Every spring, gardeners all over the Rogue Valley set out gorgeous plants that they’ve been told are deer resistant. The problem with this, of course, is that the deer didn’t get the memo and, even if they had, they can’t read the darned thing.
They clearly have no idea that the plants you’ve carefully selected are on the list of things deer don’t prefer. Having them stroll through your yard is always noteworthy; no doubt about it, they are beautiful. Unless it’s your tomatoes or your roses being eaten, or your lawn mauled by little feet. Then all that beauty turns to dismay. Must they leave a trail of destruction behind them? Granted, they aren’t ruining your landscape out of spite or malice – They’re just hungry. One adult deer consumes between six and ten pounds of vegetation a day. If you’re laying out a spread that looks good to them, then – as far as they’re concerned – it’s fair game.
Is there a solution to completely take care of the deer problem? Not really. But you can manage it and minimize the damage.
Although many people enjoy the deer grazing in their yards and some even set out feed to attract them further, deer can be very destructive to gardens, orchards and landscaped areas. Deer damage to your plants is associated with a number of factors including increasing number of deer, human population shifts to rural and suburban areas and prohibited hunting.
There are a number of theories on how to keep deer away. Everything from hanging bars of soap in pantyhose bags around your yard, collecting hair from your local salon and scattering it around, boxed big cat poop from the spendy nursery store or bottled wolf urine via mail order. Do any of them work? Some people swear by them, some people fall over laughing at the very idea.
I’ve checked out some of the alleged “homemade deer repellants” and have found two versions that Master Gardeners in various locations in the west swear by:
Version 1 – The California Version: Combine in a blender one egg, one cup of milk, three tablespoons of cooking oil, one tablespoon of liquid soap and one teaspoon of hot chili oil. Blend this with a quart of water and spray it on your plants every five to seven days.
Version 2 – The Portland Rose Gardener Version: Combine in one gallon of water: the zest of six large oranges, two tablespoons of Tabasco sauce, two tablespoons of corn oil, one tablespoon of cod liver oil and one cup of milk. Put it in a garden sprayer and spray in the desired areas.
A deer-proof fence is probably the best insurance against damage. Some local ordinances may prohibit a fence high enough to keep deer out. You might not want to have to look at that fence and it’s fairly likely that your neighbors aren’t going to want to look at it either. Utilizing deer-resistant plants in your landscape is much more pleasing to the eye.
Deer are picky eaters; they prefer some foods over others. The plants that the deer avoid are considered “deer-resistant.” Deer do eat a lot of different things including wood plants, grasses, fruits, nuts, ornamental trees, shrubs, vines and vegetables. They’ll also make short work of your tulips and roses and very neatly top the bloom off of just about any flowering plant, I think, just to see if it tastes good. Bearing this in mind, knowledge of deer feeding habits can reduce the expensive browsing damage deer can cause in your yard.
Plants can be deer resistant for a number of reasons. Lots of the most deer resistant plants are poisonous. Some of these plants are poisonous at all times, others only at certain stages of their growth.
Taste, preferences and digestibility also vary with plant parts, age, growth and the time of year. The availability of the deer’s natural food can have a lot to do with the amount of damage caused by deer as well. If there is plenty of natural food available for the deer, they are less likely to eat the plants in your yard. When the deer’s regular food supply is low, however, they can cause heavy damage. If you happen to be calling them to your yard with feed, there’s not much you can do to keep them from eating your plants. As far as they’re concerned, in this case, the buffet is open and it’s chow time!
When there is a large population of deer around, they will frequently eat many plants that they would normally avoid. Damage from deer usually occurs from late fall through early spring. Deer sometimes will browse plants that are included in the “deer resistant” category and will sometimes avoid plants not included in that group.
Highly fragrant plants that are known to actually repel deer are catnip, chives, garlic, onions, ornamental Alliums (these also repel gophers), honey bush, lavender, mint, sage and thyme. While you’re sitting in your home, going over the gardening catalogs that have stuffed your mailbox over the winter, plan on replacing the things deer like with some of the things they don’t. If you want to plant bulbs, choose daffodils over tulips. If you like roses (and who doesn’t?), choose a rugosa hybrid. The overwhelming scent, leathery leaves and thorns make them considerably less attractive to deer.
