Deer Damage

The deer decided in the few warm days we had to eat my iris down to the rhizomes. Will my iris recover and is there something I should do. I do put protection around all the plants, so that the deer can't get at the plants again. Someone told me that the iris may not have blooms.

Try PlanSkydd spray. It works well to deter moose up here. That is all that saves my tulips and keeps them out of my flower beds out front where it isn't fenced. A big hoof on a plant under ground is about as destructive as simply eating it.

Thanks for your reply Oberon46. My brother-in-law said he likes the same deterrent. Moose damage must be devastating!

Yes, they can really damage plants. They strip trees and ate two evergreen babies to the ground one year. We plant most of our stuff in the fenced back yard and most of what I have is pretty low for them although they will go down on their front knees to get a succulent tulip if tempted. Mostly the terrible digging up of the soil and destruction of bulbs and such underneath that bugs me. Today is our day to mix it up and spray. Just in time for the odor to waft over the poor kids hunting Easter eggs in our cul de sac. :( sorry.......

Deer can cause damage to the iris or drag them off, but they usually dont actually eat them because they are poisionous..but the usually pull them out wth their teeth and carry them off into the woods and drop them there, usually where we either cant find them, or, we find them bitten in half or damaged, these deer have also trompled over them with their feet to get to our daylilies which are not poisonous that they love to eat. mwahaha..but I love seeing the deer so it's a dilemma.we have a big rabbit that has lived behind our mulch pile for like 5 years and he either ate or carried off my son's only rare 'China Maid' iris last year before we ever got to see it bloom, and needless to say it's a good idea to get aleast three fans of each cultivar you get, if possible, so if one gets eaten and one of them dies..you still have one left.

This is the first year deer have eaten my iris foliage. Must be because the winter was so bad and they are so hungry. Luckily the grazing damage was not too severe so I expect them to fully recover and produce great blooms this year.

Yes, I agree, here in our region too in the southeast ive noticed this is the first year the animals are eating things they have never eaten before, I think it is do to suburban sprawl..these poor animals are running out of habitat and woods and fields to graze in and eat from, they build 2,000 pre-fabricated homes that all look the same withought a single decoration or tree or flower in the yard right on top of each other, with no privacy..for big bucks.. that could have been spent where one could have privacy and without damaging the landscape.for probably alot less.where a huge forest once stood..they are not even selling most of these right now..yet the keep building..why? on the plus side..this is the first time in about 4 years I have seen lots of honey bees on the wildflowers and flowering shrubs on the property..so something must be improving.

This message was edited Apr 23, 2014 7:22 PM

themikesmom,
I agree that your area is developing and pushing the deer out. My mom lives in North Carolina and that has been a problem for her.

Around my area there isn't much development. I think that there are less predators around: man and animal. Therefore there are larger numbers.
I also believe that our gardens are the buffet for deer. Why eat a bush when there is luscious leaves waiting to be tasted. They can have champagne tastes with a beer budget at my expense!
I am sure that if some famous chefs touted the meat and made it popular on TV, more human predators would be found.

yes, i was born and raised in the Catskills, near Kingston NY and Saugerties New York and so was my adult son in his 30's, one of my Sisters has a large farm near Blue Mtn in Greene County and my brother has one across the river in Hudson Co., and very few hunters..so Deer and Bear over populate and they starve, my son when he was a kid in the 1980'[s came across a bear once with his friend gus that was so malnourished it look like a giant mink or weasil. So I understand if people hunt up there back home, to stop over population, as long as they are going to eat the meat. There is in my opinion absolutely no reason to kill something just for the sake of killing something and then not utilizing its resource, especially when their are supermarkets to buy your meat in, do not car for deer anyway..it has a wild, gamey taste and if it is soaked in vinegar to long to remove that.. it is then tasteless. If I get some deer a couple times a month here in NC and they do alittle damage let them, a living creature in my opinion is more important then plant life..i have so many plants it's not gonna devistate us if we miss one or two cultivars..

Some deer have 'wasting disease' (not here) so can be dangerous to eat.

really.that doesnt sound too nice..atleast not something i would want.I know Bear meat can have trichinosis and make you deathly sick. thats why in my opinion unless you live on a farm and slaughter your own poultry and livestock, there is no reason to kill things when you can go to the grocery store..just my personal opinion.

It is a cousin of mad cow disease, I have been told. I think came originalyl from diseased animals on a wild animal farm in CO & has spread.

yeah i heard those horrible brain diseases of cattle were caused by cannibalism..feeding livestock food made from their own kind..natures way of saying dont eat eachother for breakfast bwahaha..kinda like soilent green..cereal made out of people :-) Donner party of 5..LOL!

OY! You are the first person in forever that referenced soilent green. One of our all time favorite movies. Well, that isn't the name of the movie but you know what I mean. Dinner Party OF 5!! ROTFL

;-)

Where in the world did you find that?!! I am forwarding a copy to my husband and kids. They will just howl. Thanks so much.