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themastergardener1

Will Deer Eat Peppers!

TheMasterGardener1
12 years ago

Hi everyone. Just a few hours ago both of my giant cherry tomato bushes where eaten by some deer earlier today. I am not mad because I feel bad for the deer. The question is will deer eat my jalapenos? I have them in pots on a deck, will the deer come on a wooden deck? I have been using that spray to keep them away, I have a feeling my lettuce garden will be next.

Comments (11)

  • noinwi
    12 years ago

    They will not eat the fruit(unless a bite just to sample), but yes, they will eat the plants. There is a doe that will come right up to our apartment doorstep to get at my plants(this year she was early and topped the pansies right in front of the door). They also eat tomato plants and will take a bite out of a big green tomato and spit it out on the ground. I had several huge green toms get ruined last season.
    If your deck is accessible they will come up there...not just for plants, but birdseed if you have any feeders out.
    Just be sure to re-apply your spray after it rains. I found that they don't like Safer fungicide so I use that because I have it on hand, but again I have to re-spray after a rain.HTH

  • cindy_eatonton
    12 years ago

    Yes, they definitely eat peppers - they ate lots of mine last year... A dose of garlic spray sometimes helps - but not always.

    Cindy

  • ancfan
    12 years ago

    Deer ate my peppers to the ground last year, sweet and hot peppers :(

  • thisisme
    12 years ago

    If they are starving they will eat anything they can find.

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    12 years ago

    Why do you feel bad for the deer?

  • biscgolf
    12 years ago

    they ate my bhut jolokia breeding planting down to the ground last year, pods and all.

  • exmar zone 7, SE Ohio
    12 years ago

    Deer eat Everything!!!!

    The best control I've heard of is a radio in the garden. I know someone who has an old radio under a metal tub for a rain cover plugged into an extension cord. Add a timer and the deer stay away.

    Lead poisoning, while tempting just doesn't work in this area, remove one, three more move in. I even had a deer control permit issued by the ODNR allowing Bambi to be shot with "whatever", 24/7. The population is so grossly out of balance we'll lhave to wait for a natural control to occurr or for the states to put a bounty on them.

    Ev

  • TheMasterGardener1
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Yea there are some deer in my area that come and go but never came that close. Turns out it was a new deer that is a buck and was not scared to come right into the yard. The idea of shooting it for meat would be nice but I live in too dense of a neighborhood to do that.

    "Why do you feel bad for the deer?"

    Put yourself in the deers position, no more vegitation to eat because of the the houses and roads. I can go to the store and buy tomatoes the deer can not. Generations ago that deer's ancestors roomed very happy in this same area, with very little worry. Being hunted is not as bad as being kicked out by a population.

  • noinwi
    12 years ago

    "If they are starving they will eat anything they can find."

    Even when they are not starving they will eat anything they take a fancy to. Most of the deer in this area(and it is over-populated with them as well)won't go for the tomatoes, but a few of them will, this particular doe being one. I never had her eat any of my pepper pods, just the plants. The deer here are definitely not starving. There are people that feed them in addition to a couple of feed mills that dump piles of seed in their lots. The deer stroll through town and browse peoples' gardens during the night.

    "Put yourself in the deers position, no more vegitation to eat because of the the houses and roads."

    I'm not trying to be a smart-a$$ here, but I don't believe the deer are captive in your neighborhood. There's nothing to stop them from using those roads to go where there is more vegetation(notice how they disappear during hunting season?). Don't get me wrong, as I have a hard time looking into lose big dumb deer eyes and yelling at her, especially when I know she has a fawn out in the wooded lot next to our building. We've had "conversations"...her, snorting and stomping her feet...me, yelling, jumping and waving my arms to get her to "Step away from the garden!". I want to harvest the veggies I've worked hard for but the deer are opportunists and will stick around where there is tasty, easy pickins'.

    Exmar, I was wondering myself if a radio would work with a motion sensor, but we're in an apartment and the neighbors probably wouldn't be happy with a radio coming on in the middle of the night, LOL! But it might be better than me yelling out the window at her!

  • TheMasterGardener1
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    "notice how they disappear during hunting season?)."

    No, I don't notice lol. There are herds in the winter.

    I just noticed this new deer that had a little more courage to come all the way up to the side of the house. Even none of the other bucks would come that close.

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