The only time the deer get something is when I haven’t sprayed new growth or it’s something that is fruiting and I haven’t sprayed it.”
B.R. says:
“I didn’t think this could work, but, it sure does! My grapes are on trellises with no fences around them in the woods. As long as I keep spraying new growth every 3-4 weeks throughout the summer, they leave them alone. The fawns will sometime take a nibble, but, no more. Be sure to wait until the plants are dry or the mixture won’t stick.
“Don’t spray it on leafy or parts of the plants that YOU eat raw. Best for things like grapes, roses, raspberries, carrot tops, etc.”
[Photos: BR]
garden 
I tried this on our concord grape plants, which have been decimated repeatedly this summer, and so far, no more deer assaults! Also, read other people’s recipes on internet, and appears the additional ingredients some people add – cayenne pepper and garlic juice – are not needed to be effective and could cause blindness to the deer. Apparently the rotting smell of the eggs, which is undetectable to humans in these small quantities, are a horrid smell to the deer. – Thx! B.R.
Does this solution attract flies? I would like to try with this solution because we have so many deer around here. They eat everything.
Thank you
Rosemary Marks
It does not attract flies. The mist dries almost instantly.