En Garde Deer Defense can keep deer off your property and help you maintain a beautiful summer haven—in your own back yard

By Mitch Allen

Enjoying your own beautiful yard is one of the great joys of summer in Northeast Ohio. But Mother Nature has other ideas. Our lawns and landscaping are under constant attack by her vast arsenal: weeds, fungi, grubs, aphids, caterpillars, Japanese beetles, drought, and much more—including chipmunks, skunks and rabbits.

But one threat tops them all in terms of its destructive capabilities—Odocoileus virginianus, known more commonly as the white-tailed deer.

“We love our yards in the summer,” agrees Jeff Ardo, founder of En Garde Deer Defense. “But it’s difficult for you and your family to fully enjoy your yard when you’re looking at landscaping destroyed by deer. What should be beautiful flowers and shrubs is reduced to barren flowerbeds and unsightly sticks.”

Controlling deer populations is expensive and the various methods used are controversial, so most municipalities avoid the issue, leaving the task of protecting valuable landscaping flora to each homeowner.

“Unfortunately, deer love to eat many of the same summer plant species we find beauty in,” Jeff says, “including tulips, daylilies, hostas, hydrangeas, roses, and geraniums. It’s not unusual to see suburban yards and nearby woods void of greenery from shoulder height to the ground. That’s the deer grazing range.”

How To Protect Your Property
Homeowners who experience deer damage have often tried various methods of defending their expensive landscaping, including scented sprays at big box stores and homemade concoctions found on the internet, but they just don’t work.

Well, here’s one option that does work.

Jeff’s En Garde Deer Defense is a deer deterrent spray service company that prevents deer damage to your floral landscaping. It’s successful because Jeff has developed a proprietary spray formula that actually works.

Unlike sprays and powders to combat fungi and beetles, En Garde’s deer deterrent formula cannot be found online or in stores. Due to the nature of its ingredients, it cannot be stored on a shelf. “We mix our spray fresh every morning,” Jeff says. “It’s effective, weather-resistant, transparent, and virtually odorless to humans.”

But the spray’s unique formula is only one reason for the effectiveness of Jeff’s service. The other is proper application.

Training and Application
En Garde’s spray technicians undergo highly comprehensive training, including an online test in which each tech must identify 90 different species of plants and declare whether they are vulnerable to deer. New employees also undergo a six- to eight-week, hands-on, in-the-field apprenticeship program with a trained technician before being allowed to work alone. Training also includes a final test to achieve certification. “The test includes questions about plants, deer behavior, spraying techniques, and questions our clients may have,” Jeff says.

You may be tempted to tell your En Garde techs where to spray, but it’s best to let them determine that. “We have a lot of training and years of experience, so we know which strategies work best,” Jeff assures. “We recommend spraying the perimeter of the area the customer wants to protect and all the landscaping in the yard, whether deer are going to eat it or not. We are spreading a smell and taste in the yard that deer don’t like. If we make your entire yard unattractive to deer, they simply move on.”

Jeff says 80 to 85% of their customers have great results with their standard every three week program, but sometimes it takes more. “It depends on the speed of plant growth and the deer pressure on that property,” he explains. “And that’s related to plant species, soil quality, rain, and nutrients. Sometimes we need to come every two weeks. For plants that shoot up overnight, like daylilies, hostas, and roses, we have our Buds and Blooms option. We will spray the new growth buds approximately every 10 days. If our spray is not on that new growth, with the deer’s great sense of smell, they will come nibble it off.”

Get Started with a Free Trial
If you want to maximize the enjoyment of your yard this summer, it’s best to get started with En Garde as soon as possible. “Once deer develop the habit of dining on your property, it’s harder to get them to stop,” Jeff adds.

And when was the last time you worked with aa company so confident in its service that it offered you a free trial? That’s what Jeff’s company does.

“We believe so strongly in our service that we don’t mind offering every homeowner their first application for free with no obligation to continue,” Jeff says. “We do this because most homeowners will sign up for our service once they see how well it works.”

Clients must be happy because En Garde has more than 280 Google reviews with an average rating of five stars.

Jeff’s crews can handle a limited number of free trials during the spring—the busiest part of the season—so it’s a good idea to schedule your own free trial as soon as possible. As Jeff likes to say, “The best time to use En Garde was last year; the second-best time is now.”

En Garde Deer Defense serves all of Northeast Ohio. To schedule your free trial, call 440-447-0022, or fill out a free trial form online at EGDeerDefense.com.