Several years ago, a deer sighting was rare, but now it is a common occurrence. Farms and woodland areas that deer once inhabited have become housing developments. Many housing developments feature nature areas that provide a sheltered, predator-free place for deer to hang out until they go searching for a meal in your backyard. Deer can do extensive damage to plants in the landscape and garden in search of food. Here are a few facts about deer to give you a better understanding of these mostly docile creatures. Facts about Deer • Deer are most active at dawn or dusk. • Depending on species, deer can weigh between 20 and 1800 lbs. The Southern Pudu weighs only 20 lbs. while moose can top out at 1800 lbs. The most common deer in North America are white tail, moose, caribou, mule, black tail and elk. • Deer can live up to 20 years of age. • Deer are the only animals that have antlers, which are different than horns. Antlers are made of living tissue that starts growing in the spring and sheds in the winter. Each year the process is repeated. • Deer have a heightened sense of hearing. They can turn the direction of their ears without turning their head. • Deer have eyes on the sides of the head that provide them with 310 degrees of vision without moving their head. Deer also have excellent night vision. • Their coat color serves as camouflage. If deer sense a threat approaching, they stand completely still to access the situation and easily blend in with the surrounding woodland. They use their tails to warn other deer of danger by flipping it straight up. Their summer coat is shed and replaced by a thicker coat for winter. • Powerful muscles in their legs aid deer in reaching speeds of up to 30 miles per hour and allow them to jump up to 10 feet high. The powerful muscles also make them excellent swimmers. • Their sense of smell is very sensitive, allowing them to smell other deer or predators from a great distance away. Fawns lack this heightened sense of smell and stay with their mother for at least their first year of life, relying on her to protect them from danger. • Deer are herbivores and their main diet is grass, leaves, buds and tender stems of various perennials, shrubs and trees. They also consume berries, acorns, and even mushrooms. • An adult deer can eat 6-8 pounds of food each day. • Like cows, deer have several stomach chambers. Food is stored in the first chamber after eating, then brought back into the mouth to be chewed again before passing onto the third and fourth chambers for digestion. • In the fall, male deer perform an act called rutting by rubbing their antlers against trees to remove the dried velvet covering and mark their territory. Although its timing can vary in different parts of the country, rut season usually begins at the end of September, peaks in November, and lasts until mid-December. • Deer are less active in the winter months, but will eat just about anything when food is scarce. Even plants that have been designated as deer resistant can be damaged during winter. Plan of Action To help you develop a plan of action that will work for you, we will outline some products on the market that can help you deter deer from your garden. These deterrents will not harm the deer, but will simply encourage them to forage for food elsewhere. During the rutting season, male deer rub their antlers against trees, often causing extensive damage. If they remove enough bark and cut into the vascular system of the tree, the tree will lose its ability to transport nutrients and water and can ultimately die. There are many versions of tree guards that wrap around the base of trees to prevent deer from damaging the trunk. There are open mesh tree guards and high density polyethylene tree guards. Corrugated LDPE (low density polyethylene) tree guards are slotted for air flow and flexible for easy installation. Plastic spiral tree guards provide adequate air flow and expand as the tree grows to prevent girdling. Another plastic (polyethylene) option is cut sections of slotted field tile. Orchard growers who have many trees to protect may choose this route since it is economical and easy to adjust to the size needed. You can also use wire mesh such as chicken wire or garden wire cut to size. However, be sure to monitor the wire as the trees grow to prevent it from cutting into the bark and causing girdling. Wire fencing is durable, long lasting and chew proof. Deer fencing can create a barrier to keep deer out of both large and small areas. Deer fencing is made from heavy duty polypropylene in varying mesh sizes and tensile strength, and can handle several hundred pounds of pressure without breaking. It is lightweight, easy to work with and long-lasting. Be careful of some cheap versions of poly fencing. If you can break it with your hands, it won’t be effective in keeping animals out. The most expensive deer-proofing strategy is to erect a large fence with wood and wire. Remember, the smaller the opening in the wire, the larger number of animals you will be able to keep out. This could include rabbits, groundhogs, ground squirrels and rodents. Animals can be trapped and injured in fencing with large openings, so be mindful when choosing materials to build your fence. Repellent sprays can also be effective if erecting a fence is not within your budget. Repellents that contain putrescent egg solids work best. The sulfurous smell gives deer the impression of rotted meat, a sign that a predator may have eaten another animal nearby, causing them to avoid the area. Thankfully, the scent quickly becomes undetectable for humans, but lingers for deer who have a far superior sense of smell. Repellents that contain garlic, dried blood, fish oils and mint oils give off scents that deer find offensive. Deer repellents are also available as granules that can be sprinkled to form a barrier around an area and protect prized garden plants. Unfortunately, repellent sprays and granular applications must be reapplied and alternated if deer become accustomed to the scent or if rain water washes away most of the repellent. Deer repellents that attack the sense of taste use hot, spicy peppers or bitter components. Systemic tablets made from capsaicin, the extract from hot chili peppers, can be purchased at most garden centers. When the tablets are placed below the soil surface, the active ingredient is taken up through the root system of the plant and distributed through all parts of the plant. Keep in mind that systemic repellents should only be used on ornamental plants, not those meant for human consumption. One point to note - When spraying thick, smelly liquids with your garden sprayer, remember to thoroughly rinse the entire sprayer tank and run clean water through the hoses. The repellents will solidify in the lines of the sprayer and render it useless if not cleaned properly. Other items that are on the market are water sprinkler systems run by a sensor and ultrasonic sound systems that use high frequency sound. Avoid ultrasonic sound systems if you have pets as the sound may bother their ears. Soap based repellents garner mixed reviews, but some gardeners have had success with hanging bars of strongly scented soap in mesh bags in trees. Garlic clips are small tubes filled with organic, food-grade garlic oil that clip onto the branches of trees and shrubs at nose-level of munching deer. Dogs can be the best natural deterrent as dogs and deer rarely get along. There are multiple options for keeping deer out of your landscape. Sometimes you may need to implement more than one depending on the severity of the problem. Plants that are Deer Resistant There are plants that deer will avoid, especially if food they enjoy are plentiful. However, if it’s dead of winter and food is scarce, they will eat just about anything. Here is a brief list of plants deer tend to avoid: Bulbs Allium Autumn Crocus (Colchicum) Bluebells (Endymion) Calla Lily Canna Daffodils Elephant Ears (Colocasia) Scilla Snowdrops (Galanthus) Perennials Agastache Cactus Columbine (Aquilegia) Coreopsis Threadleaf Dicentra (Bleeding Hearts) Echinops Ferns – Christmas, Cinnamon, Hay Scented, Holly, Japanese Painted Iris Ligularia Nepeta (Catmint) Ornamental Grasses – Bluestem, Festuca, Blue Oat Grass, Feather Reed Grass, Fountain Grass Silver Mound (Artemisia) Stachys (Lamb’s Ear) Statice Wild Ginger Herbs Anise Mint Oregano Rosemary Tarragon Thyme Shrubs Arrowwood Viburnum Autumn Olive Barberry Boxwood Butterfly Bush Caryopteris (Blue Mist Shrub) Daphne Dwarf Alberta Spruce Heather Juniper Russian Olive (Elaeagnus) Trees Birch (Betula) – Paper, River Bottlebrush Buckeye Chinese Fringe Tree (Chionanthus) Colorado Blue Spruce Dawn Redwood Hawthorne Katsura Tree Mimosa PawPaw Pine – Austrian, Japanese Black, Red, White Sassafras Willow (Salix)