The World of Deer

Yes — deer eat vegetable gardens, and given the chance they’ll eat most of what’s in yours. A vegetable plot is the richest concentration of tender, well-watered, fertilized food a deer will find anywhere in

Mostly no — deer generally avoid succulents, but “generally” is doing real work in that sentence. Waxy coatings, bitter or astringent sap, and odd textures keep most succulents low on the deer menu, and many

Deer are herbivores, and plants make up essentially all of their diet, but the surprising truth is that deer do occasionally eat meat. Deer have been documented eating bird eggs, nestlings and fledglings, fish, carrion,

Deer protect their fawns mainly by hiding them rather than guarding them. A doe conceals her newborn in dense cover, stays away most of the day so her own scent and bulk do not betray

Yes — deer eat blueberries, and not just the fruit. Deer browse blueberry bushes in every season: dormant buds and twigs in winter, tender new shoots and leaves in spring, and ripe berries by the

Yes — deer eat lilies, and both true lilies and daylilies rank among their absolute favorite garden plants. Daylilies are rated “frequently severely damaged” — the worst tier on university resistance lists — and Asiatic,