While no plant is immune from deer damage, selecting plants that are on the regional lists of “deer resistant plants” is still a better way to plan your garden than spending a fortune on a salad bar for the deer.
Oregon State University tells us that deer are not particularly interested in the following plants, shrubs and trees:
Bulbs & Perennials: Columbine, Basin Sagebrush, Larkspur (poisonous), Foxglove (poisonous), Hellebore, Iris, Lupine (poisonous), Narcissus (poisonous), Daffodil (poisonous) and Rosemary.
Shrubs: Oregon Grape, Western Spice Bush, Red Osier Dogwood, Holly, Jasmine, Juniper, Honey Bush, Rhododendron (poisonous), Red Elderberry (poisonous) and Common Lilac.
Trees: European White Birch, Flowering Dogwood*, Kousa Dogwood*, English Hawthorn, Persimmon, European Beech, Honey Locust, Holly, Juniper and Black Locust.
- OSU apparently failed to notify the deer that frequent my mother-in-law’s yard that they aren’t supposed to be interested in Dogwood trees.
Vines & Ground Cover: Carolina Jessamine (poisonous), Nightshade (poisonous), Cape Honeysuckle and Japanese Wisteria (poisonous).
Try to plan your garden space to be as deer deterrent as possible. Make you yard less inviting to enter by bordering the entryways and edges with deer repellant plants, as well as tactics like eliminating cover and cleaning up wind fall fruit.
Lastly, aside from opening your yard to hunters (NOT the recommended deer deterrent of choice!), a nice, big dog that barks when deer come calling works wonders. Or even a little dog. Deer don’t like the noise of a barking dog and will head on down the street to your neighbor’s yard instead. Besides, they say having a dog reduces stress.
30 January 2008
25 January 2008
Turf Wars OR What do you do when your yard resembles a demilitarized zone?
Turf Wars
While many of us in the Rogue Valley don’t have the goal in mind of growing a putting green that has the look and texture of velvet, I think a number of us can say – with absolute certainty – that we have a love-hate relationship with moles and other excavating varmints. In that relationship, one could say that it’s most likely 1% love and 99% hate. You might experience a slight feeling of closeness when your dog digs one up and starts playing with it, but that’s probably about as close to a “warm fuzzy” as you’re ever going to get.
If you’re looking for solutions to a mole problem, there are a number of “remedies” out there. First, you need to identify what, exactly, is using your yard for it’s subterranean excavations. Moles, unfortunately, are not the only pests responsible for tunneling into your lawn or garden areas, although they are often confused with these other pests.
Who are these interlopers? Pocket gophers and voles. Because all of these critters are rarely ever seen, it’s easier to identify them by their handiwork. Moles produce two types of tunnels in your yard. One type runs just beneath the surface and is a feeding tunnel. They appear as raised ridges running across your lawn. The second type of tunnel runs deeper and allows the mole to unite his feeding tunnels into a network. The soil that is excavated from this second type of tunnel, appearing on your lawn like a miniature Vesuvius, is what gardeners are most familiar with. The mound of the pocket gopher is more distinctively horseshoe-shaped. Voles, on the other hand, do not create mounds at all, but rather well defined tunnels near the surface, about two inches in width. Vole tunnels result from the critters eating the grass blades as well as from the traffic of many tiny feet.
Let’s say that you’ve determined that it is, in fact, moles that are causing areas of your yard to resemble a veritable mine field. What can you do?
You can turn, first, to the “mean” method of poison. Aside from the risk to pets, there is the risk that any animal up the food chain from the mole will fall victim to the poison. This could be anything from your neighbor’s cat, to a skunk, to a fox, to that gorgeous hawk that cruises your yard at 9 a.m. every morning. Not necessarily the best choice.
