Sprinkling human hair, soap shavings, or urine around the garden reliably keeps deer and rabbits out.
Contested
Hair, soap, and urine "deterrents" fade fast and animals get used to them — they're not a reliable defence. If deer or rabbits are a real problem, a fence of the right height is the only dependable fix; rotate a commercial repellent and choose resistant plants to help.
What is actually known
These smell-based home remedies give at best a brief, partial effect and then fail: the scent weathers away in days, and hungry deer and rabbits habituate quickly once nothing bad follows the smell. They are inconsistent from garden to garden and season to season. What actually keeps deer and rabbits out is a physical barrier of the right height (a fence), rotated commercial repellents, or resistant plant choices — not a one-time sprinkle.
Evidence: not yet confirmed against its 1 source.
what this rests on - one pointer
Colorado State University Extension, 'Preventing Deer Damage' (extension.colostate.edu/resource/preventing-deer-damage, read 2026-07-14): 'Home-remedy repellents are questionable at best'; 'Deer have been reported to eat the soap bars'; 'Materials that work in one area or for one person may not work at all in an area more highly frequented by deer'; 'Adequate fencing to exclude deer is the only sure way to control deer damage.'
When would that grow at your place? →