Deer have gone from relatively scarce to overflowing their available habitats. Because of overgrazing, deer have invaded people’s gardens. If something is eating all your plants, it might be deer.
What Deer Do
Deer tear twigs and leaves from plants. A ragged tear is left behind. Plants take longer to heal from ragged tears and the tears allow diseases an easy entry point. Rabbits and rodents typically leave tooth marks on branches and twigs. Their bites have a clean cut instead of a ragged tear. Deer can also reach higher than rabbits. Male deer may damage small trees when they rub their antlers on them.
Ways To Discourage Deer
A starving deer will get through almost any area they have to in order to get food. They are also going to eat anything they find, including plants deer don’t usually eat. Deer are very persistent when they find a place that has lots of plants. However, there are ways to discourage deer from eating your plants. Use more than one strategie and vary what you do regularly so the deer don’t get used to it.
Fences
Fences are the most expensive option. Wooden fences need to be 8 feet tall to work in a large area. However, if you build a small enclosure of four cattle panels in a square, the deer do not usually enter this enclosure. They think they may not be able to get out again.
Electric fences have been shown to deter deer. When you first put them up, smear a little peanut butter on them and the deer will learn they hurt to touch.
Repellents
A 1994 University of Minnesota research project found a simple repellent can be made with three eggs and 3.78 L of water. Blend the eggs and water together in a blender. Pour the mixture in a container and add enough water to make it a gallon of mixture. Strain through cheesecloth. Apply once every two weeks and after a rain. Cover anything you don’t want them to eat. This mixture smells and should not be put on food crops near harvest.
Hazing
Hazing is doing something to scare deer away. Scarecrows are an example. Deer are not stupid, so they quickly learn a scarecrow won’t hurt them. The best hazing tool is a motion activated sprinkler. The sound and getting doused with water both scare deer. You need to move the sprinkler every few days or the deer learn to avoid it.
Resistant Plants
As mentioned, if a deer is hungry enough, no plant is safe. However, there are some plants deer avoid. Planting them can help reduce deer damage to your garden. Plant things deer like near your home or other places with lots of coming and going, as deer don’t like such places. We have a list of deer resistant plants on our website.
Using native plants that are deer resistant means you will not have to spend as much money watering and fertilizing them. Native plants are adapted to the area’s pests and diseases and resist those, as well.
Trumpet Vine
Trumpet vine is native to the Eastern United States. Deer do not like it, but hummingbirds and long tongues native bees love it. The green vine has bright reddish orange flowers all over it. Trumpet vines can grow to be 12 feet and will go up an arbor or gazebo. They look stunning and are easy to care for. Trumpet vine can damage buildings and fences with its rootlets that hold it on them.
Evening Primrose
The evening primrose has bright yellow flowers on a rosette plant. The lance shaped leaves are dark green. The flowers form on stalks. The fruit forms after the flower is spent and has 1,000 seeds in it. Evening primrose reseeds itself each year. Flowers have a pleasant lemon smell. These plants make excellent ground covers, staying under eight inches tall. There is also a pink evening primrose, if you prefer that color.
Larkspur
Larkspur is native to the dryer areas of the Southwestern United States. These plants form large colonies on the prairie. They can get up to four feet tall. The white, purple, or blue flowers are attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Deer don’t like it. Many people use larkspur as edging along a drive or flower bed. It is very dramatic in a mass planting, as well.
Solomon’s Seal
Solomon’s Seal grows up to six feet tall. The green leaves are on the top of the stem while pairs of pale green bell-shaped flowers hang from the stem. This is an understory plant, happy in shade or part shade. They do best in dry woodlands but can be grown around trees. The flowers attract hummingbirds and bees.
Periwinkle Plants
Periwinkle is another understory plant that is about six inches to a foot tall. The flowers range from white to pale pink. Use as a ground cover in tulip beds or other taller plants. Periwinkle plants will also grow under a tree as a ground cover. They are dainty looking plants. Massed under trees, they create a carpet of color.
We Can Help You Find Native Plants Deer Leave Alone
If you are ready to incorporate deer resistant native plants into your landscape, call Tennessee Wholesale Nursery at 931.692.7325. We can tell you the best native plants that are deer resistant and grow in your area.
