How to Keep Deer Out of Your Garden

Americans spend thousands of dollars on deer repellents to try to keep deer grazing in their gardens to a minimum. Learn how to keep deer out of your garden with deer repellents and deer-resistant plants. Read this article to find out what works and what doesn’t.

Short of erecting a very tall fence, there is no fool-proof way to keep deer from sampling most gardens. Many gardening and landscape operations offer lists of flora thought to be “deer-resistant.” But deer-resistant does not mean deer-proof. However, there are a few steps you can take to try to protect your landscaping investment.

Commercial Deer Repellents and Home Deterrents

                  1. Try commercial deer repellents. Some smell minty fresh; others smell like rotten eggs. But sprays and granules, if applied consistently, can help. Deer abhor certain strong scents – like peppermint and garlic. Remember to reapply on new growth or after heavy rainfall. An alternative to garlic sprays and granules is to plant sprouted garlic cloves around the plants and vegetables that you wish to protect from grazing deer.

                  2. Sprinkle some spices. It’s been said that sprinkling old spices from the kitchen, such as ground chili pepper, onion, and garlic, will turn deer away. In fact, many of the commercial repellents list such ingredients as oil of black pepper, vinegar, cinnamon and clove oils, onion, and cod liver oil.

                  3. Irish Spring Bath Soap. Some landscapers swear by this home deterrent – it has a sharply sweet scent said to keep grazing to a minimum. Try grating the soap and sprinkling it in the garden.

                  4. Save those hair clippings. A few diehards suggest saving hair clippings after a visit to the salon and sprinkling those in the garden as well.

                  5. Net the most vulnerable plants – especially during the winter, when deer are most hungry.

Deer Resistant Plants

Boxwood shrubs are as close as a gardener can get to a sure thing when it comes to deer-resistant plants. Vinca, snapdragons, salvia, and foxglove bring color to a garden and don’t seem to be of interest to deer.

The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers provides a list of landscape plants, rated according to their resistance to deer damage. Those on the “rarely damaged” list include:

          Perennials, such as Buttercup, False Indigo, Wild Ginger, Lamb’s Ear, and Lavender.

          Annuals, such as Poppies, Sweet Alyssum, Dusty Miller, and Forget-me-nots.

          Ornamental grasses, such as Blue Fescue and Blue Oat Grass.

          Shrubs, such as Barberry, Bayberry, Heather, and Butterfly Bushes.

          Bulbs, such as Autumn Crocus, Bluebells, and Daffodils.

          Trees, such as the Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Japanese Black Pine, and River Birch.

Remember, there is almost no such thing as a “deer-proof” plant. And what works in someone else’s garden might be destroyed in yours, depending on the path a herd of deer might routinely follow. So be patient and persistent and do your homework. Over time, you should be able to create a garden that deters deer while delighting visitors.