Outsmarting the deer that love to eat our plants and damage our trees is one of our many gardening challenges in Colorado. There are many strategies available to deter deer, but no solution will work for every homeowner. Gardeners may need to try different options in order to find the optimal deer deterrent strategy in their landscape.
One strategy is to use a physical barrier between your plant and the deer. A fence is the best barrier, but the fence must be at least eight feet high. Garden nets are another way to protect plants; You can use nets for flower beds, shrubs, and small trees. Placing tubing around the trunks of larger trees can help prevent trunk damage from string cutters, but tubing may not protect trees from bucks that scrape the velvet off their antlers.
Commercial repellants can protect your plants. Since deer get about 30% of their water from delicate parts of the plant, they tend to eat new leaves and buds. Apply the repellant within this new growth and reapply the repellant at least every 30 days. Since deer can get used to the repellent you use, be ready to try a different one or use a different preventive method.
Another strategy to keep deer out is to cultivate plants that deer generally avoid. Deer tend to avoid plants with a strong odor (such as catnip, sage, lavender) that interferes with the deer’s sense of smell, which warns them of impending dangers. Deer also avoid plants with fuzzy, prickly, or sharp leaves (lamb’s ear, barberry, yucca) or plants that have a bitter taste (like yarrow).
There are many plants that are deer resistant, but no plant is deer safe! A hungry deer will eat any plant instead of starving. To discourage grazing, gardeners can move plants that deer prefer to keep closer to the home in a fenced area or surround them with more deer-resistant plants. Adding deer-resistant plants to the edge of your property can also keep deer from entering your property and explore further.
There may not be one deer deterrent solution that will work for every gardener, but trying different options and persistently protecting your plants from deer will lead to some success! Your plants will thank you!
Send gardening questions to csumg2@elpasoco.com or call 719-520-7684. The personal helpdesk is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in N. Spruce St. 17. Find it on Facebook at Colorado Master Gardeners – El Paso County.
