Proper Plant Selection

• Peruse the numerous lists of plants that show resistance to browsing. This will serve as a starting point for selecting trees and shrubs for your landscaping plans.
• Visit your neighbors and question them as to what deer select for food in their plantings. This will assist you in narrowing the list of plants that will most likely be the best choices for your area.
• Plan on protecting vulnerable plants, or plants that do not appear on any list or have no "track record" in your area.

Become An "Environmental Forecaster"

• Assess the size, health, and vigor of the local deer herd as fall approaches. Has it been a drought year where the quality and nutritional value of grass and herbaceous plants is poor? If so, the animals' fat reserves are probably less than optimum for carrying them through the winter months. Is there an abundant mast (acorns and nuts) crop this fall? Mast is a prime, high-fat food source for whitetail deer during the late fall and early winter months. These factors will affect browsing pressure on your landscape plants come winter.
• Other biological and environmental factors that will likewise determine dormant season browsing pressure are: size of the local deer herd (did you notice lots of twins with the does this summer?); snow cover (are we due for a normal or above normal snow year?); and hunting pressure and success (is there a group of successful hunters harvesting adult does off your and neighboring properties?).

Know The Deer In Your Neighborhood

• When and where do you see deer on your property? Are they passing through, or do they seem to be around at all hours of the day and night? Deer may be passing through your property to access more desirable food sources, or they may hone in on your plantings as a primary browsing area. They may also be using your property as a site which affords them a degree of security and utilize it for bedding or "sanctuary" from hunting pressure.
• Are there "new" deer in the neighborhood? Instead of the familiar doe and fawn that you periodically observe, are there different deer now browsing in your landscape? Unfortunately, once deer, either "resident" or "new", have found your landscape, your plantings will become a consistent stop on their nocturnal feeding forays. You must break this pattern through timely use of repellents and physical barriers to protect vulnerable plants. If you are consistent in this area "your" deer may eventually give up browsing in your landscape. Be persistent!

Spray New Plantings

• With each new planting, regardless of the time of year that you are planting or the susceptibility of the plant to browsing, spray the plant with an odor-based repellent immediately after planting. Even though a wide range of woody plants, such as rhododendrons, yews, arborvitae, and other conifers, are not susceptible to browsing during the growing season, deer are curious by nature and will "check out" new features, such as plantings, in your landscape. If their first encounter is an unpleasant one, there are growing indications that deer will avoid this plant when they are actively foraging for food. Continue timed applications on new plantings throughout the growing season. Fertilizers such as Milorganite and Bobbex are very good warm-season repellents. It is important to track the amount of nitrogen you are applying when using Milorganite; don't over apply.
• Remember that all bets are off when it comes to the success of repellents, or poorly constructed physical barriers, when deer are under stress and approaching starvation.

Plan On Protecting Vulnerable Plants

• Keep protection in mind when designing and siting new plantings that warrant protection. Utilize rectilinear designs which will facilitate the construction of physical barriers such as netting or burlap.
• Sink galvanized pipe to grade around the perimeter of beds or large specimen plants that you choose to protect with netting or burlap. Simply cork the open end when not in use. This will speed up and simplify the protection process.
• Cut burlap and netting to size for individual specimens or beds. Label and store these pieces for succeeding seasons when you dismantle your physical barriers in the spring.

Site Food Plots To Attract Deer Away From Landscape Plantings

• Under certain circumstances food plots can be effective in patterning deer away from plantings. In rural areas where large parcels are the norm, siting a food plot on the "back forty" can work. The primary factor for determining success of this technique is the amount of land involved. This method will not work in more residential areas where small lots are the norm. There is no lot size threshold to use when determining if food plots will be effective as there are so many variables which come into play; however, I would not advocate food plots unless the property involved has at least 50 or more acres. Siting food plots on smaller lots may actually attract more deer into the vicinity.
• Food plots or stations (typically employing one of the popular automatic deer feeders) must be utilized year-round to be effective.
• Site the food plot as far as possible from landscape plantings. In addition, try to select a location that has cover (i.e. brush) that will further encourage the deer to frequent this site.
  
  Note: It is currently illegal to feed deer in New York State. Check with your local Department of Environmental Conservation or Natural Resources before feeding deer.

Encourage Neighborhood Strategies For Deer Protection

• If several contiguous landowners in medium to high residential settings adopt a unified approach to deer protection, it can be extremely successful. Perhaps neighbors can pool resources and construct a deer fence around their properties. A common food plot may pattern the local deer to concentrate their feeding at that location. Be sure to check local zoning ordinances about fencing, especially electric fencing.

