Deer Control, Deer Resistant Plants and Coexistence in the Garden

Every gardener has his own remedy for keeping marauding deer from his beloved flowers and vegetables. Alas, nothing is foolproof.

The remedy’s success depends on weather and population variables. If the growing season follows a tough winter, Bambi and the gang may be so hungry that they’ll eat the most deer resistant plant in the world. On the other hand, a devastating winter can kill such a high percentage of deer that garden damage is minimal for the next year.

Nevertheless, some rules of thumb can keep the gardener from pulling his hair out.

Strong Smelling Sprays

There is no shortage of commercial deer repellent sprays designed to offend the deer’s sense of smell. Liquid Fence combines the aromas of rotten eggs and garlic. I use it in the vegetable patch, which is beyond the range of the family dogs. Being dogs, they rank rotten eggs and garlic high on the list of gustatory treats and will lick anything sprayed with the stuff.

Other gardeners swear by products like Predator Pee, which contains the urine of animals deer have learned to avoid. The product line features the scent of bobcats, coyotes, foxes, mountain lions and wolves.

A friendlier option for the human nose is Deer Out, based on peppermint oil. Supposedly, the menthol in the spray creates a burning sensation if Bambi samples a doused plant.

Working around the rain is a problem with deer repellent sprays, even ones billed as waterproof. Invariably, I need to spray more frequently than the manufacturer recommends — and even then, the sprays are only partially effective.

Strong Smelling Plants

My most deer-resistant flower bed consists of aromatics like catmint, wormwood, lavender, sage, buddleia and chaste bush. All have a smell attractive to the human nose. But Bambi and the gang have never touched that bed. So far. Knock wood.

Rutgers University’s cooperative extension service has published an extensive list of Landscape Plants Rated by Deer Resistance. The list’s authors caution, however, that even the most deer resistant items are not invulnerable to deer predation. But it’s a useful guide.

The gardener need not limit himself to planting only the most deer resistant plants. He can experiment with companion planting, surrounding the more vulnerable plants with the strong smelling varieties.

In one corner of my vegetable garden, for example, basil serves as a deer control fence around the pepper plants that the local deer seem to crave. Although some gardeners claim deer happily munch on basil, none of my Genoa basil plants has ever been damaged. This does not mean the peppers surrounded by those herbs are unscathed, but they fare much better than peppers unprotected by basil pickets.

Vigilance toward Young Plants

Almost any young plant can attract Bambi’s interest: the tenderer, the yummier. Although deer usually avoid the prickly leaves of mature cucumber and zucchini plants, for example, they eagerly scarf up young cukes and zukes. Until plants develop a tougher hide, the gardener needs to spray with repellents more frequently or employ other safeguards.

Other Deterrents

Fencing is an obvious solution, but a costly one. A deer fence should be sturdy and extend from the ground up (lest Bambi crawl and dig his way under it) — to a height of at least 6 feet. My own experience with temporary fencing — for the vegetable patch that gets tilled under every fall — was miserable. Although the fence posts held fast, the supposedly deer-proof netting didn’t. One buck deduced that repeated hoof stabs at the netting would eventually break open a hole, which could then be enlarged to gain access to those irresistible tomato leaves. Never mind that the leaves of the tomato plant, a member of the nightshade family, are toxic.

The family dog is a useful deterrent. But deer have an uncanny sense of when Fido is snoozing on the living room couch.

Some gardeners use Fido’s fur as a deterrent: by packing dog hair into nylon stockings and hanging them on posts around the vegetable patch. I have had no luck with this method and find the vision of those lumpy stockings sad — as esthetically displeasing as aluminum pie pans noisily swinging over the garden as sonic deterrents.

Share the Bounty?

If the deer population isn’t bursting at the seams, the gardener might consider planting extra vegetables or flowers he can afford to lose. The bribes might keep Bambi away from the more valuable stuff.