While Bobbex Deer Repellent provides excellent protection against deer browse damage, wouldn’t it be nice if deer weren’t attracted to your garden in the first place?

The specific plants in your yard greatly influence the attractiveness of your property to deer. Like all of us, they have their favorite foods. If your property has a concentration of those favorites, it’s harder to keep them away. When the pickings are better in your neighbor’s yard, they’re more likely to pass yours by.

How do you know which plants are deer-resistant without a whole lot of trial and error? Deer’s food preferences tend to vary from one area to another, so there’s no definitive list. However, if multiple sources identify a plant as “deer-resistant,” you’ll probably do well with it. Here are three of our favorite lists, each with different pluses:

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has published an extensive list of deer-resistant perennials, shrubs and trees. Growing zone and cultural information are included, along with photos, making it an especially handy resource. https://www1.maine.gov/dacf/php/pesticides/yardscaping/plants/swcdplants/deer_resistant_plants.pdf

Another list from the Penn State Cooperative Extension groups deer-resistant plants by uses and attributes. You’ll find plants for wet areas and dry ones, sun and shade, and evergreen and deciduous shrubs. There are suggestions for rock gardens, butterfly gardens, and much more.
http://www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeSpecies/White-tailedDeer/Documents/Deer%20Resistant%20Plants.pdf

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station surveyed gardeners about their experience with deer browsing on common plants. They then compiled the results and produced an indexed list of the results, from most-frequently browsed plants to rarely or never browsed.
http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/bulletins/b968.pdf

Of course, unless you fence your property, it’s virtually impossible to keep deer away altogether. And, if deer are hungry enough, they’ll eat just about anything. But there’s a great deal you can do to encourage them to look elsewhere for their next meal. The deer-resistant plants on the lists above will make your yard much less enticing to them. Couple that with regular applications of Bobbex Deer Repellent and you’ll send them packing.