I'm quite happy to leave a carrot out for Rudolf at Christmas, but the deer that come into my garden don't seem to be so easily pleased! Having recently moved, I now have first-hand experience of these menacing creatures and I can deeply sympathise with others who have this perennial problem.
Deer will affect many plants, especially trees, shrubs and herbaceous. In the winter, bark can be stripped from all types of trees, both deciduous and coniferous, and in the spring the males can fray the bark on stems and branches as they mark their territory. The spring is also the period when the deer browse on new shoots and leaves, causing untold damage.
To exclude them entirely, wire mesh fences of at least six feet would be needed, which means even driveways would require a deer-proof gate. Not only can this look unsightly, it can be fairly expensive and not always practical. Other methods include placing wire mesh cylinders around the trunks of vulnerable trees and shrubs to help reduce the bark stripping and fraying.
Slightly more temporary are chemical repellents and scaring devices, such as hanging tin cans on some twine and stringing this across sites where the deer are known to roam. Some plants are said to be deer-resistant such as the following perennials: Carex, Paeonia, Aconitum, Digitalis, Nepeta and Euphorbia, but what may repel them one year may attract them the next.
A deer's sense of smell is very acute and one idea I've heard of that might be worth trying is using human hair. Just place small bundles of this hair into some nylon tights and tie these to the branches of your treasured plants or hang them in prominent positions on some canes to deter them.
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