Do Deer Eat Evergreen Trees

Do deer eat evergreen trees? Yes, they do, but there are deer resistant evergreen trees, we will share in this article.

If you want to cultivate evergreen trees on your property, then you must know about the trees that may be safe from deer damage. Therefore, it’s okay to ask the question – do deer eat evergreen tree – to which the answer is Yes.

Deer eat a lot of things, including the twigs, bark, buds, and fruits of trees. But their feeding alone isn’t the problem. Deer may sometimes rub their antlers on the bark of trees, which cause injury to the tree and kill it if left unchecked. Usually, farmers checkmate the deer problems by cultivating deer resistant trees at the edges of their properties. Nevertheless, you must know that if your deer-resistant trees are native to your area, then there is a good chance it won’t do any good. Deer in that region might be adapted to that tree and likely eat from it. It’s also essential to use other deer-resistant strategies alongside.

To help guide you, let’s look at some evergreen trees that are more resistant to deer than others.

Deer Resistant Trees

• Green Giant Arborvitae
• Virescens Arborvitae
• Austrian Pine
• Skip Laurel
• Colorado Blue Spruce
• Douglas fir
• Norway Spruce
• Scots pine
• Serbian Spruce
• Eastern white pine
• White Spruce
• Yellow Groove Bamboo
• Clumping Bamboo
• Youngstown Juniper
• Hinoki Cypress
• Japanese red cedar
• Bosnian pine
• Korean fir
• Eastern red cedar
• Nordmann fir
• Norway Spruce
• Oriental Spruce
• Weeping Alaska Cedar
• Leyland Cypress
• Swiss stone pine
• Concolor fir
• Japanese false cypress
• Mugo pines
• American holly trees
• Japanese umbrella pines
• Dwarf Alberta spruces
Protection At All Stages

No tree is entirely deer-proof and maybe succulent deer food during their growing years. Deer love eating young shoots and buds of all trees, including the ones stated as deer resistant. Besides, it is never enough to use trees alone.

Therefore, you can also use the following g methods as well:

Fencing

You can create walls, hedges, sheep fencing, or deer fencing to keep deer away from your newly cultivated trees. Ensure to check for the laws and regulations governing fencing farmlands in your area. Some localities have restrictions.

Tree shelters

You can also use plastic or mesh tubes to create individual protections around each tree. They are mostly used for protecting very vulnerable or young trees.

Repellents

Tree repellents are also effective against deer. Nevertheless, it is important to switch between repellents from time to time. Deer quickly adapt to the taste and smell of any repellent if left in place for too long. When using repellents, ensure to reapply regularly, especially after it rains.

Do deer eat evergreen trees? Yes, deer eat evergreen trees, although some more than the others. Deer usually avoid trees with a pungent odor, toxin, or thick sap. They also avoid trees with gray, tough, prickly, thorny, or pubescent leaves and stems. However, during droughts or the summer months, those less palatable might become their favorite meals.