Do Deer Eat Pumpkins? Tips to Protect Your Crop
In this blog post, we will discuss in detail the topic of “Do deer eat pumpkins”. After reading this article, you will get all the answers you need to protect your crop. So, the simple answer to this question is yes, deer eat pumpkins, and they love to eat every part of pumpkins with great gusto.
Pumpkins contain all the nutrients and energy needed to grow deer bones and antlers. Deer are attracted to pumpkin flowers and plants because of their strong scent and enjoy eating them. Due to this habit of deer, farmers, and gardeners have to face many problems.
Wondering if they nibble on other plants as well? You can check out our article Do Deer Eat Roses? to learn about their love for roses and other flowering plants.
Do Deer Eat Pumpkins? Is it healthy for deer?
After a study, it was found that pumpkin, like other fruits, is a very healthy fruit for deer. Pumpkin contains many nutrients such as fiber content, vitamin C, potassium, etc. Due to the presence of this material, deer get a lot of health whenever they eat pumpkin.
There are different parts of pumpkin which have different nutritional values. For example, Guts contain a large amount of fiber, which makes deer bones stronger than before. Pumpkin seeds, which deer sometimes enjoy eating, are an excellent source of omega-6 fats.
Is Pumpkin Good For Deer To Eat?
Pumpkin is a fruit that is safe for various animals, from pets to livestock. Many nutrients are found in this fruit such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, potassium, phosphorus, riboflavin, copper, manganese, etc.
By reading the following table, you can estimate how much nutrition is in 100 grams of raw pumpkin.
| Nutrient | Amount per 100g |
|---|---|
| Calories | 26 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 6.5 g |
| Protein | 1 g |
| Fat | 0.1 g |
| Fiber | 0.5 g |
| Vitamin A | 7384 IU |
| Vitamin C | 9 mg |
| Vitamin E | 1.06 mg |
| Vitamin K | 1.1 µg |
| Thiamine (B1) | 0.05 mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 0.11 mg |
| Niacin (B3) | 0.6 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.061 mg |
| Folate (B9) | 16 µg |
| Pantothenic Acid (B5) | 0.298 mg |
| Calcium | 21 mg |
| Iron | 0.8 mg |
| Magnesium | 12 mg |
| Phosphorus | 44 mg |
| Potassium | 340 mg |
| Sodium | 1 mg |
| Zinc | 0.32 mg |
| Copper | 0.1 mg |
| Manganese | 0.125 mg |
| Selenium | 0.3 µg |
Do Deer Eat Pumpkins Plant?
Deer like to eat pumpkin plants, especially when food sources are scarce in the autumn. Deer browsing habits can change daily depending on the area and season.
If you want to keep deer away from your crop, you need to build a fence around your pumpkin crop or use a spray to keep deer away from your crop.
Do Deer Eat Fresh Pumpkins?
There is no doubt that if you give a deer a fresh pumpkin, it will enjoy eating it because it is a herbivore, so its main diet is plants and fruits. But there are certain parts of the pumpkin that deer prefer over other parts of the pumpkin.
Deer like to eat pumpkin seeds, the inside of the pumpkin, and the soft part of the rind. If the deer find pumpkin flowers and leaves, they will also gnaw them.
The Nutritional Value of Pumpkins for Deer:
According to a study, pumpkin is a fruit that contains many nutrients that help deer maintain their health. Pumpkin contains fiber, which makes the deer’s bones stronger than before, while vitamin C and potassium content play an important role in maintaining health.
How To Feed Pumpkins To Deer?
If you cut off the excess, the pumpkin will be tastier and more nutritious than before. Also, if you leave the guts out, deer will have easy access to them. Some pumpkins have a very hard outer shell that is very difficult for animals to crack.
You should feed pumpkins to deer far from your property. Wherever you see animals frequently near your home, you should dump the excess. Deer can sometimes come into your backyard or your fields in search of food.
Will Deer Eat Carved Pumpkins?
