Issues → January/February 2007 → Home & Garden →

Real Solutions: Window Drafts and Deer Damage

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Tags: advice, deer, drafts, gardens, windows

Drafty Windows

When I sit on the couch in the evening, it feels as if gale-force winds are blowing through the window. What can I do to take the chill off? -- J.F., Bridgton, ME

It's all about windows -- they're responsible for up to one-third of total heat loss in a home. And I know windows. My husband owns Window Master, based in Dublin, New Hampshire (603-563-7788; windowmasternh.com). If you have double-hung windows on weights and pulleys, Window Master has a kit that allows you to retrofit the windows by installing a vinyl jambliner and insulating the weight pocket. The bonus here is that not only will you be warmer, but you'll be able tilt the windows in for easy washing (no more ladders). I know this works because we have it in our home. The $195 kit includes jambliners, weather stripping, new sash locks, and instructions (to order, go to jambliners.com). If you are not handy, you should have help from a carpenter.

Insulated drapes can warm a room by 5 degrees. Lenox, Massachusetts-based Country Curtains (800-456-0321; countrycurtains.com), carries 15 styles that range from $27 to $148 per pair or per slider panel. A terrific window shade with even more insulation is made by The Warm Company (800-234-9276; warmcompany.com). The four-layer system includes your choice of fabric plus air-trapping fiber layers and a magnetic edge that forms an airtight seal to eliminate drafts.

Heat loss from windows also comes from single-paned glass and air leaks around the sash. A single-to-double conversion process was developed by New England engineer Jim Conachen. His Bi-Glass System is a patented technique that routs the existing sash and replaces single-glazed panes with insulated (double-paned) glass. This appeals to owners of historic houses where replacement windows are not appropriate. Pricing varies with the individual house but ranges on average from $450 for a one-over-one window to $1,000 for a multilight Palladian. 800-729-0742; bi-glass.com

-- Polly Bannister, Yankee Home Editor

Controlling Deer in Your Garden

Deer damage in my garden was excessive this fall. What can I do to prevent this? -- S.R., Buckland, MA

I am asked this often. Here are some solutions from gardeners, with my responses.

After a haircut, keep the hair and scatter it all over the plants. See the deer run away.

Human hair can repel deer, but weather diminishes its effectiveness so frequent reapplications are needed. Also, once deer become used to humans and realize they are not a threat, the fear factor disappears.

I apply a commercial deer repellent to plants. My favorites so far are Bobbex and Deer Off.

Professionally formulated products to repel deer disrupt the browsing habits of deer with their odor or taste or by mimicking the scent of a predator. Note: When plants are actively growing, applications must be made more frequently to the new shoots, which deer prefer. Unfortunately, deer learn quickly. As population pressures increase, deer can overcome their dislike of these offensive products, learn that they are masking palatable plants, and return to graze. Using a combination of different repellents along with choosing plants less favored by deer would be more effective.

Immerse bulbs for a short time in a mixture of Tabasco sauce and finely minced garlic; remove the bulbs and allow them to dry, then plant them.

Garlic and other odiferous products are offensive to deer. The garlic "pencils" sold in garden centers can be effective in changing browsing habits. Mothballs, coyote urine, or bars of fragrant soap (specifically Lifebuoy and Irish Spring) hung from tree branches have also worked as deer repellents. Researchers at Cornell University claim that deer are repelled by the odor of Milorganite, a sludge-based fertilizer.

Each spring I unroll 4-foot-wide chicken wire on the ground around the perimeter of my garden. Deer apparently are uncomfortable with the feel of the uneven surface and will not walk on this. This method has worked for years!

Physically excluding deer is the best way to keep them away. But when deer become sufficiently desperate, they may learn to jump your barrier. Many types of fencing can work, including single- or multiple-wire strands at varying heights, electric fences, plastic or metal mesh attached to trees or posts, and solid structures made of wood or metal.

-- R. Wayne Mezzitt, chairman, Weston Nurseries