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Do Deer Eat Succulents? (Quick Answers)

The plants that store water in their fleshy tissues are known as succulents. You can consider cacti as the perfect example of such a plant. Aloe Vera, Jade plants, and Agave are a few examples of succulents since they all can store the water in their fleshy tissues.

If you have succulent plants in your garden, you might enjoy their benefits. Notably, these plants are aphids and insect resistant since they don’t have anything to attract the bugs. Instead, they have the bitter smell that keeps them away.

Do deer eat succulents?

Different types of succulents are available, and all of them are not deer-resistant. So, the deer can eat succulents if they don’t find anything better than these plants. Typically, they avoid having succulents as their regular food. If they starve for a day, they will wander and eat succulents.

Sedum, sempervivum, and similar types of succulents are entirely deer-resistant. They have the bitterness or the unfavorable taste that plays a crucial role in deterring deer. Mainly, deer are herbivores; they eat different grass, plants, and flowers. 

But they avoid eating succulents naturally.

If they don’t find any tasty food or grass nearby, they will devour the succulent plants to meet their stomach. It’s a rare case; if you want to know the regular scenario, you will find that the deer don’t eat succulents and don’t love to eat.

They can’t properly digest the watery leaves or the tissue of the succulent plants. They face digestion difficulties since the watery or fleshy tissues can ruin their stomach condition. Therefore, they search for easy-to-digest options such as grass, regular leaves, and flowers. 

If they don’t find these options in starving situations, they will eat the succulent.

Succulent plants: 

The deer don’t eat the succulent plants in normal situations when they find other food sources. Both the succulent plants and the grass are available in your garden. 

If you allow the deer to wander around the garden, they will only eat the grass, not the succulents. Since they don’t love succulents, they will avoid them.

What if your garden has no grass but succulent plants? Then the deer will devour the succulent plants. You cannot stop them from eating your succulent trees unless you plant the deer-resistant succulent plants.

Are deer attracted to succulents?

Deer are not attracted to succulents; they don’t like these plants because of their taste and watery tissues. In contrast, some succulent plants resist the deer with their bitterness. If you have succulent plants in your garden, they will help you repel the deer from the surroundings.

But you cannot rely on their color and smell. Because of the succulent’s beautiful color and attractive look, they might attract the deer, but the attractiveness is not strong enough to let the deer eat them. 

Since deer love to eat small plants, grass, and flowers, they will avoid these plants.

If they don’t find anything suitable, the deer will eat the succulent plants. Although these plants are not attractive, the deer won’t mind devouring some succulent plants to fill their stomach.

So, you must be careful about the succulents and should grow some deer-resistant succulents that will give you the best relief.

Do deer like to eat succulents?

Deer don’t like to eat succulents; these plants are not tasty as the grass or other small plants. If you have deer-resistant succulent plants, such as the sedum and sempervivum, the deer won’t eat these plants because they don’t like them. 

The main reasons deer don’t like succulents are the taste and the digestion issues.

The taste of the succulent plants is primarily bitter and sour. Here the water plays a significant role in changing the flavor. Since the deer used to eat regular leaves and grass that were not watery, they will face issues swallowing watery tissues. 

The taste of these plants and the regular plants are entirely different.

Another reason for disliking succulent plants is the digestion problem. If you have the deer and you allow them to eat the succulent plants, you will find them sick after a while. The deer’s stomach can’t take in the watery or fleshy smell like regular grass or leaves. 

Therefore, the deer face digestion problems.

3 reasons why deer eats succulents

You will mostly find three reasons why deer eat succulents. But there are hundreds of reasons why the succulents are considered the deer-resistant plants. You should know all the reasons, at least the common reasons, why deer eat your succulent plants.

Starving: 

One of the main reasons the deer eat succulents is their hunger. Sometimes, the animals like deer can’t find their desired food source to meet their hunger and starve for a long time. 

If they starve for a day and don’t find anything to eat in the desert or the surrounding area, they will eat the succulents. That’s the crucial time, and they will find anything as a blessing.

If you have a pet deer and don’t want to let your deer eat unpleasant succulents, you must provide them with enough food to avoid eating the succulent plants and enjoy their good health. But whenever they starve, they will eat whatever they will find.

Scare of Food: 

If there is not enough food for the deer to eat and fill their stomach, they will eat succulent plants whenever they find that. So, the food scare is very rare since there are plenty of foods available for the deer to eat. 

If you look at the open field, you will find the grass and small plants for your deer.

Although it is rare to run out of deer food, the deer might fail to get their desired foods from nature. Maybe after a natural disaster or calamities, a huge field area is damaged, and the deer food is also ruined. 

Attractive Look: 

Though the attractive look plays a minor role in attracting the deer to eat succulents, it might happen once in a while. 

You cannot ignore this reason and expect to repel the deer by its nature. If your deer is hungry and can’t find food, the attractive look will help the deer eat the succulents.

So, you must be careful about their look and try to plant unattractive plants in your garden. It will help the deer not to come near the succulent plants. If you have these plants, you can use deer-repellent spray.

Are succulents deer resistant?

Succulents are deer resistant. Deer are herbivores, which means they enjoy consuming plants in their diet. On the other hand, Succulents are not a favorite of theirs, and they would pass on them.

Whenever their typical food supplies become scarce, deer will attempt to eat anything at least once, with the word “attempt” being the critical word here. 

That means that a hungry deer is more likely to take a bite out of your prized succulent than a deer that has been well-fed in the last several days.

Nevertheless, several succulents appear to be deer-resistant and separate from this group of plants. Succulents with built-in defense systems are among those to look out for.

Succulents, such as those indicated above, are still edible to deer. The possibility of these creatures consuming these plants, on the other hand, is relatively low.

What succulents are deer resistant? 

There are some varieties that deer don’t seem to care for, but that doesn’t mean they won’t take a mouthful now and again. Here’s a list of some of the succulents which are deer resistant.  

Sempervivum: 

Sempervivum has an impressive list of favorable traits on its resume. They are well known and very popular for their deer-resistant capabilities. 

In addition to this, these can also tolerate high levels of drought, require low maintenance levels, and provide brilliant year-round leaves. This is a great advantage because it doesn’t get too cold, even in cooler environments.

Sedum Sun Sparkler: 

This set of five plants is a group of low-growing, mound-forming succulents that can survive the winter. They have colorful leaves and pink to raspberry-colored flowers in late summer. 

They are all drought-resistant, deer and other pest-resistant, and pollinator-friendly.

Hens and Chicks:

Very few succulents are as good at deer resistance as Hens and Chicks, so they are a strong competitor in the list to be the most deer-resistant succulent. In most situations, they will work as deer resistant.

 Because this is not the type of food deer like most, and rather they would like other convenient alternatives instead of them. However, they will only consume enough food to be frustrating and keep you on your toes.

Final Thoughts

Deer don’t typically eat succulents. They will only eat the watery and fleshy plants if they run out of food and don’t find their desired food. Also, if they starve for a long time and find succulent plants, they will devour them within a while. Otherwise, they will avoid eating these plants.