Tips to deter deer from invading your landscape

By Hugh Earnhart

OSU Extension master gardener volunteer

Deer are creatures of habit and teach their young to return to the best smorgasboard in the neighborhood.

In broad daylight or the dark of night, these four-legged rats with antlers come into our yards and gardens to feast like they were at the Golden Corral.

Deer are being born faster than the diminishing number of hunters can control the population.

And they have no natural predators in our region.

They love to feed on expensive roses, tulips, hostas, fruit trees, tomatoes, green beans and ornamental vegetation.

What is a horticulturalist to do to protect a landscaping investment?

Every landscaper, farmer, gardener, garden center owner, grandmother and Ohio State University Extension master gardener will have a thesis of what works and what doesn’t.

Sprays, electrified devices, fences, Grandmother’s Rotten Egg and Garlic Juice, hairballs, soap, fishing line, police tape, standing guard at night, and the list goes on.

Here are some tips to save your investment:

Switch repellent: Deer will adapt to a smell, and what worked last month is not working now. Change your spray to another cocktail. There are many to select from at the supplier. Deer, like other wild animals, adjust to what is available to eat and will ignore the smell if they need to meet a dietary requirement. Mix up, rotate the spray — confuse them.

Menu selection: No plant is immune to deer browsing, but some plants are less attractive because of leaf structure, taste or odor. Woody plants like barberry, boxwood, spirea and juniper are not on their menu. Alliums and some herbs have a scent that they carry back into the woods and attach to enemies. Grasses are also not liked because of their tough, sharp-edged foliage. And there are a number of perennials that deer cannot stand—foxglove, mint, Russian sage, lamb’s ear, daffodils and others.

Fence: When all else fails, erect a deer fence around your property or garden area. A deer net is inexpensive and works for a season or two. The plastic deer fence is better. It will last longer and is more of a deterrent. A metal chain-link fence is the best, but is too expensive for most situations.

For more about controlling the potential damage to your garden, visit: http://go.osu.edu/managedeer.