Do deer eat lettuce

Are you planning on adding lettuce to your vegetable garden? Then one question you might ask is – do deer eat lettuce. These insatiable eaters can eat over 10 pounds of food in a day, so you don’t want to take any chances!

You must take careful steps to keep your vegetable garden from becoming a buffet for deer. While deer may not eat vegetables like garlic, asparagus, and rhubarb, there are many more that they might eat. They seem to eat Cole crops like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, and other vegetables like beans and hot peppers. But, do deer eat lettuce?

Deer and the lettuce connection

Unfortunately, like other members of its family, lettuce can quickly become a favorite meal for deer. In truth, it is exceptionally high up on the scale of deer palatable. You can quickly determine if deer have been through your garden by their hoof prints, round-pebble-like droppings, torn leaves, and trampled plants. Due to the amount of damage they can do in a single walk through, you should take measures to keep them out of your garden.

Use physical barriers

The most effective way to keep deer out of your garden is through physical barriers. You can use covers made from floating row covers, chicken wire, plastic netting to cover your plants so deer cannot access them. Covers are great for lettuce and other shorter crops like bush beans. Ensure you secure them in place so that a desperate deer or the high winds cannot pull them off.

You can also create a lightweight polypropylene fence that becomes invisible in the landscape and will not disrupt the natural landscape. A double-wall of about 5 feet is also excellent. Deer cannot jump over a wall if it cannot see where it lands. If you have nothing against a tall and high physical barrier, opt for a 12-feet high wall.
Electric fencing is excellent if you don’t have to worry about your electric bills. You should also ensure that the charge is strong enough and that the wires do not start too far from the ground, else deer may crawl under.

Repellents

Repellents are also great deer deterrents. You can make some at home, but the best should emit a strong and pungent odor that will stop them from having a taste. However, when using repellents on your lettuce, you need to be careful about how and what you choose. Avoid using homemade mixes, and follow instructions carefully. That way, you wouldn’t make your lettuce inedible. We also recommend using repellents when your lettuces are relatively young so that the treatments can wear off before the harvest. Nevertheless, when using repellents, you need to apply them diligently, especially after it rains.

Scare tactics

Your dog can also become a principal participant helping you scare them off. However, this only works if you only have a few deer to worry about. Besides, you will have better luck using motion-triggered devices that blast noise or squirt water.

Concluding thoughts

Do deer eat lettuce? Unfortunately, they do and will eat them to the ground if given a chance. Therefore, you should prevent this from happening by using the strategies outlined above to keep them out. Use a combination of the deer deterrent methods we discussed, and you can say goodbye to your deer problems.

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