There are a number of traps on the market designed specifically for eliminating moles. These frequently resemble, in both name and appearance, mini-medieval torture devices; scissors mole trap, choker mole trap, harpoon mole trap – Oh my! There is also the popular Havahart trap, though you will still have a live mole to get rid of after you’ve trapped it.
Trapping is the early spring can eliminate pregnant females, which will nip in the bud what could be a greater mole problem later in the season. Placement of the traps is vital for successful trapping. You will need to place your traps near tunnels that are active and in use.
Here’s how to determine if a mole tunnel is active:
1. Using your hand or other implement, flatten sections of the raised portions of the tunnel.
2. Mark these sections with something bright so it will be easy to locate them later. Maybe a
small flag or a bit of ribbon tied to the end of a stick.
3. Check your flags in a day or so and inspect the flattened areas.
4. If the flattened areas are raised back up, you’ll know this is an active tunnel, as the mole will
have re-dug to make it available. This is where you will want to locate your trap.
5. Remove the turf over the active tunnel and remove the soil right down to the bottom of the
tunnel where the moles are taking their daily strolls. Moles have very poor eyesight, but are
also very sensitive to touch. Be sure to remove ALL the loose soil from the tunnel floor
leading up to the trap. If you don’t do this, the moles will find it and back away from the
trap.
Now, let’s look at repellants. The formula for most mole repellants is based on castor oil. A popular one is Mole-Med. When applying such a repellant, you must often water the area where you place it, both before and after application, so that the surrounding soil absorbs the repellant. While products such as Mole-Med are advertised as a “safe” alternative, the cost effectiveness of a product like this should be weighed against the likelihood of necessary reapplications. If you are hosting a large number of moles, this could get expensive.
Many mole control success stories include the planting of barriers composed of specific plants whose smell moles find offensive. While this method is likely less reliable than the use of traps, pesticides or commercially prepared repellants, it’s also a lot more fun and a whole lot safer! These are visually appealing plants that are worth growing for their decorative value as much as their repellant value. If you’d like to send Mr. Mole packing, but aren’t desperate for immediate results, using these plants as a completely natural solution may be the right choice for you.
Several bulbs are said to repel moles. One of these is the well-known harbinger of spring – the daffodil. These are known to naturalize in the Rogue Valley and thus are a self-propagating mole repellant. Two others are also spring-bloomers but perhaps not as widely known as the daffodil. These are the Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) and the crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis). Squill bears lovely bell-like flowers in shades of lavender, blue, white or pink. Over time, squill will multiply and fill in an area. Squill is hardy and naturalizes in zones 4-8.
Yellow crown imperials, such as Fritillaria imperialis ‘Lutea’ bear six to eight hanging yellow flowers. The scent of its bulbs is said to resemble that of the fox, which would definitely be unpleasant for our little burrowing friends. These plants grow to about 3’ in height and are hardy in zones 5-7.
The Allium family of bulbs is made up of garlic, onions, leeks, shallots and chives, as well as ornamental flowering onions, sometimes referred to simply as “Alliums.” This flowering plant ranges in size from 6” to about 5’ in height. Garlic is reputed to be a mole repellant, but Allium is probably a better choice if you are interested in the aesthetic value of the plant as well as its repellant value. Allium giganteum is a taller version of the ornamental Alliums, growing from 3’ to 5’. Since this plant dies back in early summer, you’ll want to plant these behind other plants to screen the view as the foliage dies back for the season. Plant Alliums in the fall or spring at a depth of 6”. These are cold hardy to zone 4.
Other living mole repellants are the Mexican marigold (tagetes minuta) and is a stinky, yet attractive, plant widely used for its ability to repel a variety of pests in addition to our friend, mole. It is said that planting it amongst your veggies will prevent horn- and cutworms from taking up residence. This is known as “companion planting” and is an example of organic pest control.
Caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) has gained such notoriety as a living mole repellant that it is often referred to as “mole plant.” An annual, mole plant readily reseeds itself. It is often grown as an ornamental and is a very attractive addition to the landscape. The milky sap of the mole plant is apparently what is offensive to moles. This plant should not be grown near where children play.
