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Standing at the kitchen sink, up to your elbows in dish suds, you gaze out over your garden, lost
in happy thoughts of luscious tomatoes, fragrant roses, spicy basil, and colorful tulips. Then you
spot them. Four deer, gliding out of the woods toward your garden. Suddenly, your image of a
bountiful garden is reduced to nothing but nibbled stalks and a bed punctuated by sharp hooves.
These graceful marauders are an increasing nuisance as suburban sprawl encroaches on their
natural habitat. While beautiful to behold from a distance, deer can turn into monstrous pests in
your garden or orchard. Is there a way to coexist with them peacefully without sacrificing your
garden? Yes, there is hope!
The first thing to keep in mind is that each region may be different, so what works well
in other places may not work for you and vice versa. That's why it is important to start by talking
with other gardeners in your area and see what has and has not been effective for them.
Nicole Lemieux and Brian Maynard of the Sustainable Landscapes Program in the Department of Plant
Sciences at the University of Rhode Island, suggest gardeners consider the following questions that
will help identify the best deer control strategies for their needs:
How much damage are the deer inflicting on your garden?
How much damage can you tolerate?
How much money are you willing to spend on controls?
Are aesthetics very important to you or are you willing to try anything to preserve your garden?
What are your short term and long term goals? For example, do you want to protect only your asparagus crop or tulip bulbs, or do you want to keep deer out of your yard entirely?
Your answers to these questions will prepare you to decide on an suitable
plan of attack.
PLANTS DEER RARELY EAT
Barberry
Beebalm
Boxwood
Butterfly weed
Columbine
Daffodils
False spirea
Ferns
Foxglove
Juniper
Lantana
Lavender
Mints
Oleander
Pine
Rosemary
Spruce
If you've seen the deer in your yard leave other plants unmauled, come share your experience with
other organic gardeners in our Gardener to Gardener Message
Board.
The next step is to thoroughly analyze your site. What sort of damage
do you have? What plants are being eaten? Where do the deer come from and when do
they show up? Remember, each herd is unique in its browsing habits.
Devise a strategy The solution, note Lemieux and Maynard, may be as
simple as relocating particularly choice plants to a central location and then
using a variety of tactics to protect them. Or maybe you want to plant
substitutions that are less attractive to the deer.
