By Maureen Keilty
Living with Wildlife Advisory Board
For area gardeners and homeowners, deer are a curse.
A defensive strategy that includes fencing, netting and tubing, treating plants with deer repellent and selecting plants unappealing to deer is the most effective approach to dealing with deer.
Physical barriers keep deer away from your green treasures. Enclosing a garden or tree in a fence 8-feet high prevents the agile jumpers from leaping into their next meal. Black propylene deer fencing in 2-inch netting is virtually invisible in a wooded setting, relatively inexpensive and easy to install.
Row covers anchored in place over short crops such as bush beans conceal plants from eavesdropping deer while providing sun and wind protection. Chicken wire wrapped over a shrub or a small flower bed inhibits deer from nibbling leaves or picking fruit.
Tubes of Vexar are the best guardians for small or seedling-sized trees. Constructed of a plastic-like material in a diamond net pattern, the 16-inch by 4-inch tube supported by a bamboo stick protects a young tree from intruding deer. Once the seedlings are established, Vexar sunlight-degrades over five years. Vexar tree tubes are inexpensive and available online.
Other tree protectants include plastic wrap around trunks and plastic netting draped over a fruiting tree. Harvesting unripe fruit is the recommended route to tasting a tree’s product before deer devour the entire crop.
Repellents are an effective, affordable means of discouraging deer. Many commercial formulas are available at local garden and hardware stores. However, the cheapest repellent, ranked highly effective in a 1992 Colorado State University study of repellents tested on deer and elk is simply chicken eggs (20 percent) and water (80 percent). One egg, one quart of water is sufficient for home gardeners.
Plant placement and selection is a big factor in deer appeal. “Deer resistant” marks many plants sold in nurseries, but keep in mind no plant is “deer proof.” Hungry deer will find almost any plant palatable.
Deer rely on sense of smell, so try chives, garlic, marigold, lavender or mint to mask the aroma of tastier greens.
Though a deer’s sense of smell trumps touch, plant textures can turn off the hungriest deer. Thorny, prickly and hairy foliage such as potentilla, Russian sage, lambs ears and yarrow rank unpopular among deer and elk.
Scare tactics like an ever-vigilant dog, scarecrow, wind chimes and movement-activated floodlights work until deer become desensitized.
Putting a few of these tips into practice, before deer become a problem, is the best way to prevent damage to your vegetation.
Maureen Keilty, a master gardener since 2001 is the La Plata County Living with Wildlife Advisory Board chairwoman.