Do deer eat asparagus?

If you are considering planting asparagus, you may wonder—do deer eat asparagus? This article will talk about the asparagus plant and whether it is a palatable food source for deer.

Asparagus is a lovely edible perennial plant and a significant part of our diet. This flowering plant is an iconic ingredient for many dishes and recipes. Concerning cultivation, their young shoots appear in spring, thereby becoming a cause of concern, especially when considering pests to look out for. There-fore, this leads to the question—do deer eat asparagus?

Deer and Asparagus

Deer love edible landscapes, and asparagus is one of them. Although asparagus is listed as deer resistant according to the USDA, this is not entirely true. Deer will gladly eat asparagus in areas where their more preferred food choices are not available. It is even more prominent when there are too many deer in a given location. If deer is also native to your area, there is a huge chance it would be a staple diet. Again, deer love new shoots, so your young asparagus shoots might be a preferred meal during spring. Therefore, you must implement deer deterrents to keep them out of your asparagus plants.

How to keep deer away from your asparagus plants

Install electric posts

Electric fences can effectively keep deer away from your property as long as you go about it right. To install it, aim for an 8-foot tall wall. Also, ensure that it reaches the ground to prevent deer from going under the fence and into your property.

Use noise and visual deterrents

Wind chimes, motion-activated sprinklers, and even the plain old radio blaring out can help deter deer from coming into your property. However, you must switch between deterrents or combine many of them to create a “busy” buzz around your home. Deer will naturally be wary of the environment after that. Still, there is an exception. Regions around the suburbs and areas with many hungry deer cannot effectively benefit from these methods. Deer in such locations are usually nonchalant about noise or visual deterrents. They may simply walk in and out of your property for their meals.

Fencing

A conventional fence about 8-foot long can keep them away. This fencing installation is more expensive than an electric fence but just as long-lasting. Additionally, while the electric fence requires continuous monitoring, the conventional wall requires minimal maintenance. You can equally use two parallel fenc-es of about 6-feet in place of an 8 feet long wall. These parallel fences should have about 2 inches be-tween them.

Concluding thoughts

Do deer eat asparagus? Yes, deer eat asparagus occasionally. Asparagus may not be on top of their list of edibles, but they can make do with them at times. Asparagus most especially produces young shoots in spring and can create a cause for concern. Therefore, as a grower, you must protect your asparagus against deer damage. Remember that there are no permanent solutions, but this article’s methods are prudent to prevent and minimize deer damage.

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