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Deer foraging has become an ever increasing problem for many gardeners. We love to watch Bambi as she scurries across the woods, untill she decides to eat the plants that we have worked so hard to cultivate. There are differences between rural deer and urban deer. The rural deer, since they have more to eat in the woods and there is less human contact will not eat our garden plants as much as the urban deer. The urban deer have less to eat in the woods and have become accustomed to us humans. They realize the good tasting food is what we have planted in our gardens. They are much more bold and will eat our garden plants while we stand there and watch them. In this world of ever increasing urban sprawl we have to learn to accommodate Bambi and her friends. Deterrents: There are many commercial deterrents on the market. There are many home made deterrents also. I will not comment on the efficacy of any of them. The results are varied depending on where you live. They all work for either short periods of time, or in small areas. The deterrents are based on either a taste repellant or a scent repellant. The taste repellants work when the deer eat your plants and say" I don't like that taste". The scent repellants work to keep them from even tasting your plants.There are only two true methods of keeping the deer away. There is a third method, I will mention later. Two True Deterrents: The only two ways to stop deer from eating your plants: One; a fence . Two; plant what they don't like to eat. First a fence. Many say that you must put up a 8 foot(2.7 meter) fence. Many say that it must be electrified. In some areas this may be true. It would be a very expensive way to protect your garden. In most areas a simple chain link fence of the height of 42 inches(1.07 meters)works fine. The deer will find better pastures. They do not wish to hop over your fence if they can find better and easier food somewhere else. The normal wooden privacy fence, that is 6 foot(1.85 meters) tall is even better. Since the deer cannot see through the fence, they will be more likely to walk around it. The second true deterrent is, don't plant what the deer like to eat. Yes, this solution sounds simplistic. If you only have ornamental plants and not plants for harvesting, this is the best solution. (See below for list of those plants) Third Deterrent: DOGS ! Having a dog is a great deterrent. The scent the dog leaves when it defecates is the scent that drives deer away. Then if the dog barks at the deer it helps drive them away also. Warning though, do not expect a dog to be ever vigilant. Also, there are two times of year when deer become aggressive. In mating season and after the birth of their young. Dogs have been killed by deer. If your dog loves to chase deer, please protect your dog these times of the year. Below is a list of plants catagorized by preference. It is a compilation from many university and agricultural extension service studies from around north america. This list is a general rule of thumb to follow. In different areas the deer may eat different plants. There is a very basic concept about the plants that deer do not like to eat. Usually deer do not like fragrant plants or fuzzy plants. Bottom line, deer will eat just about anything if they are hungry enough. |
Aucuba - spotted laurel
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Azaleas - some |
Trees :
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