If you’re a fan of dill, you may have thought about growing it in your garden. So that you can have the flavor of this aromatic herb anytime, any day.
Well, growing dill all by yourself isn’t tough but saving it from various destructive factors might be. For example, unwanted animals might ask for a share of your plant.
Top over that, if you’re living somewhere you notice deer often, your concern is real. Since deer are herbivores, they eat up most plants. So you may ask if deer like to eat dill. Here’s the detailed answer!
Do deer eat dill?
Deer don’t eat dill in fact they don’t like this herb at all. Dill is one of those plants deer avoid due to discomfort. It has a strong grassy and citrus-type smell which keeps deer away from it since the smell is too sharp for deer. Dill is known as a deer-resistant plant.
If you’ve deer living around, you must know if the plant is deer resistant to save the garden.
Dill plants:
Dill is an aromatic herb. It has a grassy strong pungent citrus scent that comes with a sweet flavor. Dill is a spice with mesmerizing scent and exotic flavor. It’s mainly used to add taste to different cuisine.
Since deer are herbivores and can munch on anything depending on their mood, it’s obvious that they will check out your garden plants. But if it’s dill, then possibilities are the deer will not feel much interested. Because deer can’t tolerate the scent of dill.
Deers love to explore the food options they have around. They love to taste whatever they see in front and if it’s herb, shrub, or plant deer will hardly leave them.
But because they are sensitive about smells, often deer keep themselves away from many edible stuff. For example, dill. Dill is popular for its strong attractive scent but deer like to keep a distance from this aromatic plane due to its scent.
The strong and grassy smell of dill is not as enjoyable as us. They cannot stand the smell since it hits their sensitive sense of smell. So if deer ever smell this plant, they avoid the area. That’s why dill is known as deer resistance.
Dill doesn’t harm the animal neither it’s toxic to deer. it’s just the powerful pungent fragrance of this herb that doesn’t let deer come near to it. If you plant dill in your garden, it will eventually save the other plants from deer too.
Do deer like dill?
Deer don’t like the smell of dill. So it can be said that they don’t have much love for this plant too.
Deer live on plant-based food. Moreover, they are a foodie and like to munch on whatever they find nearby. But not always deer blindly keep eating the plants and herbs around them. They might avoid a few plants due to their powerful smell.
Deer have a sensitivity towards fragrances. They cannot take some particular strong scents. Dill is one of those plant deer who maintain a distance.
Because this herb is an aromatic plant that has a strong grassy scent with a hint of citrus. This scent hits deer’s olfactory nerves and makes them uncomfortable.
So even if deer feel attracted to the dill plant they can’t go near it and take it as a meal. Not only that, deer avoid the area where dill is planted. Thus they are deprived of their favorite plants and herbs. So undoubtedly deer don’t like dill.
Is dill deer resistant?
Plants that are strong in scent and weird in taste are usually considered deer resistant plants. Most of the time, it’s the smelly plants that actually resist deer from going crazy about them.
Scented plants such as rosemary, lavender, onion, garlic, mint, etc. are familiar as deer resistant plants. Dill too belongs to this list because it has a powerful concentrated scent that deer don’t admire.
The scent of dill is kind of grassy and citric. It’s so powerful that if you plant one or two in a corner, the whole garden will smell like dill.
Though loved by many, deer don’t like this scent as it hits their delicate sense of smell. So wherever they smell dill they avoid the area.
That’s why dill is planted as protection against deer in many gardens. It keeps deer away from itself and the other plants too. So dill can be called deer resistant.
Do dill plants repel deer?
Dill plants repel deer with their strong scent. Because deer can’t tolerate the overpowering fragrance of dill plants.
Dill is a scented herb mostly used as a spice. It’s full of smell and flavor. Dill plants’ smell can be described as citric, pungent, and grassy. When planted it can make the surroundings smell more or less like dill.
Deer have an improved and developed sense of smell which is used to locate foods. deer’s sense of smell is sensitive so they cannot take any kind of scent.
Dill is one of those fragrances deer cannot stand. They keep a distance from the area where they smell dill plant
So in a way dill keep deer away. But deer will avoid the spot as long as the plant is fresh and spread the aroma.
How does dill keep deer away?
Dill keeps deer away with its fragrance. The scent of dill is very strong and offensive according to deer, so avoid the smelly area.
Dill is an aromatic plant. It’s always spread a refreshing grassy scent that has a powerful hint of citrus fruits. Since deer are choosy about fragrance, they cannot tolerate every type of scent.
Dill plants’ strong odor is too much to take for deer so they maintain a distance between this plant and the area too.
When planted in the garden, dill prevents deer from coming and eating plants from there as it’s always smelly. Thus dill keeps deer away with its fragrance.
How to keep deer from eating dill plants?
When it comes to food, deer are always keeping their eyes on their surroundings. They start eating whatever they find as soon as they get a chance. But that’s not good news for you if you have a garden full of dill plants.
Deer can destroy all your hard work just by eating your dill plants. Not only do they damage the garden but also risk their health as dill plants can be toxic for animals. So you must stop deer from eating dill plants.
Here are a few ideas you can follow to keep deer from eating your dill plants:
Keep deer-resistant plants:
If you keep a few deer resistant plants in your garden deer will not visit the area.
Deer-resistant plants such as dill, mint, thyme, and marigold is of strong smell that deer can’t tolerate. So they keep themselves away from these scented areas no matter.
So you can plant a few of these plants and herbs around dill plants to keep deer away.
Use different deer deterring scents:
Besides deer-resistant plants, deer avoid many other smells as they find them awful and offensive.
You can protect the dill plants by spreading deodorant soap pieces, such as Irish Spring. The smell of vinegar and garlic repels deer as deer try to avoid these scents to save their delicate sense of smell.
Install a deer fence:
Deer fence is very much useful to keep deer away from the garden. Install a strong fence with a height of at least 7-8 meters around the dill plants. Deer can’t jump this high so they will never reach your plants.
Apply repellents:
There are many non-toxic replants available that will not harm the animal but keep it out of your border.
For example, you can use coffee grounds in the soil of your garden as it will keep bugs as well as deer away. Moreover, keeping a wind chime to alert the deer or using egg-based things deters deer.
Final Thoughts
Deer don’t consider dill an edible plant as they don’t like the smell of it. Deer have a sensitive yet developed sense of smell. They are selective about odors. The scent of dill is too strong and sharp for deer. Deer cannot tolerate the fragrance of dill so they don’t bother to eat it.