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If the area you leave has a high level of crop attack from deer, planting deer-resistant crops would be the best option, and that is where the rosemary plant steps in. But do deer eat rosemary?
Rosemary is a “no” for deer. Even with its amazing fragrance, which most animals and humans love, for some reason, deer do not like it at all.
So, if you’re looking for the best plant to go in your garden to keep the deer away, then rosemary is the perfect plant as deer are resistant to rosemary.
There are a lot of varieties of rosemary plants ranging from white to blue and then pink; you can plant them all to give your garden an amazing uplift and also tackle the deer issue; a win-win situation for you!
Do Deer Eat Rosemary?
A straightforward answer to this question is no. Deer do not eat rosemary plants, even though these plants have a pleasant scent. Planting rosemary plants in your garden is a wonderful idea as it will help keep these deer away, but you can’t be sure of this in some cases.
There are some situations where you might have an encounter with starving deer, and they can eat anything they come in contact with at that moment, even those plants that are termed unpalatable.
You should, therefore, consider making use of other more effective strategies like using sprays, repellents, scare devices and fences to keep these animals away from your precious garden.
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What Are Deer Resistant Plants?
Apart from rosemary, there are tons of other culinary herbs that these deer are resistant to, and what you would notice about these plants is that they all have high fragrance, while deer would prefer plants with a milder fragrance.
Some of the perennial plants that deer are resistant to include oregano, thyme, basils, tarragon, marjoram, mint, lemon balm, and chimes. These culinary plants have a very high fragrance, which deer do not like.
What Other Methods Can I Use to Repel Deer in My Garden?
One thing you should know about deer is that they are 100% persistent, so if you want to get rid of them completely, you would have to try a very effective method. And one of these methods includes;
1. Fencing Around Your Farm or Garden
One of the best solutions is to build a very tall fence; emphasis on the very as deer are good jumpers. Deer are animals that are mostly found in wetland areas and can be able to jump very high to escape predators.
According to some research, it was later aiding that deer can jump about 6ft or 7ft high, so the best thing for you to do in this case is to build a fence that is about 8- 9ft tall.
2. Making Use of Chemical Repellents
This method is another effective measure that can permanently stop the deer attacks you’ve been having. This method involves using a concoction usually made of coyote urine, blood, and putrefied eggs. These eggs are made of sulfuric substances that mimic the smell produced by most deer predators.
It has been shown that a fear-inducing repellent can only work for about 2 to 2 ½ months and after this period, the deer starts getting accustomed to the smell, and everything goes back to normal.
We advise that you get two types of repellents, and you can choose to alternate their use throughout the year. Some good repellents are the deer out and plants add; they are both fear-inducing repellents that give off different aromas.
There are major three categories that these repellents fall under, which include;
- Fear inducing repellent
- Pain inducing repellent
- Taste repellent
The names of these repellents make it quite easy for you to know what they each work for. The fear-inducing repellents are those chemicals that indicate to the deer that they are in potential danger and should evacuate the area.
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Pain-inducing repellents are different, and they let you consume the plants first. Then the deer feel a bit of a pain in these animals, and subsequently, they stop consuming these plants and the taste-based repellents; they do not harm these deer; instead, they make the leaves or foliage unpalatable to them, and with time they stop coming.
Apart from these two methods mentioned above, there are other methods like the motion-activated sprinklers ad ultrasound devices.
Still, the thing is that they are not as effective as the ones mentioned above. So, if the attacks you have been getting from deer are not that severe, you can opt for any of those two.
