There are a lot of myths out there about what deer do and do not eat, especially when it comes to common flowers and plants. One common question is: do deer eat cherries?
Yes, deer love to eat cherries throughout the year. They will eat the cherry, cherry pits, leaves, bark, and young cherry trees. Deer are attracted to cherries because of their sweet taste.
Considering that a single deer can eat up to ten pounds of plants each day, you can see how deer eating cherries can do some serious damage to these trees!
Why Do Deer Eat Cherries?
As we covered, deer will eat the leaves of cherries mostly in fall as compared to the fruits in summer.
Deer have been known to eat the entire cherry, along with the leaves of cherry trees.
They’ll even eat the bark, tops, and limb tips of young cherry tree saplings.
But why do they do this?
Deer like sweet foods and plants that are well-watered and fertilized, and cherries check every box.
Deer can do some serious damage to a large number of cherries in a single sitting if they’re hungry enough!
This was confirmed in a 1999 study on deer plant-eating habits by Cornell University.
Plants like cherries contain water, sugar, carbohydrates, and nutrients, which makes them an ideal food source for deer.
And don’t think that newer cherry trees are safe either: deer actually prefer new growth because they’re more tender.
Additionally, deer will consume a wide variety of foods like cherries based on opportunity.
They’re planted in the ground and grow easily in many areas, so they’re easy for deer to access.
In fact, cherries are increasing in popularity for hunters who want a deer food plot but don’t have access to farming equipment.
This is because cherries are relatively easy to grow and attract deer so well.
If you’re not convinced, leave some cherries out or plant some, and wait to see what happens!
Do Deer Eat Cherry Trees?
Deer will usually eat as much of the cherry tree as they can, including the limbs, bark, blossoms, buds, and leaves from cherry trees.
We’ll often have homeowners, gardeners, and farmers ask us if deer eat a certain type of cherry tree.
Deer will eat wild cherries, black cherry trees, kwanzan cherry trees, yoshino cherry trees, and flowering cherry trees indiscriminately, so no type is safe from them!
How Do I Keep Deer From Eating My Cherry Trees?
Some farmers and hunters encourage deer to browse their cherry trees as part of food plots or other attractants.
If you’re in the other camp and want to protect your cherries from deer, we’ve got some great options for you.
There are a few things to keep in mind when you’re protecting cherry trees from hungry deer: their habits, your scent, repellent options, and when you plant them.
Deer will eat nearly anything if they’re hungry enough, so your main goal is making your garden as least inviting to deer as possible.
Check out our guide on how to keep deer from eating plants where we cover 25 quick and easy tips for keeping hungry deer out of your garden.
Will Cherry Trees Grow Back After Deer Eat Them?
Fortunately, most trees can heal after a good bit of deer damage.
You’ll want to trim off any loose or shredded bark where it’s not tightly secured to the trunk.
Cut any wounds on the tree into a football shape which will help the tree heal faster.
Prune back any damaged limbs, and take preventative measures to keep the deer from damaging them in the future.
The best way to protect your young cherry trees from being eaten by deer going forward is by putting a fence around them.
Are Cherries Good For Deer?
Cherries have small amounts of fiber and a good amount of sweet carbohydrates, so they attract deer easily.
In addition to being a great source of energy, deer eating cherries provide them with the following vitamins and minerals:
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin K
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Potassium
These vitamins and minerals provide deer with many benefits.
For example, vitamin C will help protect deer against scurvy, and vitamin assists in deer immune system function.
Deer need calcium for bone, teeth, and antler growth and health as well as other bodily functions like milk production and metabolism.
Magnesium is great for antler growth, increasing body weight, and has immune system benefits for deer.
Potassium is great for deer because it helps maintain a good pH balance and aid in proper digestion.
Fat-Soluble Vitamins in Cherries For Deer
Vitamins A and calcium are fat-soluble, so they can be stored in the deer’s fat and liver to be used later as needed.
This means that vitamin A content from deer-eating cherries can be “stored up” for later use, which is highly beneficial.
Water-Soluble Vitamins In Cherries For Deer
Vitamin C, B Vitamins, phosphorus, zinc, and potassium are all water-soluble, which means they cannot be stored, so they must be replaced continually.
So a deer that eats cherries for the vitamin C content must continue to consume foods that contain these necessary vitamins to stay healthy.
How To Feed Cherries To Deer
Most people who ask if deer like cherries are concerned with keeping deer away from them.
If you are trying to feed deer cherries in your backyard and attract them, then this next section of our guide is for you.
There are a few things to keep in mind when feeding deer cherries: the size of the portion, your scent, and how many deer you’re feeding.
Make sure to place the cherries on the ground where they’re visible and can be easily reached by deer.
If deer are not normally around your area in winter, don’t feed them leading up to winter as they will not migrate where and when they should.
This will lead to the deer relying on you as their food source and can result in starvation.
Should I Cut Cherries For Deer To Eat?
Chances are that it’s not worth it for you to cut cherries for deer.
You could leave your scent on them, plus the deer’s teeth are designed to be able to eat food that’s best for them.
Cherries are naturally soft and small, so it’s not necessary to cut them up for feeding to deer.
Don’t Leave Your Scent On Deer Food
Deer have a keen sense of smell that allows them to smell human scent farther than bloodhounds can, and can smell up to six different scents at once.
Deer won’t eat food like cherries if they have a strong human scent on them, so you should take care to minimize your trace.
You can do this by rinsing the cherries and also washing your hands with antimicrobial soap.
Alternatively, you can put a few drops of apple cider vinegar on your hands when handling the food you’ll be giving to the deer.
Another easy option is to use gloves when handling cherries for deer to eat.
Consider The Amount Of Deer You’re Feeding
If you have lots of deer in your area, think twice about putting out food continuously for them.
If you bring deer together at the same feeding site, it can increase their risk of contracting chronic wasting disease or other communicable diseases from each other.
Do Deer Eat Cherries? Wrapping Things Up
So, do deer eat cherries?
The answer is yes!
Deer will eat cherries whenever they can, especially when the trees are tender and young.
They’ll happily eat the cherry, cherry pit, cherry tree leaves, soft limbs, flowers, and buds if they’re able to.
Cherry trees are an excellent choice for food plots and are very popular among hunters.
If you’re looking to keep deer away, luckily there are many steps you can take to protect your cherry trees from deer which we’ve outlined above in this guide.
Have any observations to add to the discussion? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
Check our our other helpful wildlife guides while you’re here:
- Can deer eat orange peels?
- Do deer eat corn on the cob?
- Do deer eat pumpkins?
- Do deer eat tomatoes?
- Do deer eat cranberries?
- Do deer eat oats?
- Do deer eat squash?
- Do deer eat jalapeno plants?
- Do deer eat blackberries?
- Do deer eat corn?
- Do deer eat rice?
- Do deer eat sweet potatoes?
- Do deer eat carrots?
- Do deer eat strawberries?
- Do deer eat pineapple?
- Do deer eat kiwi?
- Can deer eat lemons?
