Guarding the Garden From Deer and Other Wildlife
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Guarding the Garden
From Deer and Other Wildlife
1
Guarding the Garden from
Deer and Other Wildlife
Teresa Golden
Master Gardener Volunteer
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 2
Agenda
• The Value of Wildlife
• Know Thine Enemy!
• Wildlife Resistant Plants
• Repellants and Scare Tactics
• Fencing
• Population Management
• Summary
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 3
The Value of Wildlife
• Animals help maintain the Earth's natural environment by
• predating upon plants and other animals,
• pollinating various plants, and
• exhaling carbon dioxide, which green plants require to live.
• Animals help to fertilize plants via their droppings, which provide nutrition
for plants, and seed-dispersal tendencies, which help plants to disperse
through habitats.
• Animals also serve as food for microorganisms and supplemental minerals
for plants.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 4
Impact of High Deer Populations
• Deer-vehicle collisions • Tick-borne disease
• >70,000 deer-vehicle collisions annually • Reducing deer populations can reduce
in NYS tick densities and infection rates
• Nationally, the average property cost per • Plant diversity and forest structure
collision is >$4,000
• High density deer browsing reduces
• Crop damage diversity in the forest understory,
• NYS farmers estimate $59 million of enables invasive species to out-compete
deer-related crop damages (2002) natives and prevents many seedlings
from growing into the next generation
• 25% of farmers say deer damage a of trees.
significant factor affecting profits
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 5
History of Deer in New York State
• Large numbers of deer roamed the forests of the Northeast before the
advent of the colonists.
• 1741: Law prohibited the killing of deer from January through May, but
permitted farmers to shoot deer in their cornfields
• 1902: Deer hunting was prohibited
• 1910: Deer population was 20,000 with 500,000 nationally
• 1988: The deer population of New York State rose to 800,000, an increase
of 350,000 over the prior decade
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 6
Deer in the 21st Century
• 2018: ~ 1 million deer in New York state
• Hunters take about a quarter million deer each year (228,000 five-year average)
• US population ~20 million deer
Recommended reading:
• Deerland, America’s Hunt for Ecological Balance and
the Essence of Wildness, by Al Cambronne, 2013
• Nature Wars. An Incredible Story of How Wildlife
Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds by
Jim Sterba, 2012
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 7
White-Tailed Deer Facts
• Odocoileus virginianus
• Native to North, Central and South America
• Reddish-brown coat in spring and summer that turns grey-brown in fall and winter
• White underside tail is characteristic and raised when alarmed to warn that predator has
been detected
• Longer snouts and greyer coat indicates an older deer
• Dichromatic (two color vision) with blue and yellow primaries.
• Horizontally slit pupils allow for good night vision and color vision during the day but they
poorly distinguish the oranges and reds.
• 310 degree field of vision with a pupil that lets in 9X more light than the human eye
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 8
Bucks grow antlers once a year
• Bucks weigh 125-200 lbs and are ~3.5 feet tall with a typical summer
weight of 150 lbs.
• Antlers grow over a 2-4 month period starting in late spring
• When the velvet is rubbed off, bucks may strip bark off small-diameter
trees, helping to mark territory and polish their antlers. It can take as little
as 24-48 hours for the antlers to fall off but the shedding process takes
between 2-3 weeks.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 9
The babies are cute!
• Females give birth to one to three
spotted fawns in mid-late spring.
• The average fawn weighs only 4-
8 lbs at birth
• Males leave their mothers after a
year with females leaving after
two.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 10White-tailed Deer Habitat and Diet
• Live on the forest edge
• Mixed conifer/hardwood forests, shrub lands and old fields
• ~20 deer per square mile can start to destroy a forest
• Adapt to a wide range of habitats and digest a variety of foods
• 4 chambered stomach with digestive microbes that change with the seasons
• Consume 3% of their body weight daily (~4-6000 calories or 4-10 lbs of food)
• A full grown deer can eat around 2,000-3,000 lbs of vegetation annually
• Eat legumes, grasses, clover, acorns, fruit, corn, twigs, leaves and buds with a preference
for tender, new growth.
• Diets vary by season and availability of food sources
• They can eat mushrooms and poison ivy
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 11Deer Diet
• January to March: Coniferous browse, deciduous bark
and dry leaves, acorns and other nuts, winter fruits such
as rose hips, sumac, and poison ivy (4 to 5 lbs/day).
