Deer
Browse lines you can read at a glance: stems bitten off in ragged tears (no clean cuts — deer have no upper incisors), hostas mowed overnight, saplings rubbed bare in fall. Tracks and droppings settle any doubt.
Pest checklist
Four things to look for. If most of them match what you are holding, you are in the right place.
What gets rid of them
Gentlest option first. For most backyard cases the first one is enough, so try these in order and stop as soon as it works. If you do spray something, the product label tells you how — please read the notice further down.
1Fence what matters
The honest answer: 8 feet for a perimeter, or a shorter double fence 3 feet apart — deer will not jump into a gap they cannot see out of.
deer fence kit gardenTry this first2Cage young trees
A wire cylinder to 5 feet protects the trunk from browse and fall antler-rubbing both.
tree trunk protector wire cage3Rotate repellents
Egg- and capsaicin-based sprays work until deer decide they do not; alternate products and reapply after rain.
deer repellent spray concentrate
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Which plants get deer
Every plant we cover that gets deer, grouped by type — tap any one to open its page. A note beside a plant came from that plant’s own entry, because the same pest can be a minor nuisance on one plant and a serious problem on another. Plenty of plants we do not cover get it too.
trees2
annuals3
Plant families hit hardest
Related plants often share the same problems, so if one plant in a family has it, check the others. The largest group here is Fabaceae, with 2 of the 9 affected plants.
- Fabaceae2 plants
When to treat
Fence or repel before the damage starts, and refresh repellents after rain. Autumn rubbing and winter browse are the worst.
On specific plants
- Growing
- Deer country decision tree: fence it, spray it monthly, or plant 'Green Giant'/spruce instead.
- Growing
- Row cover from rabbits/deer.
- Growing
- Thick-leaved 'slug-proof' types + iron phosphate bait in April; deer need fence or repellent rotation.
Timing only — the label is the law
This page tells you when to watch for deer and when treating is worth considering. It is not a recommendation to apply any particular product. Read and follow the product label before you spray — under federal law the label is the legal instruction, and using a pesticide against it is illegal.
- Check the pre-harvest interval. Every product that’s cleared for an edible crop sets a minimum number of days between spraying and picking. Find it on the label before you spray anything you intend to eat.
- Check the re-entry interval before you or anyone else works in the treated area again, and use the protective equipment the label names.
- Confirm the product is registered for your crop in your state. This page groups many different crops together, and a product legal on one of them is not legal on all of them — state registrations differ too. Your state pesticide agency or local extension office can confirm both.
- Rates and mixing instructions come from the label, never from us. We don’t publish them because they differ by product and formulation.
Other problems on the same plants
If a plant gets deer, these are the problems it most often gets as well, so they are worth checking for while you are out there. They tend to appear together; one does not cause another.