Tune In to “Walk On the Wild Side”!

In our experience here at our own Barneyville Road All You Can Eat Buffet, hungry deer will snack on nearly anything, though some plants are clearly not preferred and incorporating those generously into your landscape helps mitigate browsing damage. There are even some plants that flourish with some browsing - Northern Bush Honeysuckle is one example. Browsing keeps its aggressive spread in check while promoting new growth.

For the record - and since we are often asked - we do not advocate the growing trend to spray plants with products that alter the smell and taste of the plant since the science is not clear on what deleterious effects this might have on the pollinators we are working to help. There is even a spray on or granular product gaining favor in our region made of dried blood meal and (quoting from the label) " designed to elicit a fear based response in deer, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. etc..." Hard pass! We are not in the game of helping people build plant zoos, we are passionate advocates for building back lost habitat and that habitat includes an array of wild friends. As the saying goes, you do you. But if you seek our advice it will always land on the side of coexistence and compassion for all creatures. So - what to do?

Deer have absolutely become a challenge in residential landscapes because of habitat loss so our real suggestion is that we need to conserve the last available wild spaces we have and build back habitat at home so there are more suitable places for wildlife to be wild. We also encourage planting with the level of density that makes it hard to even notice some browsing here and there. These may not be the answers you want - but it is the one we will keep repeating! 

We have had favorite plants damaged too and it isn't fun. Here are the best practical tips we have! We have found that the more aromatic a plant is the less likely a deer is to be interested - they also tend to not be overly fond of fuzzy leaves. By planting densely (lots of plants) damage will be minimized. Plants in our yard do get browsed but by learning about less favored varieties and by planting things very close together (good practice for a whole host of reasons) the damage truly is minimal in established plantings. As plants - especially shrubs and trees mature they are also less palatable and far better able to sustain some nibbling. For newly planted shrubs and smallish trees we encourage (and practice) protecting the plant with caging. We prefer to cage individual plants versus broader fencing since individual plant cages still allow for free movement of animals around the space. Rutgers University, located in an area with far greater deer pressure than here, has created a ranked list of plants and their levels of deer resistance - you should explore it HERE.