Lantana belongs to the Verbena family. They can be found in various parts of the world because of their landscape beauty.
They are known as perennial plants in the flower world. Lantanas are also famous for being aromatic flowers. Today, we are going to discuss whether deer and rabbits eat lantana or not.
Do deer eat lantana?
Deer do not usually eat lantana because of its toxicity. Lantana plants are also natural deer resistant which means deer can not stand the strong smell of lantanas. But deer can be seen eating lantanas when they are starving which results in several food poisoning problems.
Deer do not eat lantana under normal circumstances. But when they are struggling to find any food, they might be compelled to eat the fruits of lantana. But being able to eat lantanas does not mean lantanas are good for deer.
In fact, the toxic components of lantana fruits can cause serious health problems in deer.
The leaves and stems of lantanas are also not edible because they have rough texture that cause discomfort to deer. In most cases, deer are driven away by the strong smell of lantanas.
Do deer like lantana? Is Lantana poisonous to deer?
Lantanas are known as natural deer resistant for its strong smell. Deer do not like plants that emit strong smell on a regular basis. Some gardeners even plant lantanas in their garden to keep deer away.
Along with the smell, lantanas have hard leaves and stems that deer do not enjoy. Lantana is known for being poisonous to all kinds of animals. A deer is no different case. The berry like fruits produced by the lantana is poisonous to deer.
A starving deer might be tempted to eat the berries produced by lantana plants. The unripe berries can cause a lot more damage than the ripe berries.
Even lantana leaves are poisonous to deer. Eating lantana leaves can cause diarrhea and other food poisoning related sickness.
Does lantana keep deer away?
Lantanas are one of those plants that are known for being natural deer resistant. What gives lantanas the power as a deer-resistant is its strong smell.
Deer are known for getting put off by strong smelling plants. If you want to keep deer away from destroying your garden, you can certainly plant some lantana plants.
Along with the smell, the rough leaves and stems of the lantanas are also unattractive to deer. But it is believed that lantanas are not always successful as deer resistant.
As sometimes deer can be seen eating other plants of the garden except the lantana plants. This indicates the ability of deer to eat other plants by resisting the smell of lantanas.
Sometimes hunger can even compel the deer to eat the fruits produced by lantanas. It causes them great discomfort and sickness.
But still they are able to eat the lantana fruits despite the strong smell. So even after being a natural deer resistant, lantanas sometimes do fail to keep deer away.
3 reasons why deer don’t eat lantana
Deer are not known for eating lantanas for several reasons. Let’s talk about some of them.
The components of Lantana:
One of the chemical components of lantana is Pentacyclic Triterpenoids. This chemical is known for being poisonous to deer and other animals. This causes diarrhea and other food poisoning sickness in deer when they eat them.
The strong smell of Lantana:
Lantanas are one of the most strong smelling plants of the flower world. Their rich aroma is enjoyed by humans and birds. But deer do not enjoy the smell of lantanas.
A deer will do anything in its power to stay away from lantanas if it smells them nearby. This strong smell keeps the deer away from eating lantanas.
The structure of lantanas:
A fully grown lantana plant has rough leaves and stems. Deer do not like feeding on these rough leaves and stems which keep them away from lantanas.
Do rabbits eat lantana?
Rabbits do not eat lantanas as they do not have the ability to digest lantana fruits properly. The toxic elements of lantana fruits can make rabbits severely sick. Lantana plants are often planted in gardens to keep rabbits away. The strong smell of lantanas works as rabbit resistant.
Lantana plants are natural rabbit resistant which makes it impossible for rabbits to eat them. Even if a rabbit manages to eat lantana fruits, it will become sick because of the toxic elements present in the lantana fruits.
It can cause diarrhea, nausea and all the other food poisoning related sickness.
Some gardeners plant lantanas in their garden to keep rabbits away. The strong smell of lantanas put off rabbits and they can not go near the plants.
Do rabbits like lantana? Is lantana toxic to rabbits?
Some argue that rabbits like lantanas and they can be seen feeding on them occasionally. While others argue that rabbits do not like lantanas because of their strong smell.
But experts classify lantana as natural rabbit resistant. Lantanas are believed to be toxic to rabbits.
The unripe fruits of lantanas if eaten by rabbits can cause food poisoning and other serious health problems. The ripe fruits can also cause problems but not as much as the unripe ones. Even the leaves and stems of lantana plants are toxic to rabbits.
As rabbits are small in size, even a little bit of lantana fruits, leaves or stems can make them sick. If you have a pet rabbit and do not want it to get ill, then do not forget to put some barriers around your lantana plants.
Is lantana rabbit resistant?
Lantanas are famous for being natural rabbit resistant. The strong smell emitted by lantana plants are known for making rabbits very uncomfortable.
If you have lantana plants in your garden, you will see rabbits avoiding part of the garden that has lantana in it.
If your pet rabbit keeps destroying the plants of your garden, you can plant lantanas to get rid of the problem. The rough leaves and stems of the lantana plants are also responsible for making them a natural rabbit resistant.
So lantanas protect your garden from rabbit infestation along with enhancing the beauty of your garden.
3 reasons why rabbits do not eat lantana
There are several reasons that prevent rabbits from eating lantana. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.
The toxic elements:
Lantanas are known for containing toxic elements that can cause serious health problems to rabbits. Eating the berry like fruits of lantana plants can make rabbits sick by causing diarrhea, nausea and other food poisoning sickness.
The strong aroma:
The primary trait of lantanas as a natural rabbit resistant is their strong aroma. Rabbits can not stand the strong scent emitted by lantanas. This smell is responsible for keeping rabbits away from eating lantanas.
The leaves and stems:
Lantana plants are a pleasure to the eyes because of their vibrant colors. But same thing can not be said for their leaves and stems.
Their leaves and stems are not as beautiful as their flowers and fruits because of their rough and tough outlook. This rough and tough outlook makes it difficult for rabbits to eat them.
How to keep deer and rabbits out of your garden using lantana?
As lantana is a natural deer and rabbits resistant, it can be used effectively to keep deer and rabbits out of your garden. Let’s discuss in detail about that.
Mark the area:
First of all, you will need to find out the garden area that is most affected by deer and rabbits. If you can pinpoint the plants that deer and rabbits enjoy feeding on, it will make your job much easier.
Plant the lantanas:
Next, you will need to plant the lantanas densely in the area that is most affected by deer and rabbits. The strong smell of lantanas will keep the deer and rabbits away from that particular area.
Alternative approach:
Instead of targeting a particular area, you can also plant lantanas alongside the parameter of your garden. By doing so, you will prevent the deer and rabbits from entering your garden.
This will be helpful in the long run as pinpointing a particular area does not give your garden the full protection against invasion of deer and rabbits.
Final Thoughts
Deer and rabbits do not eat lantana as they can not handle the toxic chemical component known as Pentacyclic Triterpenoids which is present in lantana. This component can cause food poisoning, diarrhea, and vomiting if lantana is eaten by deer and rabbits.