Suburban deer love the habitat we have created for them. While they will eat almost anything, studies have noted their appetite for certain plants. Hosta and azalea are among their favorites to munch, usually as dawn, dusk, or other times in the evening when people are not present. Iris and butterfly bush are among their least favorite snacks.
The New Suburban Deer
On Sunday, April 26, 2009, the Washington Post Magazinefeatured an article by Liza Mundy about characteristics of white-tailed deer that have become used to living in the sprawling and massive Virginia and Maryland suburbs that ring Washington D.C. A prey species that once fled from the like of cougars, back bears, and hunters has seemingly won the day. With few enemies and the instinct to hide and flee, deer have adapted to cars and other dangers of the modern suburban environment.
Experts believe there are more than 29 million deer in the United States. In the Washington D. C. suburbs there are perhaps 60-80 deer per square mile. They are thriving in the Chesapeake Bay-region suburbs and other suburban areas throughout North America because of the environment that has been created.
Suburban Lawns are a Salad Bowl
Deer thrive in the brushy thickets between woodlands and open fields. Suburban housing developments and business parks are just such a habitat with shrubs like azaleas and understory trees like dogwood and holly. Flower beds and small vegetable garden patches provide an abundant and nourishing supply of tender shoots.
Unfortunately, there are few sure-fire ways to keep deer out of your front yard garden. When hungry, they are known to eat anything. However, experts have been able to determine their most and least favorite plants as well as the range in between. Experts from Cornell studied deer and wrote Managing White-tailed Deer in Suburban Environments. It is the most frequently cited professional paper on the topic.
Plants to Avoid
The Cornell researchers found azaleas, apples, plums, arborvitae, yew and hybrid tea rose were highly favored by deer. Red cedar, white pine, deciduous azaleas and forsythia were also favored, but slightly less so.
Deer also love to eat garden peas and tulips.
Plants to Consider Instead
The researchers discovered a short list of plants that deer seem to avoid. These include barberry, paper birch, common boxwood, American holly, drooping leucothoe and Japanese pieris. While there are no guarantees that your well-maintained landscape might be devoured, these species appear to be the best choices.
Gardening catalogs list bee balm, coneflower, Shasta daisy, columbine, foxglove, coreopsis, and ferns as perennials deer eat infrequently. Deer seem to dislike anything with thorns or fuzzy leaves.
Repelling Deer
Various chemicals have been used through the years to deter deer from damaging landscapes with varying degrees of success. Commercial products include Deer Off, Deer Away, and Hinder.
Common household products have also been used with some success. Hot sauce is a favorite. Ammonium soaps have also been used. Mix the hot sauce or soap with just enough water to allow the mixture to allow is to be spritzed on to plants with a spray bottle. Bars of soap have been cut up and hung on limbs or scattered in gardens and flower beds. Repellents must be reapplied after rain and on a regular basis, or at least once a week.
An article in Virginia Wildlife magazine reported that a homeowner reported success with a mixture of 1 gallon of water and a dozen eggs. After allowing the mixture to sit in the sun for a week the potent concoction was sprinkled on plants. The article’s author also recommended getting a dog or installing a fence at least 10 feet high!
Human hair is a frequently recommended repellent. Many beauty shops report customers asking for bags full of the day’s sweeping. Fishing twine tied to posts on the corners of your plot will also startle and repel deer.
Deer dislike anything with a strong odor and they are easily frightened. Keep this in mind. Any solution that is distasteful and unnerving will be better than planting an all-you-can-eat azelea buffet!
Finally, a landscape that invites deer and wildlife may be interesting alternative.
Read More: Native plants attract birds, butterflies, and insects ... and utimately ensure our survival.
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