Do Deer Eat Asparagus?

Browsing

• Deer often browse potential food sources, sampling plants and deciding whether they taste good to them. As a result, deer diets can vary widely depending on their geographic location. While deer in one area of the country might despise a certain plant or vegetable, deer in another location might seek it as a food source. Deer that browse sometimes damage only a few plants as they nibble.

Scarce Food

• Food shortages result when deer populations become larger than a given area can support. Loss of habitat as towns and communities grow can also reduce the amount of food available to support local deer. In years when acorn and plant crops diminish as a result of poor weather conditions in prior years, or as a result of a harsh winter, locations may suffer temporary setbacks in food supplies. While food that deer like may return in subsequent years, the spot shortage will make deer seek out even plants they do not particularly enjoy.

Deer Resistant

• Few plants are immune to browsing by deer. The animals avoid some plants, such as rhubarb, that are poisonous to them. They also avoid a few plants, such as marigolds (Tagetes spp.), because the scent is not very pleasing to them. Asparagus is typically included on lists of deer-resistant plants. Resistant only means that the plants are avoided by most deer most of the time. When deer browse or when food is tough to come by, even deer-resistant plants are fair game.

Solutions

• Keeping deer away from food plots, including vegetable gardens ripe with asparagus, is an endeavor that might require several attempts before finding success. A number of scent-based deer sprays and powders are available to discourage deer from browsing asparagus. Trial and error may be the only means of determining which ones work best for the deer in your area. Fencing may provide the best solution. Tall fences, those exceeding 8 feet, are deterrents for large vegetable or flower gardens. A shorter fence with a mesh top can keep deer away from smaller garden plots.