With 100-degree days behind us, many Oklahomans are spending more time outdoors in the crisp, fall air. In addition to football games and campfires, decorating the landscape with colorful plants for the fall season is another enjoyable activity. But people aren’t the only ones who like the new fall landscape additions. Wildlife, especially white-tailed deer, also find the new plants attractive. When the weather begins to cool down, wildlife are on the lookout for a food source as natural vegetation begins to die back.With 100-degree days behind us, many Oklahomans are spending more time outdoors in the crisp, fall air. In addition to football games and campfires, decorating the landscape with colorful plants for the fall season is another enjoyable activity. But people aren’t the only ones who like the new fall landscape additions.
Wildlife, especially white-tailed deer, also find the new plants attractive. When the weather begins to cool down, wildlife are on the lookout for a food source as natural vegetation begins to die back.
Although homeowners may initially enjoy seeing these creatures in their landscape, that usually changes once their trees, shrubs and other plants begin to show signs of deer damage. Uprooted plants and stripped branches on trees and shrubs, along with damaged bark on trees aren’t what people want to find in their yard.
Homeowners can help reduce this problem by making their landscapes less appealing to the destructive deer but remain attractive to people. Pansies and tulips are often planted in the fall for spring color, but these are a delicacy for deer. Fortunately, popular fall mums and spring daffodils tend to not be on a deer’s radar. Annual herbaceous plants such as amaranth, cosmos, French marigold, heliotrope, lantana, periwinkle, salvia, signet marigold, snapdragon and zinnia are good choices for summer.
When choosing herbaceous perennial flowers, consider bee balm, flax, foxglove, lamb’s ears, lavender, primrose, ragwort, rosemary, sage, thyme, toad lily, iris, goldenrod and shasta daisy, among others.
Safe bets among woody plants include buckthorn, Chinese junipers, dogwoods, Chinese holly, honey locust, various pines, American holly, ginkgo, sumac, yucca, loblolly pine, boxelder and common boxwood.
Physical exclusion is another avenue homeowners may want to explore. If your property butts up to a wooded area, install a fence along the tree line. To help protect the tender bark of young trees, homeowners may want to consider using wire cages around the trunks. Be sure to support the cages securely by using metal posts.
There are several scare tactics homeowners can use to frighten deer away from the landscape. Dogs are quite effective at repelling deer. Homeowners may also consider installing an invisible dog fence. Invisible dog fences (underground containment systems) can be used so dogs can see and harass deer. However, frequent barking may become more of a nuisance than the deer.
Repellents are another option. Those that have demonstrated the best results are thiram-based contact repellents such as Chaperone and Spotrete-F, along with repellents made with putrescent egg solids.
While repellents can reduce damage, they won’t eliminate it. If food sources are scarce, deer will eat about anything. The effectiveness of repellents will vary with deer density, palatability, availability of alternate food sources and the season. Many repellents don’t weather well and need to be reapplied following a rain.
A homeowner’s best bet is to combine judicious selection of plants with other control methods. Keep in mind, however, it’s a good idea to begin control measures before word gets out to the deer population that your backyard is an all-you-can-eat buffet.