Deer are very curious about eating anything, which is why they can even chew on carved pumpkins. Carved pumpkins are not among deer’s favorite foods. But if food is scarce, they can subsist by eating them, but it is not a basic or important part of their diet.
Do Whitetail Deer Eat Pumpkins?
During the fall and winter months, whitetail deer experience a shortage of food, so they may subsist on pumpkins to satisfy their hunger.
When Do Deer Eat Pumpkins?
If you give a pumpkin to a deer in any month or day of the year, it will eat it. Crops with young shoots and fruits are easily destroyed by deer. When autumn arrives, deer will damage both the pumpkin leaves and mature pumpkins.
At Halloween time, most of the pumpkins have a good supply and that’s the time when they are harvested. When deer have plenty of pumpkins available in the summer and fall months, they stockpile large quantities of pumpkins for the winter.
What Other Animals Will Eat Pumpkin?
Following is a list of animals that like to eat pumpkin;
- Deer
- Rabbits
- Fox
- Badgers
- Guinea pigs
- Raccoons
- Hamsters
- Rats
- Mice
- Squirrels
- Chipmunks
- Birds such as chickens, turkeys, and ducks.
Also, pumpkins can be given as a snack to dogs and cats. For more information on what deer like to eat, check out our related article Do Deer Eat Peanuts?
The Attraction of Pumpkins to Deer:
Deer are attracted to both pumpkin plants and fruit. The scent of pumpkin flowers attracts deer and deer feel good in eating fresh pumpkin leaves.
However, besides pumpkins, deer love many fruits more than pumpkins such as apples, oranges, and watermelons. Deer-preferred foods include corn, acorns, beans, grasses, and cultivated vegetables such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and rye.
In our related article about How to attract deer to your property, we delve into effective strategies for inviting deer onto your land.
How to Keep Deer From Eating Pumpkins Off Your Porch:
Some of the methods farmers and gardeners use to keep deer away from their fields or crops are listed below.
Use Fishing Line to Surround the Pumpkins:
You can protect your pumpkin plants from deer if you put fishing lines around the area where you have planted pumpkins and this is a very effective method.
The fishing line should be such that the deer can easily see it, for example, put some visual deterrents on the line, such as colored flags or streamers.
Fence in the Pumpkins:
If you live in an area where deer are abundant and damage your pumpkin crop, fencing around your pumpkin plants will protect your pumpkins from deer attacks. And also other animals will not be able to attack your pumpkin plants.
Use Light or Sound to Scare Them Away:
Deer are afraid of bright lights or loud noises, so if you use these things, it can be an effective way to protect your plants. If you want to keep deer away from your pumpkin plants, motion-activated lights or loud noises can keep deer away from your plants.
Plant Things They Hate Nearby:
Deer hate things like garlic and lavender if you plant them near pumpkin plants, deer will avoid going there. A deer antler bulb is an object that emits a chemical that deer dislike.
If you plant this bulb near a pumpkin plant, the deer will not go there because of the chemicals it emits.
Use Herbs to Deter Them:
You can use many organic methods to keep deer away from your plants. For example, there are certain herbs that deer do not like to eat, such as cloves, chives, or mint.
These herbs and water can also be mixed to make a spray that you can spray around your garden to create a strong scent that deters deer.
Try Spices as a Deterrent:
If you make a spice of cayenne pepper, cinnamon, or chili flakes and sprinkle that spray on your plants, deer will not come near your plants because of their scent. But when it rains, after the rain you have to make this spice again and sprinkle it on your plants.
By using these hot spices you can also deter other animals like squirrels etc. from entering your fields and gardens.
Buy Commercial Deer Repellent:
Many commercial products on the market have scents that are safe for humans and animals but are very offensive to deer. If you spray these products on pumpkins and other plants, deer will be deterred from your gardens and fields.
Try an Electronic Repellent:
There are some machines available in the market that make loud noises that scare the deer away. You can easily make your gardens deer-free by using these electric machines. They can be used because their sounds can be easily heard up to 500 feet away.