The final living repellant to be addressed is the castor bean (Ricinus communis), also known as the castor-oil plant. Used in the old days as a laxative, I’m sure there are many folks who can attest to the repellant qualities of castor oil! It would appear that moles don’t like it any better than humans do! In the right climate, castor bean can grow to a height of 15’, suggesting it could be used as a privacy screen. It grows quickly; a boon for those who don’t want to wait years for other shrubs to reach such a height. Castor bean, like mole plant, is poisonous.
Lastly, some residents of the Rogue Valley say that the only sure-fire way to repel moles is with a shotgun. Others say, “even moles have a purpose”. I’m sure that in the grand scheme of things, they do. I just wish that they’d find their purpose lie in areas other than our yards, gardens and orchards.
So, if you’ve ever found yourself screaming curses while pounding a pitchfork into a new mole run in your yard, do yourself and your blood pressure a favor and try some less exerting alternatives.
While many of us in the Rogue Valley don’t have the goal in mind of growing a putting green that has the look and texture of velvet, I think a number of us can say – with absolute certainty – that we have a love-hate relationship with moles and other excavating varmints. In that relationship, one could say that it’s most likely 1% love and 99% hate. You might experience a slight feeling of closeness when your dog digs one up and starts playing with it, but that’s probably about as close to a “warm fuzzy” as you’re ever going to get.
If you’re looking for solutions to a mole problem, there are a number of “remedies” out there. First, you need to identify what, exactly, is using your yard for it’s subterranean excavations. Moles, unfortunately, are not the only pests responsible for tunneling into your lawn or garden areas, although they are often confused with these other pests.
Who are these interlopers? Pocket gophers and voles. Because all of these critters are rarely ever seen, it’s easier to identify them by their handiwork. Moles produce two types of tunnels in your yard. One type runs just beneath the surface and is a feeding tunnel. They appear as raised ridges running across your lawn. The second type of tunnel runs deeper and allows the mole to unite his feeding tunnels into a network. The soil that is excavated from this second type of tunnel, appearing on your lawn like a miniature Vesuvius, is what gardeners are most familiar with. The mound of the pocket gopher is more distinctively horseshoe-shaped. Voles, on the other hand, do not create mounds at all, but rather well defined tunnels near the surface, about two inches in width. Vole tunnels result from the critters eating the grass blades as well as from the traffic of many tiny feet.
Let’s say that you’ve determined that it is, in fact, moles that are causing areas of your yard to resemble a veritable mine field. What can you do?
You can turn, first, to the “mean” method of poison. Aside from the risk to pets, there is the risk that any animal up the food chain from the mole will fall victim to the poison. This could be anything from your neighbor’s cat, to a skunk, to a fox, to that gorgeous hawk that cruises your yard at 9 a.m. every morning. Not necessarily the best choice.
There are a number of traps on the market designed specifically for eliminating moles. These frequently resemble, in both name and appearance, mini-medieval torture devices; scissors mole trap, choker mole trap, harpoon mole trap – Oh my! There is also the popular Havahart trap, though you will still have a live mole to get rid of after you’ve trapped it.
Trapping is the early spring can eliminate pregnant females, which will nip in the bud what could be a greater mole problem later in the season. Placement of the traps is vital for successful trapping. You will need to place your traps near tunnels that are active and in use.
Here’s how to determine if a mole tunnel is active:
1. Using your hand or other implement, flatten sections of the raised portions of the tunnel.
2. Mark these sections with something bright so it will be easy to locate them later. Maybe a
small flag or a bit of ribbon tied to the end of a stick.
3. Check your flags in a day or so and inspect the flattened areas.
4. If the flattened areas are raised back up, you’ll know this is an active tunnel, as the mole will
have re-dug to make it available. This is where you will want to locate your trap.
