How To Deer Proof Your Garden Practically
Living where we do we have come to enjoy the sight of deer grazing in our back bush. Having said that, I must admit to taking some offense when the deer completely chow down on a particular garden favourite (mine, not theirs). When we first started landscaping our yard, I was keen on 'deer proofing' our yard. After four years I have now come to the conclusion that such a goal is neither completely doable nor really necessary. I have instead taken a selective approach to deer and critter proofing designed to limit the damage done by deer, rabbits or other critters while still enjoying their presence.
Deer browsing in our back garden in January
Give them a haven
Deer prefer to browse in open areas near the cover available from large shrubs or trees rather than in the open. Our back bush is a perfect grazing area for the deer with its hawthorn grove, wild apple trees and open pathways. Luckily for us, the deer seem to graze in our back bush mostly in winter and tend to move elsewhere during spring and summer. This may be due to more 'people' activity in our yard during these times although deer frequently move their feeding grounds throughout the year. I find that while we have an abundance of deer track at the back of our property, they do not seem to venture into the more ornamental gardens around our home as these are much more open.
Use deer resistant plants
Design your landscape using as many deer resistant plants as possible. I have learned, the hard way, to plant deer resistant plants in many areas near the back gardens. While these plants may be grazed lightly during winter, they will quickly rejuvenate in spring and early summer. My attempt at planting azaleas and rhodo's in this area just led to constant frustration.
Large, established, deer resistant plants are quickly able to recover from mild browsing. Be aware that deer resistant does not mean deer-proof. When hungry, deer will eat almost anything. New tender plants are susceptible to grazing no matter what their type. Newly planted forsythia in our bush were eaten to the ground their first winter but were barely touched their second year when they reached three times as high. Plants that typically deter deer have a strong scent, leathery leaves, thorns or other unpleasant texture. I have had particular luck with white pine, oregon grape holly, as well as some established native shrubs however the damage can even differ from one season to the next.
I am willing to accept some 'winter' browsing in my garden if these plants rebound early enough to bloom or put on a good show the following season. If however they damage the plant enough to interfere with my enjoyment of the plant (like eating off the buds from my azaleas) then these plants are moved to an area less frequented by the deer and more deer tolerant plants are moved in.
Fencing
While for some a deer fence may be feasible, for us it would be both cost prohibitive and not in keeping with our natural landscape. A deer fence needs to be at least 8 feet tall to be effective.
Having said that, we have fenced in our vegetable garden with 3 foot fencing, buried 6 inches into the ground. This has been a very effective deterrent against rabbit and raccoon damage. We added a decorative gate to our garden, lined with the same 1/2 inch fencing, to provide us with easy access.
Fencing with 1/2 inch galvanized fence around the vegetable garden
Individual Fencing
I have had some success with individual fencing when needed. Once we found out that the chipmunks were climbing our vegetable garden fence to get to our lovely fresh peas, we covered the peas with black plastic mesh, anchored at the ground with rocks. The chipmunks were not able to either get around or eat through the netting, saving the peas for ourselves!
Fencing, netting or tree guards can effectively protect your tender young plants until they can be either established or harvested. Since I was not thrilled with the look of white tree guards, I used 1/2 inch wire fencing to create a small circular fence around the base of some new trees to protect them from rabbit and deer damage. While the deer could browse the branches they would at least not strip the bark completely from the trunk by either browsing or rubbing their back or horns on the bark.
I removed the galvanized fence pieces the following summer and re-use them as needed around new or tender plantings each year.
Fence guards around young trees
Deterrents and repellents
I must say I have not had a lot of success with deterrents. While many abound, in a large country setting it just isn't feasible to run around and keep placing any of these sprays or mixes regularly on my plants. I have instead either lived with occasional damage or used the strategies above where needed.
Accept some damage
OK, while this isn't really deer proofing advice, it really is a more practical way to enjoy your garden. Part of the enjoyment of living in the country is enjoying the native wildlife, good and bad. By using some of the above strategies I have found that I have been able to limit my damage to a minimum and the damage that did occur was quickly re-established or replaced with something wiser. And in the meantime, we enjoy watching the deer during the long winter months when the garden itself is not in bloom.