Will deer eat olive trees? Bay Area near UC Berkeley...

November 23, 2018 3:43 PM

We just moved to the hills around UC Berkeley and want to plant some olive trees, but are concerned because deer seem to eat everything else we've planted. Besides deer-proofing the entire yard, what are our options?

The trees will be in our front yard. There isn't a fence to keep deer out of the area. We prefer fruitless but are flexible, preferring low price and convenience. Asking MetaFilter because we receive conflicting answers from locals and home stores. If we plant young trees will the deep eat them to death? Must we buy taller more mature trees to ensure deer can't eat everything? Or should we create a temporary fence to project the trees? Very grateful for any guidance and expertise!

posted by Hermanos to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Depends on the deer. The deer in my yard seem to relish the "deerproof" plantings I have put it. As I sit here, I'm watching them gnaw away on ceanothus, cotoneaster, and the escallonia. As a result, I figure that they'll eat anything, including olive trees. My rule of thumb is the more I spend on it, the more likely they are to devour it.

Sorry I couldn't be more help. I don't know your deer very well.
posted by humboldt32 at 4:08 PM on November 23, 2018

I've been thinking of getting a motion detecting sprinkler/sprayer to deal with other yard pests... Deter with a quick, surprising splash of water. May also help deter neighbors form... neighboring if it's in the front yard. Alternately, some dude on twitter had luck deterring bears with a stereo playing the Reply All podcast 24/7.
posted by kaibutsu at 4:24 PM on November 23, 2018 [1 favorite]

@Humbolt:
Try Yaupon - "Ilex Vomitoria". They'll munch on it - once.

Deer fencing is a difficult thing. They can jump high for short distances, or low for longer distances. Best plan is leaning it outwards - they can't do both at the same time.
A local organic grower came up with a solution though - motion activated lawn sprinklers. And the peach trees were saved.

kaibutsu types faster than I do, evidently.
posted by rudd135 at 4:25 PM on November 23, 2018

Best answer: Deer will eat sticks if they get hungry enough. And this page about olive tree care reads, "Deer love to eat olive trees. If you have deer roaming your land, you can assume that they will find and eat your trees. An orchard will require full-field, 8-foot fencing in some form. It is easier if the gates are placed in the corners of the fields, as it makes chasing out the deer (when they inevitably find their way in) a much simpler task. Small plantings can accommodate cylindrical, individual fences for each tree."

So, yes. Deer will eat your trees if they can.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:23 PM on November 23, 2018 [3 favorites]

They can certainly eat olive trees but it’s not entirely clear they will. They will prefer to eat eg hostas and other more tender herbaceous marerial before the relatively tough olive leaves and twigs. Safest is to assume they will devour your trees if they are left unprotected. Then again I can’t imagine why anyone would want to grow a food tree that is modified to not make food, so we likely have very different perspectives on this sort of thing.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:12 PM on November 23, 2018

Then again I can’t imagine why anyone would want to grow a food tree that is modified to not make food

Because they're drought and fire resistant and OP is in California.

My experience is that deer will eat the shit out of your olive trees but probably won't kill them as olive trees are hardy. The sprinklers work OK, so does hanging Irish spring all over your yard like a crazy person.
posted by fshgrl at 10:06 PM on November 23, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Any interest in getting a dog? That's a surefire way to keep deer away. I've also had modest luck with deer repellent spray but you have to keep reapplying it, it's a nuisance.

For young trees you can surround them with a cylinder of chicken wire (or something sturdier). That gives you the benefits of a fence without having the fence the whole yard. I had to do this even for trees the deer don't eat, because the stupid bucks love to rub their antlers on the bark of young trees and kill them.

At some point they'll get big enough the wire cage won't work any more. If you're lucky, at that point they'll be well enough established they can handle a little nibbling.
posted by Nelson at 8:48 AM on November 24, 2018