• April to June: Herbaceous plants and grasses followed
by buds & shoots of shrubs & trees (7 to 10 lbs/day).
• July and August: Herbaceous vegetation, young leaves,
new growth of shrubs and trees, gardens.
• September to December: Soft (fruits) and hard (nuts)
mast. Acorns make up to 50% of diet. Bramble leaves,
mushrooms, gardens.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 12How Much Do Deer Eat?
• 3,000 lbs per year compared to 1,500
lbs per year for the average human
• 7 lbs per day. A healthy deer density is
18 to 30 deer/square mile. Problem
herds are 100 deer/sq. mile or more
• Example: 100 deer X 7 lbs/day equals
4900 lbs/week, 21,000 lbs/month, and
255,500 lbs/year
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 13Deer Prefer Tender Grasses and Plants
• Deer have incisors only on the bottom, so they pull/pinch rather
than cut their forage. Their bottom incisors impact on upper pad
of cartilage. They also recognize the nutritional value of fertilized
vegetation.
• Deer tear or jerk plants – often uprooting them. They leave
ragged, broken ends from the ground level up to 6 feel high. By
contrast, rabbits and rodents typically leave a clean cut surface or
simply clip a stem.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 14Deer ‘Resistant’ Plants
The following lists of wildlife-resistant plants are not definitive. They are based on the
experience of local gardeners, and those gardeners have not planted every kind of
plant to determine whether it is deer-resistant. Also, deer diets differ from area to
area.
So please use these lists as a starting point for your personal experimentation. Study
other lists. Ask other neighborhood gardeners about what works for them.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 15Conventional Wisdom About Deer Food
Preferences
• Deer tend to avoid:
• toxic plants – Daffodil
• fuzzy-leaved plants – Lamb’s Ear, Lavender
• aromatic herbs – Spotted Mint, Parsley, Fennel, Mints, Sages
• strong-tasting plants – Allium
• prickly-leaved plants – Spruce
• Your local deer may ignore conventional wisdom and may not read lists of
deer-resistant plants, so experiment and see what works in your yard
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 16A Sample of Deer ‘Resistant’ Flowers
• Artemisia • Garden Pinks • Peony
• Beardtongue • Gaura • Russian Sage
• Bee Balm • Goldenrod • Salvia
• Blanket Flower • Hellebore • Prostrate Speedwell
• Blazingstar • Iris • Sea Holly
• Bleeding Heart • Lantana • Spotted Deadnettle
• Butterfly Weed • Lily-of-the-Valley • Spotted Mint
• Catmint • Moss Phlox • Threadleaf Coreopsis
• Daisy • Nasturtium • Yarrow
• Foxglove • Ornamental Grasses
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 17Deer Resistant Shrubs/Trees
Protect shrubs and tree trunks against ‘rubbing’
Protect trees below the ‘browse line’
• Shrubs: Andromeda, Bluebeard, Boxwood, Butterfly Bush, Dwarf
Japanese Cedar, Heather, Japanese Spirea, Lilac, Viburnum,
• Trees: Birch, Cedar, Dogwood, Juniper, Magnolia, Oak, Serviceberry,
Spruce, Tulip Poplar
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 18Deer ‘Candy’ or What not to plant
• Dalilies • Apple Trees
• English Ivy • Arborvitae
• Hostas • Azaleas
• Knockout Roses • Blue or Black berries
• Pachysandra • Cherry Trees
• Pansies • Locust trees
• Tulips • Yew
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 19Options to consider for deer ‘candy’
• Plant deer ‘candy’ among
plants deer tend to avoid
• Deer tend to avoid
enclosed or ‘busy’ spaces
so deer ‘candy’ might
flourish in those areas
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 20Repellent Programs
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 21Repellent Programs
• Repellents
• are behavior modifiers BUT their performance is variable
• perform well under moderate wildlife pressure BUT may be ignored
• weather rapidly and require frequent application as new growth requires
protection
• Potential issues include:
• Plant damage concerns
• Labelling restrictions (make sure repellent is approved for NYS)
• Equipment problems (heavy binding agents slurries clog equipment
• Noxious and/or unaesthetic product residues
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 22Using Commercial Deer Repellents
• Will not be effective if deer pressure is very high
• What works in one area may not work in another
• Must be typically reapplied about every 6-8 weeks
• Change repellent & active ingredient at least annually
• Ready-to-use formulations are expensive
• Buy in concentrate form to reduce cost, but follow package directions!
