This is electrified? (Plotsaver tape) I need to find more pictures of your orchard !
There is an electrified version (both smell and zap) but mine is just smell.
The deer come in all sizes and groups here, often single or mom and young one, sometimes 3-4, sometimes more. I can’t hunt in the city so no go on that one. They tend to show up at dusk but every year they get more brave and are around more during the day. I know all their favorite spots and could clear 'em out in no time if I had the option.
Thanks Scott, I wasn’t aware of the “smelly tape”. I’m fortunate to live in a rural setting, but I’m not about to sit out at 3-4am to take care of our deer problem. Well, not yet…
Driveway alarms work very well for letting you know when deer are entering an area. I have sensors with different sounds that let me know when a vehicle (or an animal) is entering a zone.
No need to sit and watch. Just let the alarm wake you up and grab your weapon of choice. I mean as long as you have a nuisance permit to remove them after hours. 
Deer often wake me up at 3-4am walking down my “driveways”.
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I have my own nuisance alarm, its 4-legged I am often letting the dog out at 3AM to chase out the deer.
So far this spring I have had no deer strikes since I started the repellant program. I did see one just outside the tape on the neighbors but she never came over. In the front orchard I have been very strict with the repellent spray, it is smaller so it makes it easier to protect. But I am more and more thinking I will tape the whole yard. I can easily make “gates” in the tape strip for the mowers to get in and out. It would be SO nice to just spray once a month and forget about the deer. Then I could focus on other things I need to do like spraying and squirrel trapping.
Andy, I got the idea of the smelly tape from Chad (@blackrag) above. He has had good results with it for several years.
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I had my first deer strike in a month or so last night. A solid week of rain had washed off all the protectant I expect. We are having a little break from the rains now so I re-coated with a different type or repellant (once they strike its good to switch I would say as they probably tasted a bit of the other one and adapted to it).
Note this was in the front yard, the back yard with the Plotsaver tape held 100%. I also re-coated the tape to be on the safe side - it hasn’t been a month but I’m not going to take any chances with many inches of rain coming down.
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Whats the process to coat the tape? does it smell bad to humans as well?
You just spray standard deer repellent on it using a standard sprayer. Most of them don’t smell bad to me when I spray, and a few days later I don’t smell anything.
Baaaad news, I had my first break-in on my “plot saver” last night 
A bunch of stuff got munched and I probably lost a few grafts.
I had just re-coated with Deer Stopper II yesterday during a dry period. My only guess is that stuff might not be a very good smell barrier. I’m definitely not using that formulation again on the tape. Also I’m going to resume spraying both inside and outside the tape so if they get in again there will be nothing tasty to eat. Finally I ordered some of the official spray they recommend in the unlikely event that is better in some way.
Overall I’m now getting somewhat skeptical this is going to work long-term, which is too bad.
Very sorry to hear that. It would be interesting to hear what Messinas would suggest or how they might respond. Especially after just applying it.
Oh no. Sorry to hear that Scott.
My hats off to you for your persistence. I think I would have taken a chain saw to it all…well maybe…until the next solution comes along. 
Having serious thoughts about just sticking with veggie gardening. Never had the critter issues I have today until I started growing fruit.
I saw that the tape comes in an electrified version for the same price. I know you mentioned concerns about neighborhood children. That can be addressed in a few ways. Perhaps by lifting the tape above the reach of, say, a 5-6 year old. Then placing warning signs on the support posts and having discussions with parents in the neighborhood. I’ve gotten shocked by my battery powered fence charger. Made me yelp and be ever so much more careful. The shock is not lethal…but definitely memorable.
Another option is to put the charger on a timer to cover whenever the visiting hours are. I think pain is a better deterrent than an offensive odor, esp if you are getting the rains we’ve had this last week.
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Here is another product. This was given to me by a local farmer who sprayed his soybeans and swore it worked. At the time I was battling racoons at peak peach time, but then I found out a radio on boring talk radio 24/7 took care of them. My peaches were hot and spicy. For what it’s worth.
Had the plot saver not worked for me, I was going to pack it in. I’m not interested in building big fences around my orchard. It’s about the fruit, but not all about the fruit I guess, I want to see it, mow it, walk it on bad days without being 9’ fenced in like the rest of the day.
I’m not giving up on the plot saver yet. I decided to order the special plot saver spray to see if that helps. I am also going to be laying down a lot more deer repellant than usual, including spraying inside the fenced area.
This morning I fixed an old broken 5-gallon backpack sprayer, I thought it was defective but finally found the clog spot. So I will switch from a little one-gallon to a big 5-gallon tank of deer repellent with a devoted sprayer which should help me get a lot more repellent down. 
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Good luck Scott.
One less deer in Ohio tonight and one screwed up Truck. 
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Oh, no, was it yours?! This happens a lot on the (fast) road outside my house. Fortunately, only cars and not their occupants have been hurt. Other than the deer, I mean.
Yes… my truck… NOT HAPPY!!
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Sorry to hear about that! I wonder how many thousands of cars and trucks are damaged every year. My daughter saw a deer get hit by a car a block from our house, and the flying deer almost hit her car on the rebound.
… Weekly update on my deer situation: I haven’t gotten any damage since the rain stopped, since I could put down a good coat or repellant last weekend. I am going to be regularly spraying lots of repellant on everything all summer. Its going to be a pain and its going to be expensive but I don’t know if there is any other option.
In order to make my job easier I have been pruning out all lower sprouts that are not critical, this gives me less things to spray with repellant. Anything they would ever want to eat is getting sprayed in the whole yard, no exceptions!
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So sorry!
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Amazon as a ultra sonic pest repeller solar powered, works for us, Also Irish Spring Soap is working to help