About Us
After 28 years, I know this-
If you can't protect the plants, nothing else matters.
I'm Mark Messina. When you've been in lawn care and plant health care as long as I have—28 years and counting—you see patterns.
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You see the same homeowners making the same investments in their landscaping every spring. You watch them carefully select plants, spend weekends in their gardens, and pour their hearts into creating something beautiful. And then you watch the deer destroy it all. Year after year after year.
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For most of my career, I accepted it as part of the job. Deer damage was just... what happened. I'd recommend deer-resistant plants (which deer still ate). I'd suggest fencing (which was expensive and ugly). I'd sympathize when clients called in frustration.
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But I couldn't actually fix the problem.
I Know Plants.
I Know it Works.
When someone hires me for Plant Health Care, I take it seriously.
As a trained environmental horticulturist, I examine your plants for insects, pests, and disease problems that could harm or reduce their aesthetic value, and I correct them during visits throughout the growing season. I create maintenance plans. I solve problems.
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But I couldn't solve the deer problem.
And that bothered me more than you might think.
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I've watched too many clients give up on their dream gardens. I've seen too much money wasted on plants that never had a chance. I've heard too much frustration in people's voices when they call to tell me the deer destroyed everything—again.
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After 28 years, I know this: if you can't protect the plants, nothing else matters.
All the expertise in the world doesn't help if deer eat the results. So I made it my mission to find a real solution.
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Not store-bought sprays that wash off in the rain. Not home remedies that work for three days. Not products designed to sit on shelves rather than actually protect plants.
A real, professional solution.
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I used everything I'd learned in 28 years - plant physiology, soil chemistry, seasonal growth patterns, regional deer behavior - and combined it with research into what actually deters deer long-term.
I tested on my own property first. Then on willing clients' properties. I adjusted formulas. I tracked results. I refused to launch until I had something I was genuinely proud to offer.
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Now, for the first time in my career, I can care for landscapes AND protect them.
My clients don't have to limit themselves to "deer resistant" plants anymore (which isn't even real - hungry deer eat everything). They can plant the roses they love. The tulips they've always wanted. The hostas that thrive in shade.
The result is Deer Proof Yards - a professional-grade service backed by 28 years of plant health care expertise.
When I treat your property, I'm not just spraying and hoping for the best. I'm applying the same level of professional knowledge and attention to detail that I bring to every aspect of plant health care.
Because that's what you deserve.
You deserve solutions that work. Plants that thrive. A yard you can actually enjoy. And a professional who stands behind their work.
That's what 28 years of experience means - I know plants, I know it works, and I guarantee it.
Welcome to Deer Proof Yards.
Our Guarantee
Deer Proof Yards guarantees you'll see dramatic results in protecting your landscaping from deer damage. If you're not completely satisfied after any treatment, just contact us and we'll come back to re-treat your property at no charge. And if you're still not happy, we'll refund that application - no questions asked. We also offer a FREE first treatment so you can see the results for yourself with zero risk.