This article is for those of you who are unhappy about deer damaging your landscape plants and for those of you who love to see deer in your landscape. There are publications mentioned near the end of this article that will help you learn about plants that deer want to eat.
As with pretty much everything, proper identification is the first step — a must-do. You can identify the cause of the damage by the type, height of damage and tracks (hoofprints). Just review the information at the link provided near the end of this article.
Deer and humans have some similar traits, such as issues with breaking habits once established. If deer find a landscape with tasty, plentiful and nutrition-filled food sources, they may well eat to their hearts’ — aka stomachs’ — content. Hungry deer can consume native plant areas and decrease plant species populations.
There are several ways to manage deer populations. Some methods can be permanent, like hunting during designated seasons. Research hunting deer before proceeding. Other deer-population-management methods involve avoiding specific plants to which deer are attracted. Crape myrtle and bottle brush are deer-resistant.
Frightening devices (fireworks, etc.) may work temporarily, although you may irritate your neighbors at the same time. Removing wildlife habitats to decrease deer populations is not a good option. That removes cover, habitat and food sources for deer and other native and non-native animals.
Repellents can decrease the amount of damage but rarely eliminate it. If you do want to attract deer, select plants that are susceptible to deer. If you don’t want to attract deer, plant deer-resistant plants.
Visit the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County website at http://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/hillsborough/ and check out our calendar of events.
Contact Lynn Barber at labarber@ufl.edu.
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