High Elevation Gardening Web Log "Blog"

Deer can do considerable damage to plants. Browsing and hoof damage are the most common injuries, but deer will also rub their antlers on branches and trunks removing bark. Reynolds had many tips on how to deal with deer. Keep in mind that this information is for deer only. Elk are another story and will often eat anything and cause major hoof and antler damage.

Use deer deterrents BEFORE you see deer damage, not when half the rose bush is gone. Late winter is often the time to start control practices.

Damage varies with the time of the year but most occurs when forage is low. May and June are particularly dry months in Flagstaff and deer often browse gardens looking for something with moisture.

Make visiting your garden an unpleasant experience. Nothing is more attractive to deer than the hospice garden which is quiet, serene and full of wonderful food.

Vary and rotate repellents and tactics BEFORE deer become used to them. I think this was one of the big mistakes at the hospice garden. We would use something and expect it to last for the whole season.

Fences need to be at least 8 feet tall and without large holes to be effective. Deer can squeeze through holes as small as 8 inches across.

Lists of plants/shrubs and trees are fine but when food is scarce, deer will eat most anything, even plants that they won’t normally touch. Use lists as guidelines.

Last of all, avoid remedies that are unproven. You can get information from your local extension office on what has been shown to work in your region.

Reynolds mentioned several deterrents that have some proven success. Try placing bars of Irish Spring Soap on trees by treading a rope into each bar and hanging one every 3 feet. Avoid soaps made with edible oils.

Put human hair in pantyhose and hang on trees and shrubs that deer seem to prefer.

Motion-detectors that make noise can work but usually for just a short time. Deer will eventually acclimate to the noise.

Shiny strips of foil hung from trees will scare deer away. We have been using this method on the trees near the roses and so far it is working. But it is time to add another tactic before the deer get used to these.

Reynolds pointed out that many deer repellent products will work, at least for a while. All natural Deer Out has a strong, minty odor to stop animals from browsing. Deer Off and Deerbusters contain concentrated egg solids, hot pepper and garlic to deter deer by both odor and taste. Liquid Fence also relies on egg and garlic to create very strong odor and is likewise environmentally safe. Hinder which is registered to use on edibles repels with an ammonia odor. Cooperative extension does not endorse these products. Naming of a product is not an endorsement by county extension.

There are several websites with excellent information on deer-resistant plants, deterrents and repellents. Rutgers University (www.rce.rutgers.edu/deerresistance) rates plants according to their resistance to deer damage. The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/deercontrol.html) has an extensive publication with various management practices for preventing or controlling deer damage and lists many links and references. Finally, a list of deer resistant plants is available from the University of Arizona at ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1237.pdf.

By Loni Shapiro
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. If you have a gardening question, call 774-1868, Ext. 19 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.