After a long season of caring for your tomato plants there’s nothing more disappointing than waking up and seeing your prized plants chomped down by animal pests.
If you live in an area with an avid deer population, you might be wondering whether you need to worry about these large mammals going after your prized fruits.
If this is a concern of yours, and you’re wondering how to protect your precious plants from hungry deer, keep reading to learn about the best humane deterrents to these widespread herbivores.
Are Deer a Threat to My Tomatoes?
The short answer is unfortunately yes, deer do eat tomato plants. Deer have been known to bite off the entire head of the tomato plant, as they enjoy the green foliage as well as the sweet fruits throughout all the stages of ripening.
Since deer are so large, they may also damage tomato plants just by trampling them as they move through your garden, so action must be taken to prevent extensive damage to your tomato crop.
Signs That Deer Are Eating Your Tomatoes
Aside from spotting the actual animals in your garden, deer will leave obvious signs of their presence that makes it quite easy to distinguish their damage from other animals since they are so large.
Deer typically rip the entire head off a plant, they won’t just nibble little bites, and the most distinct sign they have been feeding on your tomato crop is the ragged edges they leave behind as a result of the ripping motion.
Other animals like rabbits or chipmunks that might feed on your tomatoes won’t remove the growing tip and will leave bite marks on leaves and branches. In addition, deer pellets are small brown ovals and are almost guaranteed to be left around wherever they have been eating.
Less obvious signs to watch out for include hoof prints in the ground, or scratch marks on the trunks of trees or fences. Male deers will rub their antlers on hard surfaces to spread their scent, often scratching away the bark on tree trunks or chipping the paint on your house or fence.
Effective Ways to Keep Deer from Eating Tomato Plants
The best way to go about deterring deer from your tomato plants is to employ multiple different measures and create a multi-layered defense against these ambitious eaters.
That way if one strategy fails you have a few backup deterrents in place, and when combined all together they are more likely to be effective at annoying or dissuading the deer from coming near your plants. They’ll go and find something that’s easier to eat!
Grow plants that deers don’t like near your tomatoes
One of the most popular techniques for getting rid of deer is to plant different aromatic herb and vegetable species near your tomato plants that deer dislike and that they will stay clear of if they have managed to break into your garden.
Mammals have a highly sensitive sense of smell, especially prey animals that are constantly wary of predators, and if they smell something off putting they will generally try to avoid it.
Sage, chives, oregano, garlic, marigolds, zinnias, thyme, and yucca are all examples of antagonistic plants that deer will steer clear of. Plant them at the edge of tomato beds or intercrop them in an alternating pattern between tomato plants to make sure they are effective.
Spread or spray scent deterrents on and around your tomatoes
As mentioned above, deer have sensitive noses that will pick up on any potential threats or signs of predators. Scent deterrents that you can spray directly on your tomatoes or on the surrounding walls and trellises include garlic sprays, hot pepper sprays, apple cider vinegar, ammonia, or actual predator urine which can be purchased at garden centres.
You can spray garlic and hot pepper sprays right onto your tomato plants with a spray bottle and they won’t damage the plant or fruits, but apple cider vinegar, ammonia, or predator urine should be sprayed only on stakes or wooden beds and not on the actual plant.
Apple cider vinegar and ammonia mimic the acidic smell of predator urine but can be very harsh when applied directly to the plant. Also make sure to wash all your fruits before eating so you don’t get a spicy surprise!
When it comes to scent deterrents, it’s better to use one at a time and switch between them every few weeks so that the deer don’t get used to the smell.
Create physical barriers around the tomato beds
Fencing is ideal when it comes to protecting your tomato plants from deer, but your classic garden fence just won’t cut it.
Fences need to be at least 8 feet tall to prevent deer from just jumping over them, and the fencing should be pulled taught against the fence posts to prevent deer from walking underneath.
If you aren’t able to construct a fence this sturdy, you can instead opt for individual cages placed around your tomato plants, which work best for determinate varieties that are generally shorter in height.
Chicken wire or sturdy stakes with netting will both work well as a physical barrier between deer and your tomatoes, but they can be a bit of an eye sore if you have many plants to protect.
Motion activated sprinklers and sounds
There are sprinklers and vibrational alarms you can purchase that will turn on whenever there is movement in their range.
Placing these devices near your tomato plants can be a very effective way to scare off deer that are starting to munch at your crop. Make sure they are turned on around dusk and left on until dawn, when deer are most active and you are least likely to accidentally activate them!
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.