Deer, Oh Deer!

I suspect it will be a bad winter for deer damage. The weather is more unpredictable than usual in Massachusetts. So far, there’s no heavy snow cover to slow Bambi down at the buffet, and when the snows do come my plants will be that much more attractive. And it seems there’s an unusually light acorn crop so Bambi will be more inclined to “eat out”.

My yard is actually pretty deer resistant, with one big exception. I can already see that the deer have been across my back slope, planted with beautiful, old, low and wide yews – mmmmmm, candy! And, adding insult to injury, the soil is unseasonably soft and heavily pawed meaning I’ll have to re-grade and re-mulch the whole area come spring. So, once again I’ll be taking steps to keep Bambi at bay.

There are a lot of repellants on the market. Some of the most popular are Deer Off, Bobbex, Liquid Fence, Deer Scram, and predator urines. Watch for the results of product testing being conducted by the UMass Extension Service. Repellants really are terrific products if you keep several points in mind.
• First, lots of repellants are based on a combination of scent and taste. Marauding deer will need to nibble to be repelled if the scent alone doesn’t keep them away.
• Second, all repellants need to be reapplied on a regular basis. Time and weather diminish their scent and taste.
• Third, predator urines need to be chosen sensibly. A deer is unlikely to be upset by fox urine. Coyote urine or even your own dog’s urine is a better threat.
• Fourth, “Familiarity breeds contempt”. Switch brands periodically to keep deer guessing and consequently ill at ease in protected areas.
• And fifth, don’t wait. Bad habits are hard to break. If you’ve had a problem with deer in the past, you’re likely to have one again. Denial will get you nowhere.

Temporary fencing is a great option, as well. You can usually buy deer netting in huge sheets – one popular brand comes in a piece 14’ x 75’. This is a nearly invisible, black, nylon filament woven into a ½” mesh.
• You can split it in half lengthwise to create two 7’ wide strips and use them to fence in plants. Drive stakes to support the netting and use a staple gun or ties to attach the netting to the stakes. Your goal is to set the fence far enough away from the plants to keep deer from pushing the fencing into the plants and nibbling on what pokes through or above the mesh yet close enough to the plants so that deer won’t feel comfortable jumping over it and feeding within its confines. Deer, like many prey animals, assess spaces not just for how easily they can get in but also get out. So, you wouldn’t want to leave a space of more than 8’ between the netting and the plants. And you want the netting’s top edge to be at least 6’ high. Deer can jump pretty high, and with all four legs on the ground they can reach at least 5’.
• For added oomph, you can tie tin pie pans along the top edge of the netting – shiny and spooky from a deer’s point of view.
• You can also drape the netting right over the plants you want to protect. Remember that whatever pokes through can be nibbled off, although this is usually not enough to worry about, especially with larger leafed plants like rhododendrons. Do try to remove the netting fairly early in the spring when deer move back into the woods but before songbirds return and can become entangled in the mesh.

Belt and suspenders folks will, of course, use sprays and fencing.

So, let’s say you did practice denial and discover next spring that Bambi did a number on your plants. Do not despair! Deer can strip a shrub of almost all the leaves, but the wood and roots can remain healthy. Light browsing usually has a minimal effect; the plant should look fine at the end of the growing season if you follow these suggestions.
• Cut stems back to new buds to remove tattered ends and encourage growth from dormant buds lying beneath the bark.
• Use a balanced (equal nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium) fertilizer during the growing season, being careful not to over-fertilize.
• Water the damaged plants to a depth of 4 to 6 inches whenever the soil becomes dry during the growing season, being careful not to over-water.
• Going into the following winter, use an anti-desiccant spray to protect foliage from winter-burn and reevaluate your anti-deer measures.
Heavy browsing can permanently alter the shape of a plant and recovery can take two years or longer, but corrective pruning can create an equally beautiful specimen form. Repeated heavy browsing can severely deform and eventually kill a plant so you may choose to replace it with one that is less delicious. But before you wrench that plant out of the ground, give it a chance to show its mettle!

For a list of deer resistant plants: http://www.westonnurseries.com/Deer-Resistant-Plants.  This and other helpful guidelines are available on our website at http://www.westonnurseries.com//Gardening-Guidelines.

Advertisement