• If deer are a long term problem, a fence might be a more permanent &
economical solution.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 23Deer Repellents for Vegetables and Small Fruits
• Repellent sprays containing ingredients that offend a deer’s sense of taste
or smell work best
• Rotten eggs, fish or meat byproducts, bitter taste
• Few products are labeled for edible plants. Most are for ornamentals, so
read labels carefully. Those labeled for edibles wash off during rain.
• You must reapply repellents periodically, especially after rains or when
plants are putting out new growth.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 24Fencing Options
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 25Fencing Options for Deer
• Woven wire or polypropylene mesh
• 6-7 feet adequate deterrent for most home owners
• Woven wire: $6-8 per foot to install
• Polypropylene mesh costs $2-3 per foot, plus labor
• High tensile electric fencing
• Requires regular maintenance due to heavy snows and/or dry soil conditions.
• Can be high initial installation cost
• Polytape electric fences
• Temporary fence works best under light deer pressure during summer and fall;
Peanut butter entices deer to sniff the fence where they are shocked and learn to
avoid fenced areas.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 26Polypropylene varies in thickness
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 27A Lower Cost Option for Small Gardens
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 28Woven wire varies by size
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 29Population Management for Deer
• Too many deer is the problem.
• Encourage local officials to work with wildlife professionals to harvest deer
in your area.
• Support managed hunts and bow hunting on small acreage properties.
• Allowing high deer populations results in other safety and environmental
problems, such as lyme disease, vehicle collisions, and damage to
ecosystem.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 30Groundhog
• Marmota Monax: a.k.a. woodchuck, chuck, wood-shock, groundpig,
whistlepig, whistler, thickwood badger, Canada marmot, monax, moonack,
weenusk, red monk, and siffleux.
• Adults are 16-20 inches long including a 6 inch tail and typically 5 to12
pounds; Can live up to 6 years in the wild with 2-3 years being average.
• Groundhogs are well adapted for digging with curved, thick claws and short
powerful limbs. Their 4 incisor teeth grow 1/16”/week,
• Diurnal: active in the early morning or late afternoon.
• Produce one litter (with 2-6 young) annually; Young groundhogs may be
called chucklings
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 31Groundhog Habitat
• Typically found in low elevation forests, small woodlots, fields, pastures
and hedgerows. Prefers open country and the edges of woodland
• Most have summer and winter dens. Rarely far from a burrow entrance.
Burrows can be large with up to 46 feet of tunnels up to 5 feet
underground, with typically two burrow openings or holes.
• One of a few species to enter into true hibernation – from October to
March or April. Body temperature drops to 35 degrees F with heart rate
at 4-10 beats per minute.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 32Groundhog Diet
• Eat primarily wild grasses and other vegetation, including berries
and agricultural crops when available.
• In early spring, dandelion and coltsfoot are important food items.
• Clover is a preferred food source.
• Mostly herbivorous, they may occasionally eat grubs,
grasshoppers, insects, snails, and other small animals they come
upon by accident. Typically eat more than a pound of vegetation
daily.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 33Groundhog ‘Resistant’ Plants
• Herbs: Catmint, Chives, Fennel, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Thyme
• Vegetables: Beets, Fennel, Onion, Potato
• Shade Plants: Astilbe, Bleeding Heart, Foxglove, Hellebore, Lily of the Valley,
Monkshood, Wild Ginger
• Cut Flowers: Blanket Flower, Butterfly Weed, Daffodil, Dianthus, Delphinium, Foxglove,
Iris, Lavender, Peony, Threadleaf Coreopsis, Yarrow
• Evergreens: Blue Spruce, Japanese Holly, Juniper, Pines
• Shrubs: Forsythia, Lilac, Rose of Sharon, Wisteria
• Trees: Goldenraintree, Gray Birch, Japanese Maple, Staghorn Sumac
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 34Repellent Options for Groundhogs
• Repellents are generally ineffective but predator odors (e,g, bobcat urine)
might help
• Try oily or sticky substances at the entrances to their burrows as a
deterrent
• May be live-trapped with fresh fruit or vegetables used as bait
• Per the DEC, it is illegal to move or relocate an animal off your property.