If you use this machine daily, the deer will get used to its sound and then it will not have any fear of this machine, so use this repellent only when necessary. This machine requires batteries and a power outlet to operate.
Hang Irish Spring Soap:
A very useful and elegant way is to hang Irish spring soap with plant leaves. The scent of this soap is very strong, due to which deer avoid coming near it.
You can also use other strong-scented soaps. The scent of the soap will help keep not only deer away but also other insects like aphids and earwigs from your plants.
Deer Repellents You Can Try:
What can you do when you believe your pumpkins are being eaten by deer? The following are some tips you can follow to save the fruits, flowers, and foliage of your pumpkins.
Plant Marigolds:
Marigolds are one thing that deer never like. If you plant marigolds around your garden, it will keep the deer away.
Garden Netting:
You can also keep deer out of your garden by installing netting. If you wrap a net over the top of the patch, this will prevent deer, rabbits, and birds from reaching your crop.
Deer Repellent Bags:
If you don’t want to spray your plants to protect them from deer, then deer-repellent hanging bags can be another good choice for you.
You can place this bag on top of plants or near plants and the deer will not come near them. You can create a fence of these bags around your garden to protect your garden from deer and rabbits.
Sound Repellent Devices:
You can also use different technologies such as ultrasound technology to keep deer away from your garden.
It is a technology that emits a high-speed frequency that creates discomfort for insects and other animals in the garden. But this technology is not dangerous for these insects and animals.
Do Deer Eat Pumpkins Flesh?
Deer like to eat the flesh inside the pumpkin because it is full of juice and the flesh inside the pumpkin is very soft which makes it easy for deer to digest. There are many parts to a pumpkin, but the flesh in the pumpkin is the part that contains the most nutrients.
Do Deer Eat Pumpkins Seed?
Yes, deer are very fond of pumpkin seeds. Many species of deer eat pumpkins avidly and will often eat both the flesh and the seeds if given the opportunity.
Conclusion:
In Conclusion, do deer eat pumpkins? Yes, they do. Deer are animals that will eat anything given the chance, especially if they find a pumpkin, there is no better treat for them. But this behavior of them can seriously damage the pumpkin crop in your garden.
If you know the deer’s favorite foods, you can easily save your pumpkin crop because they won’t turn to your crops when you provide them with their favorite foods.
But if deer do attack your crops, you can prevent them in many ways, such as fencing around your fields or using a repellent.
FAQs Related To “Do Deer Eat Pumpkins?”:
Do Deer Eat Pumpkin Vines?
Pumpkin vines are the only part of the plant that deer do not eat. The reason why pumpkin vines should not be eaten is that they are too thick, fibrous, and fuzzy. Deer do not like to eat the fuzzy parts of plants.
Do Deer Eat The Ripe Pumpkins?
You often plant pumpkins in your garden to enjoy when they ripen, but it’s important to know that deer can eat ripe pumpkins. Deer love the flesh inside pumpkins and their seeds.
Do Deer Eat Pumpkin Fruit?
Pumpkin fruit contains many nutrients, so deer love to eat pumpkin fruit. Deer eat pumpkin fruits more than ever, especially in the fall.
Do Deer Eat Pumpkin Leaves?
If you suspect that deer are destroying your pumpkin crops, the first thing you notice is that the leaves disappear, which is evidence that the deer eat pumpkin leaves. Deer will eat the leaves on the way before reaching the pumpkin fruit.
Do Deer Eat Pumpkin Flowers?
Pumpkin flowers are very soft and sweet, which is why deer love pumpkin flowers.
Do Deer Eat Pumpkin Skin?
Deer can eat pumpkin skin, but because it is so hard, it is difficult for deer to digest, but it is not toxic to deer.
What animals can you feed pumpkins to?
Many animals can eat fresh pumpkins such as pigs, sheep, geese, ducks, goats, and chickens.
Do Deer Like the Smell of Pumpkin?
Deer generally do not associate with the scent of pumpkins. Although deer may be attracted to the scent of pumpkins out of curiosity, it is not a scent that deserves attention.
