Has your yard become a buffet for deer? These tips might help 🦌

Our landscapes become an all-you-can-eat buffet for deer in the summer months. It has become a very frustrating situation for many. We have these beautiful hydrangeas that we've been waiting to see bloom, and we anticipate the blooms lasting for weeks. Then we wake up one morning, look out the window and all the blooms are gone.

People often come into the garden store or ask their landscape designer for plants that are "deer-proof." The only plants that would qualify as "deer-proof" are plants that are poisonous. For example, deer will not chew on boxwoods or eat daffodils, as they know these plants are poisonous. There are other poisonous plants that they avoid that are not as common. These would include bleeding heart, foxglove, euphorbia, helleborus, irises, milkweed, peonies, azaleas, rhododendrons, and wisteria.

There are also plants that have certain characteristics that deer tend to avoid. One is plants with an herbal scent. These would include catmint, monarda, lavender, perennial salvia, creeping thyme, allium, Russian sage, agastache, and yarrow. There are also a few types of annuals that fall into this group including snapdragon, angelonia, lantana, annual salvias, and verbena.

This leaves more plants than I can name on the buffet for the deer to sample. I use the word "sample" because this is what deer tend to do. They graze through woods into our landscape, sampling different plants until they find what they like. It is not uncommon to have plants where they take a bite and walk away because they did not like what they ate.

Deer are picky eaters

Deer are most attracted to plants with soft foliage, stems or flowers. They are resistant to plants with thorns or fuzzy foliage. They prefer plants with a soft or sweet smell, as these plants usually have a sweet taste. Some of the plants most vulnerable to deer are hosta, daylily, pansies, tulips, hydrangeas, hibiscus, and roses.

Now, here is the lesson to be learned. Deer can be as picky of eaters as young toddler children. What the herd in your neighborhood eat might be ignored by deer in neighborhoods across town where your friends and relatives live. This is why, when even the greatest horticulturalist recommends a plant for you, there are no promises that the deer will leave it alone.

I have been using the term "buffet" to describe our landscapes. I also use this phrase frequently to describe our garden center. There is not a fence around our property, and the deer visit every night. I have counted as many as 11 of them as I arrive when the sun is coming up. They have proven to be very selective in what they eat here. They walk past the roses and other plants and head straight for the hydrangeas and a few other plants.

How do I keep deer out of my yard?

You might be wondering, "What can I do to keep the deer away?" The most effective thing is a fence. Black plastic deer fencing is available and can easily be installed, although the fence may detract from the natural appearance of the garden.

There are also many types of repellents. Many are home remedies, in addition to commercially produced products. The effectiveness of the repellents can vary. This, too, is related to the deer themselves, because they do not all react to the repellents in the same way. The key to successfully using repellents is to rotate different ones. Most work by smell. If you continually use one, they will become accustomed to the scent.

As we are heading toward the fall season, you will also need to protect the trunks of your younger trees. Fall is when the male deer – the bucks – will rub their antlers on the smaller trees. They do this to prepare for fighting other males during mating season. The damage from the rubbing can severely damage or even kill a young tree.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Has your yard become a buffet for deer? These tips might help