Draw the line against deer
A garden is like a box of bonbons to deer, and homeowners fill it with the candy they love most.
“Deer are looking for the highest-quality food, and our yards often offer the best smorgasbord,” said Dana Sanchez, a wildlife specialist for Oregon State University Extension Service. “When taking loving care of our plants — watering well and and fertilizing — we’re producing a really superior plant compared to what’s in the natural environment. They are more tender and have more nutrition and water content.”
In the wild, deer and native plants evolved together, so plants developed defenses like waxy leaves or prickles that make them more adapted to surviving grazing. Even when they do get nibbled, natives are more likely to survive than the succulent plants in our gardens.
“We’re often selecting plants from other parts of the world that didn’t get to learn through evolution about the herbivores in our ecosystem,” Sanchez said. “They’re ‘naïve.’ Even roses that have prickles don’t have them around the beautiful blossoms, which the deer just snap off. They easily take what they want.”
Choosing native plants — or other plants less attractive to their palate — helps deter deer. Daphne, forsythia, Oregon grape holly, rhododendrons, columbine, daffodils, foxglove, purple coneflower, lavender and daylilies are all good ones to try.
Deer explore our yards for more than just plants. They’re delighted with supplemental food provided deliberately by humans who believe they’re being kind, a practice Sanchez strongly discourages. Feeding deer gives them more motivation to wander into suburban, sometimes even urban, yards.
The feeling of safety once they arrive makes them want to stay. The large carnivores that prey on them aren’t around, and humans aren’t hunting them. Deer even become desensitized to dogs unless there’s a close confrontation, which usually ends poorly for the dog, Sanchez said.
Prineville residents get creative trying to deter deer
“Places where humans live are a great place for deer to hang out, which makes it difficult to keep them away,” she added.
But it’s an effort important to make. As more deer congregate, there’s potential for parasites and disease to spread among themselves and possibly to humans. For instance, in some Midwest and East Coast states, deer carrying the ticks that pass on Lyme disease pose a significant health issue. Plus, the large carnivores they’re trying to escape may follow them into neighborhoods, setting up a dangerous situation.
Deer disease recedes, but remains a threat in Oregon
“We don’t want large plant eaters or the meat eaters that prey on them hanging around,” Sanchez said. “Keeping wildlife in the wild is best for humans and the animals.”
But thwarting the high-jumping animals takes quite an effort. Eventually, many homeowners plagued by deer resort to fences, whether an enclosure around a prized rosebush or an 8- to 10-foot barrier around the entire yard. However, deer fencing, made of a robust mesh material, is an expensive initial investment. Another option is a single strand of electrical wire extended from a regular fence.
Some people use motion-controlled scarecrow sprinklers, which blast water when activated.
“That’s more of a shock-and-awe deterrent,” Sanchez said. “It protects a limited area, though. Deer are notorious for figuring out the spray pattern and getting around it. They’re helpful for a corner of the yard or a bed up against the house.”
Deer repellents can be effective but need to be applied frequently during rainy periods or when plants have been watered with an overhead sprinkler. Even summer sunshine or extreme heat can degrade the products. It’s also a good idea to vary the types of repellents you use because deer become sensitized to the same one used repeatedly. And remember, don’t spray them on anything you might eat: The odor and taste is just as unpleasant for us as it is for the deer.
No matter what you do, don’t be surprised if you discover munched plants in the garden.
“Deer are determined and persistent when it comes to filling their tummies,” Sanchez said.
Top 10 gardening stories for 2016 from OSU Extension
As the new year arrives, lists of favorites abound — best movies, top albums and most-watched TV shows. Not to be outdone, Oregon State University presented the five most popular Oregon State University Extension Service stories of 2016.
Articles like any to do with edible plants regularly make their way to near the top. This year, growing onions, artichokes, figs and cool-weather vegetables fell into that category.
An introduction to a new Extension app about the selection, planting and maintenance of trees grabbed readers’ attention, as did a surprising piece on a new study showing cities are not the biological deserts once thought. Not surprisingly, people always want to learn about how to deal with aggravating pest and disease problems, edging stories on those matters into top slots. In that category, how to use IPM to deal with pests was a biggie for 2016.
But while all those topics ranked near the top, five others rose above, in addition to the story on deterring deer.
SLUGS: The damage done by slugs and deer drive gardeners crazy. Coming out to the garden to see plants munched by these voracious pests can bring a grown gardener to tears. Though Master Gardener Claudia Groth loves her slugs (really), she understands the frustrations of others and offers suggestions for controlling the slimy mollusks. (bit.ly/1Q4IuRj)
GARDENING WITH KIDS:Dirt attracts children like roses attract aphids. Taking that instinct and turning it into a love of gardening is something Joy Jones, a master gardener coordinator with OSU Extension, is passionate about. She teaches kids about gardening and sees an increase in their self-confidence, interest in nature and an appreciation for healthy food. She was thrilled to share a list of tips for gardening with kids of all ages. (bit.ly/2irs6Th)
Encourage kids to explore imagination in the garden
IPM AND FRUIT TREES: Persistent pests and diseases plague fruit trees, a problem that’s led to a tradition of complicated and sometimes scary spraying regimes that can turn off gardeners. With the boom in interest in edible gardening, more people are discovering the rewards of growing fruit trees but want alternatives to spraying. Steve Renquist, an Extension horticulturist, has a positive response when he teaches Integrated Pest Management, an approach that uses the most effective, low-toxic methods to battle pests and diseases. (bit.ly/2htFfwL)
PRUNING SHRUBS: Step back and take a look at your shrubs. Are they gangly, congested or full of weak, upright wood? If you answered one or more of those questions in the affirmative, they need some help. But pruning can be intimidating so Extension’s Neil Bell takes some of the mystery out of how to clip and how definitely not to. (bit.ly/1LBIwF9)
CHOOSING ORGANIC PRODUCTS:A trip to the garden center to buy organic products can be like a trip to outer space. What do all those labels mean anyway? The first thing to look for is the OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) seal of approval. What else can you do or use to maintain an organic garden? Weston Miller, horticulturist for Extension, runs it down. (bit.ly/2hOr0jF)