While deer may be cute and bring back me mories of Bambie frolicking in the forest with Flower and Thumper they can be the scourge of many a gardener. While the gardener patiently waits for their Daylily blossoms to pop - so do the deer. Then like Vegas Elvis at a buffet line the deer devour what the gardener has been so patiently waiting for. Deer can also be a destructive factor in the winter. In hard winter where the is a lot of snow cover it is harder for deer to find food. They will nibble on your evergreens, especially Arborvitea, and nip of the ends of your fruit and orna me ntal trees. Male deer often rub their antlers on tree trunks ripping off bark and exposing the tree to disease and insect attack.

There are ways to dealing with deer if you live in an area that is populated with them. Ways that you and the deer families can both be happy.

-Plant deer resistant trees, shrubs and flowers.
-Apply repellents to your gardens to keep them from munching
-Deer fencing around newly planted trees in the winter.
-Fencing around vegetable gardens.

A Deer Resistant Landscape

The plants listed here are those most resistant to deer browsing. We say “resistant” because like any creature if they are hungry enough they will eat just about anything. Unless of course it is poisonous to them, such as Daffodils. Plants that are most susceptible to deer browsing are also listed here.

Download Printable Lists Here: Plants most resistant to Deer Browsing | Plants most susceptible to Deer Browsing

Reduce the “buffet” attraction in your Landscape with repellents

These products are designed to keep deer form munching on the garden either with taste repellents or scent repellents.

-Shake Away
-Liquid Fence - Deer, Rabbit Repellent (putrescent eggs)
-Repelex Deer & Rabbit Repellent
-Espoma Dried Blood (also Nitrogen Fertilizer)
-Hot Pepper Wax Animal Repellent
-Aman's Scent of a Predator
-Bonide Shot-Gun Hot Pepper Wax Animal Repellent
-Havaheart Deer Off

Protecting Trees in the Winter Landscape

Simple chicken wire fencing or other types of fencing around a newly planted tree will keep deer from nibbling to the ends of the branches. Re me mber a full sized deer can easily stretch to up to 8 feet tall on their back legs to eat tender branch tips, so you do need height on the fencing. In areas where there is a lot of snow coverage this might not be tall enough. Two to three feet of compacted snow around your tree easily gives deer the boast they need to get to high branches.

As the tree canopies get larger and it is harder to encase the whole tree in fencing there is a different fencing technique. Take sections of fencing about 4-6 ft tall by 3-4 ft wide and bend them into arches. Place four of these arches down on the ground (the long way, not upright), pinning the sides into the ground, in a box around the trees. The deer won't want to walk into the fence arches as they would tangle their feet. Once again this won't really help during heavy snow fall in the winter.

To protect the truck from antler rubbing you can wrap it. Make sure you wrap the trunk after insects have laid eggs and hibernated for the winter as they find tree wrap very attractive.

Protecting your harvest

Deer are very confident and adept at jumping high fencing. Fencing needs to be at least 8 feet high and made of high tensile wiring to keep deer out. Also, deer usually won't jump over a fence if they cannot see the other side. A solid wooden fence would do the trick. But face it – how pretty are solid wood fences that shade out your veggies or tall wire fencing. An alternative, if you have the space, is erecting two four foot high fences five feet apart around the veggie garden. This will keep the deer from jumping in as there isn't room for them to jump both fences.