Oh Deer!

Deterring Deer from Dining on your Delicacies!

Who isn't stopped in their tracks when they see a white-tailed deer foraging? Although, if you love your landscaping, you may want to shoo them away quickly. Deer can consume 5-9 pounds of leaves, twigs, grasses, fruit, twigs, and acorns daily and will quickly ravish your garden.

Every season, especially the snow covered ones, this is a hot topic at Woodbridge Greenhouses. Just the other day, as I looked out my window, I counted six deer foraging on a Balsam Fir. They must be starving!

We know that housing, roads, and development have invaded and fractured their normal range and led them to dine on the delicious gardens that replaced their mixed woodland buffet. With few natural predators, their populations thrive. In 2004 an estimated 15,800 white-tailed deer were grazing throughout Rhode Island.

If the wonderful plants in your garden are less appealing to deer, you have an advantage over your neighbors. Begin with a border of deer-repelling plants:

• Alliums
• Daffodils
• Mint
• Lavender
• Sage
• Thyme

Deer also seem to dislike fuzzy plants:

• Artemesia
• Dusty Miller
  
• Lamb's Ear

Unfortunately, they'll need a little nibble to realize it's not so delicious, so you might see some bites missing.

Unless conditions are really tough, most woody plants are usually safe:

• Blue Spruce
• Spirea
• Boxwood
• Paniculata type hydrangea

Please ask us for help and arm yourself with free information from the University of Rhode Island (URI) Green Share Fact Sheet of Plants Least-Preferred by Deer.

Briefly, some of our favorite deer-resistant plants include: Allium, Ageratum, Artemesia, Baptisia, Buddleia, Celosias, Cleomes, Clethra, Caryopteris, Digitalis, Festuca, Lavender, Lupines, Marigolds, Miscanthus, Monarda, Nepeta, Pennisetum, Perovskia, Poppies, Salvia, Santolina, and Zinnias.

Of course, when deer food supplies are scarce, they will even eat plants on the deer-resistant plant list. So it's time for the next phase, which is Deer Deterrents, which affect deer either through sight, taste, hearing, smell or touch.


Fencing:

• For just a few plants can be as simple as a cage of chicken wire or even an arch of wide wire fencing over larger plantings (which can also be moved for access).
  
• Absolutely, the most effective barrier to stop a species that can jump eight feet high is a costly eight-foot tall deer fence.
  
• A less expensive lower fence installed at a 45-degree angle has been proven to work.
  
• Ninety percent of the time an electric fence with a single strand is effective.
  
• A cheaper method to spook deer (which have poor eyesight) is to tie a heavy fishing line between two strong posts about two or three feet high. When they walk into it, the deer are spooked because they can't see what is stopping them.

Deer are repelled by the smell and flavor of Soap. If you are considering hanging "soap on a rope", you should know:

• The fatty acids (tallow) in soap repel deer.
• Soaps containing coconut and other natural oils attract raccoons and rodents.
• Soap grated around the garden gives mixed results.
• Hang soap in burlap or cheesecloth stapled to stakes in the garden in early spring.
• Consider buying soap in bulk to save $$.

Sprays can be purchased or made with varying results. Taste deterrents are best if you want to look at the deer while protecting certain plants:

• Rotten Egg
• Garlic
• Pepper, etc.

Odor repellents, often containing predator urine, don't require a taste test so there is less "sampling". Spraying should be done when conditions are dry and must be re-applied after rains. We have been using and recommend a product called Plantskydd for the past several years with 100% success. You do not need to reapply after rainfall and it is effective for up to 6 months. It also comes in a granular formula to sprinkle around your edibles.

• Avoid sprays that also deter pollinators.
• Spray thoroughly and from the ground up to 6 feet, which is thought to be their maximum reach.
  
• Don't use mothballs -- they may be toxic to pets, birds, and children.

Click here for another great URI Fact Sheet for Deer Damage and Control.

Please feel free to call or email anytime (or stop by once we're open for the season), we can make specific recommendations for the type of plants that will meet your needs.

Source for RI deer facts: Dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/deer.pdf
Web photo of supplemental deer feeding site found at: deerbeards.blogspot.com
Web photo of deer herd in snowy woods: FLICKR.com