5. Remove the turf over the active tunnel and remove the soil right down to the bottom of the
tunnel where the moles are taking their daily strolls. Moles have very poor eyesight, but are
also very sensitive to touch. Be sure to remove ALL the loose soil from the tunnel floor
leading up to the trap. If you don’t do this, the moles will find it and back away from the
trap.
Now, let’s look at repellants. The formula for most mole repellants is based on castor oil. A popular one is Mole-Med. When applying such a repellant, you must often water the area where you place it, both before and after application, so that the surrounding soil absorbs the repellant. While products such as Mole-Med are advertised as a “safe” alternative, the cost effectiveness of a product like this should be weighed against the likelihood of necessary reapplications. If you are hosting a large number of moles, this could get expensive.
Many mole control success stories include the planting of barriers composed of specific plants whose smell moles find offensive. While this method is likely less reliable than the use of traps, pesticides or commercially prepared repellants, it’s also a lot more fun and a whole lot safer! These are visually appealing plants that are worth growing for their decorative value as much as their repellant value. If you’d like to send Mr. Mole packing, but aren’t desperate for immediate results, using these plants as a completely natural solution may be the right choice for you.
Several bulbs are said to repel moles. One of these is the well-known harbinger of spring – the daffodil. These are known to naturalize in the Rogue Valley and thus are a self-propagating mole repellant. Two others are also spring-bloomers but perhaps not as widely known as the daffodil. These are the Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) and the crown imperial (Fritillaria imperialis). Squill bears lovely bell-like flowers in shades of lavender, blue, white or pink. Over time, squill will multiply and fill in an area. Squill is hardy and naturalizes in zones 4-8.
Yellow crown imperials, such as Fritillaria imperialis ‘Lutea’ bear six to eight hanging yellow flowers. The scent of its bulbs is said to resemble that of the fox, which would definitely be unpleasant for our little burrowing friends. These plants grow to about 3’ in height and are hardy in zones 5-7.
The Allium family of bulbs is made up of garlic, onions, leeks, shallots and chives, as well as ornamental flowering onions, sometimes referred to simply as “Alliums.” This flowering plant ranges in size from 6” to about 5’ in height. Garlic is reputed to be a mole repellant, but Allium is probably a better choice if you are interested in the aesthetic value of the plant as well as its repellant value. Allium giganteum is a taller version of the ornamental Alliums, growing from 3’ to 5’. Since this plant dies back in early summer, you’ll want to plant these behind other plants to screen the view as the foliage dies back for the season. Plant Alliums in the fall or spring at a depth of 6”. These are cold hardy to zone 4.
Other living mole repellants are the Mexican marigold (tagetes minuta) and is a stinky, yet attractive, plant widely used for its ability to repel a variety of pests in addition to our friend, mole. It is said that planting it amongst your veggies will prevent horn- and cutworms from taking up residence. This is known as “companion planting” and is an example of organic pest control.
Caper spurge (Euphorbia lathyris) has gained such notoriety as a living mole repellant that it is often referred to as “mole plant.” An annual, mole plant readily reseeds itself. It is often grown as an ornamental and is a very attractive addition to the landscape. The milky sap of the mole plant is apparently what is offensive to moles. This plant should not be grown near where children play.
The final living repellant to be addressed is the castor bean (Ricinus communis), also known as the castor-oil plant. Used in the old days as a laxative, I’m sure there are many folks who can attest to the repellant qualities of castor oil! It would appear that moles don’t like it any better than humans do! In the right climate, castor bean can grow to a height of 15’, suggesting it could be used as a privacy screen. It grows quickly; a boon for those who don’t want to wait years for other shrubs to reach such a height. Castor bean, like mole plant, is poisonous.
Lastly, some residents of the Rogue Valley say that the only sure-fire way to repel moles is with a shotgun. Others say, “even moles have a purpose”. I’m sure that in the grand scheme of things, they do. I just wish that they’d find their purpose lie in areas other than our yards, gardens and orchards.
So, if you’ve ever found yourself screaming curses while pounding a pitchfork into a new mole run in your yard, do yourself and your blood pressure a favor and try some less exerting alternatives.
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