Deer find your garden attractive mainly because it is a source of food. Just how attractive they find your yard is largely based how much food is on your property versus surrounding areas. Deer may have a heightened need for food towards the end of winter and into spring, which is mating and breeding season; at those times, your garden may even be more tempting to them. The types of plants in your garden is another factor in determining how attractive deer find it. While deer will eat almost any kind of plant if they are hungry enough, deer do have foods that they prefer. Planting their favorite foods and not taking precautions to keep deer out is essentially an invitation to them.
The Plants That Deer Prefer
Plants like beans that are high in protein and which have high moisture content will usually be among the first choices when raiding your garden. Raspberries, blackberries and strawberries are also particularly popular and the deer will eat not only the fruit, but the leaves and stems as well. Deer will also eat both the leaves and flowers on ornamental plants like dahlias, phlox and chrysanthemums.
Plants that Deer Avoid
Like many animals, deer are generally attracted to food by its smell. They also instinctively know which plants are likely to be poisonous. As a rule, they prefer tender plants and avoid those that are dry and fibrous. Among the plants that deer seldom damage are;
hawthorn
oleander
hydrangea
rosemary
Palms, widely used for their decorative value are also not among the favorite foods of deer.
Urbanization Plays a Role
In many places deer have adapted to the fact that residential neighborhoods are encroaching on their habitats and have become more comfortable looking for food around human dwellings. In addition to urban expansion, reasons deer might be destroying your garden include;
Ease of access to your property
Absence of predators in the vicinity of your home
Can Deer Be Effectively Deterred?
Deer tend to act according to established patterns and once they have discovered that a viable source of food exists in a particular location, few things will stop them from returning to it. As a result of the destructive power of deer, many homeowners may attempt deer control measures. Not all of them are effective and they may be both expensive and labor-intensive. The most widely used methods to get rid of deer in a yard include;
Building fences
Planting only those plants that deer prefer not to eat
Using strategies designed to scare deer away.
Using Deer’s Natural Fear of Predators to Keep Them Away
The coyote is one of the deer’s most feared predators and they instinctively know to avoid areas where they detect the presence of coyotes. Shake Away is a deer repellent that contains coyote urine as its active ingredient. Factors that allow Shake Away to be effective include:
The deer’s extraordinary sense of smell which is several times greater than that of a dog.
The deer’s desire to elude its predators
Shake Away repellent packs work in a variety of weather conditions without the need for constant, messy reapplication.
Shake Away is not harmful to deer or to humans.
Shake Away deer repellent packs allow the repellent to be hung discreetly in your garden so as to discourage any deer in the vicinity from entering your premises.
Change the Factors That Attract Deer
Deer Repellent Packs
All Natural, Easy to Use Deer Repellent Packs Keep Deer Away
Like most other pest animals, deer find your yard or garden attractive because it offers easy, threat-free access to their preferred food. In response to you changing the factors that add up to an attractive feeding grounds for deer, deer will change their behavior and move on to an area that better suits their needs. Taking advantage of the deer’s natural fear of predators (changing your yard from threat-free to threatening) with the use of predator urine based deer repellent may be the least expensive and easiest technique of making and keeping your yard deer free.
