Deer and rabbits can destroy your garden and landscaping. While there is little that is guaranteed to keep these hungry critters out of your yard, you can minimize the likelihood of them doing damage.
A fence is the most foolproof way to keep both deer and rabbits out of the garden. Deer can leap vertically almost eight feet, so an effective deer fence needs to be about that tall. A barrier, such as a hedge, that is five feet high and just as wide also will keep deer out.
Several companies have developed relatively inexpensive plastic mesh fencing to foil deer. The black material, which from a distance blends into the landscape, can be stretched between trees and/or fence posts to create a discreet separation. While the plastic is durable against the weather, deer do occasionally tear the mesh, so it’s a good idea to walk the fence line periodically to check for needed repairs.
Benner’s Gardens offers deer fencing kits at its Web site, www.bennersgardens.com (click on “Deer Fence Kits”). A small garden-enclosure kit includes a 7.5-foot-high by 100-foot-long roll of standard deer fence with stakes and posts for $369, including shipping. A large garden-enclosure kit with a 330-foot-long fence goes for $869.
If you don’t want a fence, try crisscrossing string from tree to tree to a height of eight feet or higher. This often can baffle deer enough to keep them away.
To protect tender saplings, surround the trunks with cylinders of wire mesh (not plastic mesh). Wire mesh is available at The Home Depot and Lowe’s.
While deer can leap over fences, rabbits burrow underneath, and they can squeeze through tight spaces. Therefore, rabbit fencing needs to be wire with a mesh no larger than one inch to keep out baby bunnies. In addition to being no less than two feet above the ground, the wire should be buried at least six inches under the soil.
When food is scarce, deer will eat almost any plant, even ones that make them sick. Nevertheless, there are some plants that they are less likely to devour.
Deer avoid some bulbs, including leucojum, iris, daffodils and calla lilies. Other flowers generally safe from deer include agapanthus, calendula, foxglove, lupins, some poppy varieties, California fuchsias, pride of Madeira, hellebore and zinnias. Deer ignore tulip foliage but eat the flowers with relish, leaving the topped stems.
Ferns are considered deer resistant, as is boxwood, buddleia, Carolina allspice, Mexican orange, rockrose, jasmine, rosemary, junipers, kerria, oleander, mahonia and lantana. Curiously, deer avoid rhododendrons but savor their close relative, azaleas. Vines that are considered safe from deer include Carolina jasmine, English ivy, potatovine, Costa Rican nightshade and Cape honeysuckle.
Be aware, though, that no list of plants is completely accurate. Deer’s tastes vary from region to region and even from year to year. So a plant that’s safe in New England may be a deer magnet in the South…or a plant that deer avoid one year may be their favorite dish the next.
