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scottfam125

Do deer eat your azaleas?

Fixing to plant some azaleas in an unprotected location but if the deer eat them too going to rethink my choices. Judy

Comments (3)

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    10 years ago

    Deer ate my azaleas just one year (of many) at my former garden. Here, an entire 6 minutes away, they nip at them more often. I have a mature azalea hedge at one side, and it bloomed along the bottom edges only this first year, the deer had eaten all the buds from the top. Just like a table :) Good thing a formally pruned application isn't my favorite for azaleas.

    Azaleas don't seem to be the deer magnet the laurel is (was, I just took it out), or crocus, of even the ivy I've been removing, but they will eat azaleas if in the mood that day.

    OT, that azalea hedge - I watched a doe trying in earnest to place her feet not to get into it the other day, but ON it. She wanted higher to better reach the cherry branches over it, but then I've seen all kinds of deer behavior new to me in these last 10 months :)

  • Prettypetals_GA_7-8
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Deer are strange creatures. Ours used to walk by us while we were working out in the yard. They were a mere 60-70 ft away and would just stare at us and keep strolling. Usually after they stop to munch. Guess I will just spray liquid fence. Thanks

  • rhodyman
    10 years ago

    Deer don't eat our azaleas anymore.

    {{gwi:387895}}

    Unfortunate for us and fortunate for deer, conditions are favoring an explosion of the deer population. Deer are becoming a problem even in some urban areas. They are threatening their own habitat. Depending upon the deer pressure in your area, you response will vary. Where deer are just casual visitors, usually a number of deer repellents will work. They only work for a while, so it is best to rotate use among them. Some repellents used are: eggs, human hair, soap, feathermeal, bloodmeal, creosote, mothballs, tankage and commercial chemical repellents. The greatest amount of protection for home gardens with repellents is obtained by using several different repellents and rotating their use. Repellents should be applied before damage is likely to occur and before deer become accustomed to feeding on the plants.

    I used a combination of deer fencing around a smaller area with intense planting and deer netting in a larger more spread out area. In the winter of 2009-2010 deer were able to defeat the deer netting and started damaging the plastic deer fencing. I resorted to an 8-foot high-tension steel wire-mesh fence around most of the approximately 1-acre yard to the sides and behind our home where we have most of the trouble. It has 12-foot gates where vehicles can pass through and a 5-foot gate where people normally pass.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Preventing Deer Damage

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