What don deer eat and what is the best repellant?
A. The Texas Cooperative Extension has a list of “least preference” landscape plants which I refuse to print anymore for fear of severe repercussions. The last time I printed the list some folks with severely ravenous deer indicated that the deer ate over one-half of the plants listed. The only plants I get a deer-won’t-eat consensus are oleander, lantana and any salvia. Here is something for you deer-desperation folks to try. Milorganite organic turf fertilizer–made from Milwaukee’s waste- water treatment process (a.k.a. brewery waste)–has a distinct smell that seems to deter deer, according to researchers at Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension Service of Dutchess County, New York. Last April, researchers selected two sites in Dutchess County, both near wooded areas where the deep population is believed to exceed 40 deer per square mile. They applied the fertilizer on yews, hostas and tulips–a palette deer favor, according to local landscapers–using the label-recommended ra
