Deer are highly adaptable herbivores whose diets change with the seasons and the availability of local forage. While they consume a wide variety of plant material, their foraging behavior is driven by nutritional necessity and an attraction to certain tastes. For the gardener or orchard owner, the answer to the question “Do deer eat fruit?” is yes. They are naturally drawn to high-energy, sweet foods and will readily browse on fruit trees and bushes, often causing significant damage to cultivated harvests.
The Deer Diet: Fruit as a Seasonal Food Source
Deer are known as concentrate selectors, meaning they seek out the most digestible and nutrient-dense foods available in their environment. Fruit, or soft mast, offers a dense source of simple carbohydrates in the form of sugar, providing a fast and efficient energy boost. This caloric concentration is a significant factor in their seasonal dietary shifts.
Fruit becomes an important food source during the late summer and fall months. This timing coincides with the deer’s biological need to build up substantial fat reserves in preparation for the metabolic stress of winter. Soft fruits are high in sugars and vitamins that help them achieve necessary weight gain before food sources become scarce.
The high-energy content is essential for does recovering from fawning and needing to maintain energy for nursing. Deer actively seek out fruit that has ripened and fallen to the ground, or they browse directly on trees and bushes if the fruit is within reach. This seasonal shift toward high-sugar foods often makes deer bolder, drawing them closer to human-populated areas where orchards and gardens offer a concentrated food supply.
Highly Preferred vs. Avoided Fruit Varieties
The preference a deer shows for a particular fruit is determined by its sugar content, texture, and the presence of deterrent compounds. Deer have a pronounced sweet tooth and prioritize fruits that are soft and highly palatable. This preference places most common cultivated fruits into the high-risk category for gardeners.
High-Risk Favorites
Apples and pears are the most attractive fruits to deer due to their size, sweetness, and tendency to fall to the ground when ripe. Stone fruits, such as plums and cherries, are highly targeted and can suffer severe browsing damage. Deer find wild and cultivated berries, including raspberries and blackberries, attractive because they are easily digestible and offer a quick energy source.
The sweetness of other soft fruits like grapes and persimmons makes them irresistible when readily available. Deer often return repeatedly once they discover a reliable source of these sugary treats. They may also consume the leaves and tender shoots of the fruit-bearing plants in addition to the fruit itself.
Generally Avoided Options
Deer avoid fruits that have a tough, fuzzy texture, a strong, pungent odor, or contain bitter or astringent compounds. For example, the leaves and young shoots of fig trees contain a bitter latex that deters browsing, making mature fig trees a less preferred option. Citrus fruits, with their strong oils and bitter rinds, are generally ignored by deer.
Certain fruits, like quince, have a fuzzy coating on the skin that makes them less appealing to a browsing animal. Fruits that possess natural defenses, such as the bitter foliage of olives or astringent persimmon varieties, are placed low on the deer’s priority list. Even the leaves and stalks of rhubarb, which is technically a vegetable, are avoided due to their high concentration of oxalic acid.
Protecting Your Fruit Harvest and Trees
A multi-layered approach using both physical barriers and chemical deterrents is the most effective strategy for protecting a fruit harvest. The most reliable method of exclusion is installing a fence, which should be at least eight feet high to prevent deer from jumping over it. For individual trees, temporary cages made of welded wire or mesh fencing that stand five to six feet tall can offer focused protection.
Physical barriers should be secured to the ground since deer may attempt to push underneath them to reach foliage or fallen fruit. For smaller crops like berries or grapes, draping fine mesh netting over the plants can prevent access during the fruiting period. These barriers must be well-maintained to ensure there are no gaps for deer to exploit.
Repellents work by creating an unpleasant taste or scent that signals danger or inedibility to the deer. Scent-based products often utilize putrefied egg solids, while taste-based options may contain bittering agents like denatonium saccharide. Deer quickly become habituated to a single repellent, so it is necessary to rotate between different types every few weeks to maintain effectiveness.
Sanitation is a measure to reduce attraction to the area. Removing fallen fruit regularly prevents the accumulation of a concentrated food source on the ground that can draw deer into the garden. Allowing overripe, sweet fruit to remain under trees can reinforce the area as a dependable feeding location for passing wildlife.