Utilize Physical Barriers When Conditions Warrant

• If the environmental and biological factors (summer drought, large deer herd, no or poor mast year, meteorological indicators of above average snow cover, etc.) point to the potential for substantial winter browsing, spray-on repellents most likely will not be effective. Properly erected physical barriers, such as boxing-in plants with burlap or netting, snow fencing, and deer fencing, can be 100% successful in protecting plants and beds.
• When utilizing netting make sure you purchase substantial netting such as poultry netting, not the flimsy type commonly sold as deer netting. Netting should be at least 6 feet in height; taller (typically 7.5' or more) when protecting large areas. Secure the netting to the stakes or posts with good quality cable ties in addition to staples. Make sure the netting drapes at least 6 inches past the bottom of the plant(s) as the whitetails first attempt at getting through barriers is usually from below. If boxing individual plants, cross-brace the tops of the stakes (common 1" x 1" x 6' oak stakes are available at most hardware stores or garden centers) with firing strips or lath to add rigidity to the structure.
• If utilizing burlap, the same techniques should be followed. Cable ties are typically not used with burlap, so make sure that the burlap is stapled securely (at least 3/8" staples stapling on 8" centers) to the stakes. We use pre-cut 45" x 45" good quality burlap squares for boxing in individual plants. If deer can't see the plant, chances are they will bypass it. (We have witnessed deer repeatedly trying to breech netting to get to plants). Do not wrap burlap directly onto plants, especially evergreens, as this will often lead to winter injury.
• Standard 4' high snow fencing is very good in affording protection for individual specimens too large to box and burlap. The "correct" distance for the perimeter of the snow fence to encircle the plant seems to be 18" to 20" from the longest branches. With greater distances you run the risk of having deer jump inside the barrier; with lesser, deer can often reach over the fence, especially if it is not rigid. We utilize 5' tall iron garden stakes (the heavy-duty ones), driven well into the ground, placed no more than 6' apart. The snow fencing is securely wired to the iron stakes with 14 or 16 gauge galvanized wire. Rigidity is key to success.
• Deer fencing, typically 7.5' or more in height, can be very successful in protecting large beds or even entire properties. Woven wire and heavy duty PVC plastic fencing are very effective if properly maintained. If the integrity of your fence is compromised due to power outages (in the case of electric fences), blow-downs on fences, or poor maintenance, it will cease to function as an effective barrier. Additionally, fences must be erected quickly to be effective. Prolonged construction projects, especially with the "short" fences (typically the popular 6' high electric fences), or poor maintenance of electric fences (i.e. allowing grass or weeds to grow up through the wires, thus reducing voltage) will certainly lead to failure. If the fence is not erected quickly, ideally in a day or two, deer will often simply jump over the short fences to enter the property. The all-important first contact with a new electric fence must be a good one (from your standpoint!). Once a deer has received a potent shock from an electric fence, it will develop a healthy respect for it and give it wide berth. The new generation of electric chargers, the "New Zealand" types, are very effective.

Develop A Year-Round Strategy

• Deer's diet and food selection slowly change over the course of the year from graze during the growing season to browse during the dormant season. There is no fixed timetable for this event, rather it's a slow transition meant to maximize the available food sources as dictated by the season. However, even when the grass is green and succulent, deer may still select the tender new growth of woody plants for food during the growing season. Plants such as hydrangeas, weigelas, deutzias and diervillas, mock oranges and others are all susceptible to "warm weather" browsing. You must plan on protecting certain plants during the warm months, typically with repellents, as physical barriers are not aesthetically appropriate for use during the growing season. Broad-leaved evergreens and conifers are almost never selected for food except during the winter season.
• Have your physical barriers up and functioning after the first few killing frosts. If you are relying on repellents for dormant season protection, your spray program should likewise begin soon after the first killing frosts. As mentioned above, as the quality and availability of herbaceous graze declines in the late fall deer will begin selecting a greater amount of woody plants for food. Once the grass has "greened up" in the spring, deer will once again concentrate on it as their primary food source. You are typically safe in removing your physical barriers and halting your dormant season spray program once you have mowed your lawn a time or two in the spring.
• In drought years, remember that there will be more pressure on selected shrubs in your landscape during the summer months as deer can easily digest the succulent new growth of woody landscape plants which are often superior in nutritional value compared to the dried up grasses and forbs.

Relying On Repellants Is Chancy At Best

• Test repellents that you plan to use during the growing season. We have witnessed considerable tissue damage on new, tender growth with certain repellents, especially ones which employ "hot sauces" and blood derivatives. Soap and egg-based repellents seem to be the least damaging to plants.
• Do not believe what you read on the repellent label: the duration of effectiveness of virtually all repellents is not what is advertised. Some labels claim 120 days or more protection; some even boast all winter protection with a single application. In years of studying the efficacy and duration of virtually every commercially available repellent, most have failed in as little as 1 month when extreme environmental and biological conditions were present. Conversely, if we have a mild winter with minimal snow cover, coupled with a good mast crop and low to moderate deer densities, typically every repellent will prove effective.
• Reapply repellents on a 3-week interval. Conditions must be optimum for spray applications. The temperature must be 40º F. or above for the complete drying time of the product, which can be all day in the "dead" of winter. If you apply repellents when the temperature is not optimum, or if it drops below freezing before the product dries, you will encounter winter injury on certain plants, especially broad-leaved evergreens. Once growth is initiated the following spring, plants that suffered from spray freezing on their leaves will brown up and desiccate, often leading to the death of the plant. The further north you are the greater the risk of not having optimum spraying conditions. We have tracked temperatures for years here at IES and it is not uncommon to go 6 or more weeks without breaking 40º F. in the mid and late winter months.
• Alternate repellents to enhance effectiveness. You don't want to habituate "your" deer to one repellent.
• The new combinations of odor and scent-based repellents are very effective in deterring deer. Likewise, systemic repellents seem to be effective, but not for as long as the label would lead you to believe.