The short answer is “Yes, Deer eat garden mums.” Deer will browse several garden plants, including mum plants.
However, it isn’t necessary to use repellents or fencing to protect them; with a bit of management, you can enjoy both deer and mums in your landscape.
Mums are a type of flower that grows in gardens and yards, and deer will consume these flowers if they are available.
This can be problematic for homeowners who have mums plants in their yard, as the deer can damage or completely eat the plants.
There are some steps that homeowners can take to protect their mums plants from being eaten by deer, such as using fencing or other barriers around the plants.
How do deer damage Mums?
It’s not unusual for people to find deer eating their Mums in the fall, especially if they plant them near a wooded area where deer are prevalent.
There are several causes of damage to Mums from deer:
1). Over-attentive Gardeners
Deer will eat flowers from plants that may or may not be “deer resistant.” If you have a lot of flowers blooming, thus attracting more attention from the deer, your odds of having your Mum ravaged increase dramatically.
In other words, if you keep the flower bed blooming with lots of colors, but no food for the deer, they will eat whatever they can find. A non-flowering plant, like your Mum, may be the only thing available to eat.
2). Timing
If you are planting in an area where deer are prevalent, it’s best to do so when there is nothing for them to eat.
Planting in summer or early fall assures that there will be plenty of other things for them to choose from before your Mums have a chance to grow and bloom.
Remember that deer will eat almost anything if hungry enough. Once they taste something good (like your Mums), it will often become their favorite food source because it’s easy for them to get at and high in nutritional value.
3). Location
Deer will eat plants that are close to the ground and accessible. If you plant your Mums in a location where they are close to the edge of a wooded area, for example, deer will be more likely to get to them and eat them.
4) Size
The larger the Mum, the more likely it is to be damaged by deer.
5). Protection
There are some things you can do to help protect your Mums from being eaten by deer.
Larger sized deer damage may include:
Saprophyte or decomposer feeding habits cause less obvious damage, such as root systems being eaten underground leaving the above-ground portion of the plant intact likely stunted due to loss of nutrients and moisture.
Why Deer Love Mums Plant?
Mums plants are a popular choice for gardeners, but did you know that deer also enjoy eating them? Here are five reasons why deer love to snack on Mums plants:
- They’re easy to find. Deer can see Mums from a long distance away, so they make an easy target.
- They’re nutritious. Mums plants contain high levels of nutrients like protein and carbohydrates, which deer need in order to survive.
- They taste good. Deer have a strong sense of smell and taste, and they seem to really enjoy the flavor of Mums plants.
- They’re plentiful. In the fall, when most other types of vegetation have died off, Mums plants are still fresh and.
- They provide shelter. Deer often eat Mums plants underneath trees, where it’s dark and they can hide.
What can you do to protect your Mums from Deer?
Deer damage mums plants in many various techniques. a few of the lot effective methods of deer proofing garden are: –
1. Animal Fencing: This is one of probably the most efficient ways of stopping deer from eating plants or flowers within your garden area that you intend to protect from them.
Among the best types of animal fencing for this purpose is electric fencing with a vibration sensor that works on the motion detector principle.
2. Motion-Activated Sprinklers: This is a short-term solution, but it can be very effective in keeping deer away from plants they usually eat. When the deer come close to the plants, the sprinkler goes off and startles them, causing them to run away.
You will need to place the sprinklers near the plants you’re trying to protect and make sure they are in working order.
3. Scarecrows: These have been used for many years as a way of scaring away birds and other animals from gardens and crops. They are usually made from cloth or cardboard and are dressed up like people. You can buy them premade or make your own.
4. Human Hair: This is one of the oldest methods of deer repellent. The theory behind it is that deer don’t like the smell of human hair. You can either collect your hair or buy it from a store.
5. Hot Peppers: Deer don’t like the taste of hot peppers, so planting these around your plants will help to keep them away.
6. Garlic: Deer also don’t like the smell of garlic, so planting this around your plants will help to keep them away.
7. Liquid Fence: This is a premade product that you can buy at most garden stores. It’s a concentrate that you mix with water and then spray on your plants. It has a strong odor that keeps deer and other animals away from your plants.
8. Cayenne Pepper: This is a spice that you can sprinkle on the soil around your plants to help keep deer away from them.
9. Plants That Repel Deer: Some plants have strong smells or tastes that deer don’t like, so planting these in your garden will help to repel them. A few examples of these are rue, lavender, mint, garlic chives, and pennyroyal.
10. Fox Urine: Sprinkling this around your yard will mask the smell of the vegetables that attract the deer to start with and this also deters them from coming back for more as they associate it with foxes being around.
11. Planting Deer Resistant Flowers: If you plant deer-resistant flowers around your garden, the deer will typically stay away from them because they don’t like the taste of flowers. Some examples of these are daylilies, sedum, and ornamental cabbages.
Other plants act as good repellents, so you can do further research to determine what is best for your area.
12. Mothballs: These keep animals away by giving off an odor that’s offensive to them. However, be careful since you won’t want to use too many or it could harm your plants or children or pets that come into contact with them firsthand.
13. Barriers: Sometimes it’s best to simply block off an area of your yard that’s near plants you don’t want deer to eat. You can use electric fencing, plant hedges, or other types of barriers that are effective at keeping them out of the area.
14. Fences: If you have a garden with fruits and vegetables that you’re trying to protect from deer, building a fence around this area is one of the most efficient ways to keep them away from what they’re after in such instances.
This needs to be an actual physical fence that they can’t jump over or dig under.
15. Planting when Deer Season Starts: The rut season typically starts during autumn when the weather turns cold and food is scarce. This is when deer will start to wander into residential areas in search of food.
So, if you plant your vegetation during this time, you’re more likely to have success in keeping them away.
16. Keeping Vegetation Trimmed: Deers like to eat plants that are tall and have a lot of leaves, so keeping your plants trimmed will help to deter them from coming near.
17. Using Deer Repellents: There are many different types of deer repellents on the market that can be effective in keeping these animals away from your plants. You just need to do some research to find the right one for your needs.
18. using scare tactics: Some people have had success in scaring away deer from their plants by using scarecrows, inflatable balloons, noisy devices, or even bright lights.
19. Using a Fencing Deer Repellent: There are some fencing products on the market which have been designed to prevent deer from climbing over them. This helps to keep your garden protected from these animals.
20. Keeping a dog in the backyard: If you have a large backyard and you’re not too concerned about going out there at night or going out of town for a few days, this can be a good deterrent since most dogs will bark when deer come around disrupting them so they may move onto an easier meal elsewhere.
Mums are beautiful plants that can add color to your landscape. With a little bit of management, can also enjoy having deer in your landscape.
Conclusion
What has been found is that deer are attracted to plants that, like mum plants, are white or light-colored.
This usually includes plants such as rose bushes and other woody plants which have a bark surface but can also include many herbaceous flowers if they are white in color.
Many gardeners believe that deer prefer the taste of these types of plants.
