Do Deer Eat Celery?

Deer tend to be some of the most voracious visitors to our wild yards! However, they can also munch through some of our favorite fruit and vegetables, meaning knowing which growths are deer-resistant is key. When it comes to crops in our yards, therefore, you may wonder – do deer eat celery?

Deers love to eat celery, and it’s great for their diets. However, if you’re growing a crop of these tasty vegetables for your own consumption, it’s likely you’ll need to try and deter them from visiting your yard!

Why celery is great for deer

Celery is one of many different vegetables and plants that deer can safely consume and digest. Given that it can be quite sweet and bland, deer also show a preference for their taste. Deer dislike bitter or strong-tasting and smelling plants – meaning that celery ticks most of the right boxes. The deer’s sense of smell is actually fairly impressive, in and of itself!

Celery is great for deer as it will give them much of what they need from their daily nutrition. Unlike us, deer are ruminant creatures, which means they use an organ (the rumen) to create healthy microbes as they eat. This is where they get the majority of protein and sustainable nutrients from.

Therefore, while something as innocuous and as simple as celery might not seem too sustainable on its own, it will certainly keep your average deer going for some time. It’s little wonder, then, why they love eating these vegetables so much!

What other vegetables do deer eat?

Deer will happily eat cabbage, broccoli, peas, spinach, sweet potatoes, beans, carrot tops, turnips, and anything leafy.

Providing they do not taste too bitter or have too strong a smell, deer will likely chow down on most vegetables if they are available to them. Therefore, if you have a vegetable patch or crop in your yard – and a local deer population – you’ll have plenty spread out for them to enjoy.

Therefore, it’s likely a good idea to separate food you’d like your deer to enjoy, and those that you are going to harvest for yourself.

A word of caution – whether you intend to or not, it’s illegal to feed deer in some states. Therefore, always check your local laws and statutes if you know there are deer likely to come into your yard. It’s never good to start attracting deer to a yard until you know the legal bylines.

How do I keep deer away from my celery?

While few things will actively repulse deer from visiting a garden full of vegetables and leafy plants to eat, you can protect your vegetables with a small fence or perimeter of sorts. This doesn’t have to be too tall or large – just enough to prevent deer from leaning in to eat your greens.

A counter-strategy you may wish to deploy includes bringing in plants deer love – and other fruit and vegetables – so that they are distracted by tastier options elsewhere in your yard.

Growing your vegetables close to your property may be a worthwhile deterrent. Deer are unlikely to venture close to where people reside purely out of fear – and if you couple this strategy by growing deer-friendly produce at the far end of your lawn or yard, it is even less likely that they will want to come up for a closer look.

Deer dislike plants that are ‘strange’ – i.e., oddly coloured, textured, or with strong tastes. Therefore, if you grow deer-resistant plants such as coleus – and ferns, which deer generally avoid – widely across your garden, it’s even less likely they will want to wander through for a feast.

Deer tend to avoid eating grass, too – especially the longer kind – so keeping your lawnmower in the garage for a while won’t harm your vegetables.

What animals like to eat celery?

Celery tends to be a favorite for many wild visitors you might notice over the warmer months – especially rabbits, which will famously chew on anything they can get their teeth into.

However, did you know that celery can also attract certain birds – and, according to some anecdotal evidence, squirrels! While these rodents are sometimes known for eating veggies, there are easier ways to welcome squirrels to your yard – so don’t worry too much about these intruders.

Given that many animals enjoy eating celery, it’s worth protecting your crops as much as possible without being cruel. Setting up perimeters or growing your celery in suitable vegetable boxes may help. Otherwise, it generally pays to be highly vigilant over your growths – as rabbits, in particular, will dig and burrow to get at what they want.

When it comes to deer, your celery is at moderate risk – but given the choice of juicy fruit or fallen nuts elsewhere in your yard, they will likely want to look elsewhere.