(Originally posted at 'Designers on Design' October 2011, re-edited Jan 2012)
(It's a plague of locusts, except they're cute & hairy 100lb. beasts)...
Years ago I was asked to design gardens and landscaping for a rustic log home in a remote area. Deer were constantly on the property foraging the vegetation, killing much of the owner's ornamental planting. Researching the problem (and with a number of distracting jobs in the hopper), I quickly specified "deer-proof" plants from a list that I found in the Sunset Western Garden Book. A week after installation, I got a call from the client. "They've eaten everything" – and they had, almost all of the plants from the list. I realized then my mistake, one that has informed my thinking ever since. I had not "geomanced the site", didn't understand the deer life cycle and I really hadn't brought any eco-analytical skills to the task at hand. On the second round, we installed carefully specified natives and ornamentals that, though sometimes foraged, survived to offer seasonal color and re-establish habitat.
As we come out of winter season, you may notice increased plant damage due to deer and other animal browsing, as foliage and food sources diminish. Beyond the scourge of cranefly, aphids and other insect pests here in the northwest, our mammalian villians traditionally include moles & voles, mountain beaver, common beaver and the deer that wreak havoc on our gardens. Yes, deer may be cute but they can be devastating. (Kind of like my ten year old when she gets really mad). Deer may eat hundreds of different kinds of plants and close to 10 pounds of food daily, loosely browsing many different plants in a garden. Preferring new shoots and budding plants in spring, deer also are drawn to acorns, vegetables, grasses and other young and tender plants. A ruminant animal, deer swallow food quickly, then regurgitate and chew their cud later at a safer location. Extensive damage can be seen in autumn and winter, as deer browse evergreen boughs and hardy shrubs left untouched in spring and summer. Deer prefer to be near a protective natural canopy, typically a forested area or thick foliage.
Here in the Pacific Northwest we commonly encounter the common mule deer and two subspecies, black-tailed deer on the western side of the Cascade mountain range and the Columbian white-tailed deer, listed as endangered. White-tailed deer can be found in Oregon, along the Columbia river and in Southwestern Washington.
Beyond tolerating deer in a habitat that the animals may have become accustomed to, there are a number of approaches that you can take to reduce deer damage as they work to develop appropriate and sustainable habitat. You should of course specify deer-resistant plants. These may typically be spinier materials, tomentose or thickly leaved...and counter-intuitively, plants with a stronger fragrance. A simple solution to minimizing deer activity is to allow a well-trained and unchained dog to "patrol the perimeter". In my case, I do not advocate "invisible" dog fences, as I feel that these devices provide a cruel shock (and frankly are a form of animal abuse. Don't agree? Well, try on a collar.)
Absent this, you might install a fence. The fence will need to be at least 6 feet in height and 8ft is better, should local rules permit. Suprisingly, an opaque fence that does not allow the deer to see a safe landing zone on the oposite side may be effectively as short as 5 1/2 ft in height. My particular economical choice is to install a 6ft. black vinyl coated welded-wire mesh fence, punctuated by 4x4 posts. This type of barrier tends to almost disappear when viewed from a distance, preserving the look of the natural character. In some cases, it may be advisable to "mark" the fence at regular intervals with nursery tape or cloth, so the deer can readily see it and learn to browse elsewhere.
The WA State Dept of Fish & Wildlife also recommends this natural spray deer deterrant. Simply mix the following in a 1-gallon tank sprayer:
Natural Deer Deterrent:
2 beaten and strained eggs— strain them to remove the white strings surrounding the yolk, which otherwise will plug up your sprayer).
1 cup milk, yogurt, buttermilk, or sour milk,
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper
20 drops essential oil of clove, cinnamon, or eucalyptus, found in small bottles at health food stores
1 tsp. cooking oil or dormant oil,
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
Top off the tank with water and pump it up. Shake the sprayer occasionally and mist onto dry foliage. One application will last for 2 to 4 weeks in dry weather.
There is a lot to know about these big fellas, so best to study up. You can find Pacific Northwest deer-related lists and more info here: https://green2.kingcounty.gov/gonative/Article.aspx?Act=view&ArticleID=18 , https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/living/species-facts/deer.
In the end, it may not be appropriate to completely deter deer, as we have to adopt innovative ways to integrate creative designs with the evolution of suburban habitat. As home sites reach further into natural animal corridors and development forces animals to range further for food, it is our responsibility to educate homeowners to better co-exist with the native character in all its facets – animal, vegetable and mineral.
(BTW, if you think deer are bad, we had a client last year that needed to keep BEARS out of his garden. Our solution? While carefully watching out for those pesky critters we built a 6 foot+ heavy guage galvanized steel mesh fence. You can see it here …)
