A hungry deer will eat about anything. If the gardener has a choice though, it’s better to put in a deer resistant plant than one the deer love to devour. The potentilla to the left is a nice example of a deer resistant plant with a little color.

The Repellent Review decided to do some research on finding plants that would deter deer, and came up with a few great resources.

Patti Simons has the goal of publishing a book on the deer resistant plant and gardening in deer country. She’s been able to produce a cottage style garden that deer travel through without eating everything in site! She has a great resource of around 200 plants that are categorized as to resistance. Remember, resistant means less tasty when you’re dealing with deer. They still may nibble.

Another resource for deer resistant plants we found helpful is hosted by Beth Jarvis and David Bavero. They list a number of annuals ranging from ,zinnia, periwinkle, and French marigolds to perennials like sage, flax and baby’s breath.

It’s really hit or miss with the deer. Other factors for deer eating your plants include the plant’s stage of maturity. Young plants are tender and more favorable. Another factor may be that the deer population in your area may be large. Deer must compete for food and are willing to eat deer resistant plants. Or maybe the deer in your area just enjoy munching on the plant you thought was deer resistant.

If you’re making that addition to your garden, and you’ve been plagued by hungry deer, we hope we’ve given you some helpin finding a deer resistant plant or two which will meet your deer repellent needs.

Repellent Review recently had a chance to check out another insect repellent made for clothing. This time around we got our hands on some insect repellent from Sawyer Products. We picked up their Sawyer Premium Insect Repellent Clothing Treatment for around $7, and went to work.

Sawyer insect repellent is similar to the Buzz Off Clothing repellent we’ve reviewed. The main difference is that Buzz Off bonds permethrin to the fabric. Sawyer insect repellent is a stand-alone product in which you soak your clothing or material you want to deter bugs. The repellent Permethrin, is an insecticide that was registered with the EPA, and put on the market in 1977. This pyrethroid basically repels or kills insects on contact. Sawyer insect repellent contains less than 1% permethrin.

We chose to test this insect repellent using a mosquito net, and two of our four-memeber crew would use it on their clothes. Four of our friends were heading out camping and fishing for the weekend and knew the area was bound to have a few mosquitoes.

The insect repellent came in a 9 oz. can, and Sawyer states the insect repellent is effective for 6 launderings, so we figured it would definitely last the three days our crew would be camping. Tough life!

Did it work?

Paul said, “It worked well. There were mosquitoes around the campsite, but I didn’t get bit wearing the clothing. (Sawyer insect repellent also repels and kills ticks, chiggers and mites). It did take a little time spraying my clothing beforehand. I might try their soaking method next time (Sawyer also carries an insect repellent that you soak your clothing in).” Another member of the crew Stephanie stated, “I thought putting the stuff on the mosquito net was a great idea. None of us were bit at night. I did receive one bite on my neck, but with as many mosquitoes that were around I think that was not too bad. Maybe I missed spraying that area. It doesn’t have a bad odor, which I thought it might. It works.”

We thought using the Sawyer insect repellent with the mosquito net would give us a good idea on its effectiveness. It seemed to work well, and we’d suggest you try this for your next camping trip.

Repellent review feels Sawyer Insect Repellent is an effective repellent. We’d suggest you might try the military style brand and soak instead of spray. It’s a little cheaper, and it may be more effective covering all of the material you’re using.