• You cannot live trap an animal and release it in a park, on State land or
anywhere other than on the property where it was captured.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 35Fencing for Groundhogs
• Strong 4 foot fence buried 12 inches in the ground bent outward
• Electric fence placed 4-5 inches off the ground and the same distance
away from the outside of the fence
• Bending the top 15 inches of woven wire out at a 45 degree angle can
also prevent climbing over fencing
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 36Rabbits
• Like deer, males are called bucks; females are called does which often have 2
litters/year averaging 6 babies . A young rabbit is referred to as a bunny or as a kit
or kitten.
• They make nests in thick grass or brush piles or may live in underground burrows or
warrens (a group of burrows)
• Speed and agility are primary defenses against predators
• Herbivores that graze on soft stems, grass or vegetables, typically with large
amounts of cellulose which is hard to digest. Will remain outdoors for many hours,
grazing at intervals.
• Natural inclination toward nocturnal activity, sleeping 8.4 hours per day. As with
other prey animals, they often sleep with their eyes open so that sudden
movements will awaken the rabbit to respond to potential danger.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 37Rabbit ‘Resistant’ Plants
• Plants with strong fragrance or fuzzy leaves
• Vegetables: Artichoke, Asparagus, Onion, Pepper, Potato, Squash, Tomato
• Trees and Shrubs: Black Walnut, Juniper, Spruce, Azalea, Fir
• Annuals and Perennials: Agastache, Ageratum, Allium, Artemesia, Balloon Flower,
Bee Balm, Begonia, Black-Eyed Susan, Blanket Flower, Bleeding Heart, Butterfly
Weed, Butterfly Bush, Canna, Candytuft, Catmint, Columbine, Daffodil, Daylily,
Forget-Me-Not, Iris, Lamb’s Ear, Lantana, Larkspur, Lavender, Marigold, Mums,
Petunia, Rosemary, Russian Sage, Salvia, Sea Holly, Sedum, Snapdragons,
Speedwell, Tickseed, Verbena, Vinca, Zinnia
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 38Defensive Options for Rabbits • Contact or taste repellents; must be reapplied to new growth that emerges after application • Ammonium soaps of higher fatty acids or those containing capsaicin can be applied to consumable plants. Repellents containing the fungicide thiram are effective but may also irritate skin; only use on non-consumable plants • Other deterrents that are deemed less effective include plastic snakes and owls, human hair, kitty litter, and limestone • Fence should extend at least 2 feet above ground with chicken wire with mesh
Raccoon
• Intelligent and adaptable
• Mostly live in deciiduous and mixed forests
• Omnivorous diet with ~40% invertebrates, 33% plants and 27%
vertebrates
• Nocturnal
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 40Defensive Options for Raccoons
• Remove food sources and water supplies
• Scare tactics (e.g. loud radios, bright lights, aluminum pans, plastic
streamers) can be tried but may be less effective
• No commercial repellents
• proven to be generally ineffective
• Predator odors maybe effective (e.g. bobcat urine)
• Electric fencing
• Consider lethal controls if absolutely necessary
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 41Eastern Chipmunk
• Smallest member of the squirrel family
• Omnivorous diet consisting of seeds, nuts and
other fruits and buds.
• Commonly eat grass, shoots, and other plant
matter as well as fungi, insects and other
arthropods, small frogs, worms and bird eggs.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 42Defensive Options for Chipmunks
• Place jagged shells or stones in holes when you plant bulbs
• Taste repellents containing bitrex, thiram or ammonium
soaps of higher fatty acids can be used to protect flower bulbs,
seeds and foliage not intended for human consumption
• Consider planting daffodils or alliums for spring planting
• Use a fence with small holes (e.g. hardware cloth) buried at least 6 inches
underground and tall enough that it won’t be easy to climb. Netting may
provide additional obstacles.
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 43Summary for Successful Gardening
With Wildlife
• Install a fence
• Plant resistant varieties
• Spray repellents persistently
• Use a dog to chase wildlife out of the yard
• Plant enough so you won’t mind sharing some
• Read and compare notes with other gardeners
• Protect shrubs & young trees up to the “browse line
• Remember: Wildlife don’t read “don’t eat” lists and in tough times
will eat just about anything
• Do what you can to reduce wildlife populations where appropriate
Teresa Golden / May 30, 2020 44For more information….
www.ccecolumbiagreene.org/gardening
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