Keep deer, rabbits and other animals away from your landscaping this winter with these tips.
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Winter in the Twin Cities brings more than just snow and freezing temperatures. It also brings hungry wildlife looking for their next meal, and unfortunately, your carefully cultivated landscape often becomes their winter buffet. Rabbits, deer, and voles can cause significant damage to shrubs, newly planted trees, and established plantings when other food sources become scarce. Understanding how to protect your landscape investment from animal damage is essential for maintaining the beauty and health of your outdoor space through Minnesota's harsh winter months.
When snow blankets the ground and natural food sources disappear, wildlife turns to whatever is accessible and nutritious. Your landscape plants become prime targets for several reasons. Tender bark on young trees provides essential nutrients for rabbits and voles. Evergreens like arborvitae, yew, hemlock, and fir offer readily available greenery when nothing else is growing. Newly planted trees and shrubs are particularly vulnerable because their root systems aren't yet established, making any damage potentially fatal to the plant.
The damage isn't always immediately visible either. Rabbits typically browse on branches and twigs within reach of the snow line, which can rise considerably during heavy snow years. Deer can reach much higher, decimating tall shrubs and young trees. Voles work beneath the snow, gnawing on bark at ground level and even below the soil line, often killing plants without leaving visible evidence until spring thaw reveals the destruction.
Not all plants are equally attractive to winter wildlife. Understanding which species are most at risk helps you prioritize protection efforts. Arborvitae tops the list as a favorite for both deer and rabbits. These popular privacy screening plants are essentially evergreen candy bars for hungry wildlife. Yews, with their soft needles and bright red berries, also rank high on the winter menu.
Recently planted trees of any variety deserve special attention. Young maples, oaks, fruit trees, and ornamental varieties haven't developed the thick, protective bark that mature trees possess. A single winter of severe browsing or bark damage can permanently stunt growth or kill a young tree entirely. Flowering shrubs like burning bush, roses, and hydrangeas also suffer significant winter browsing pressure.
At Minnesota Landscapes, we've been protecting Twin Cities landscapes from winter animal damage for decades. Our animal protection service provides comprehensive solutions tailored to your specific landscape needs and budget. We offer individual tree caging for protecting newly planted or specimen trees, and we can protect entire rows of shrubs with specialized barriers that keep wildlife at bay without detracting from your landscape's winter appearance.
Our team installs protection systems in late fall after the ground begins to freeze but before heavy snow arrives. This timing is critical because it ensures barriers are in place before animals establish feeding patterns on your property. We use high-quality materials designed to withstand Minnesota's severe winter weather including heavy snow loads, ice accumulation, and temperature extremes from bitter cold to occasional winter thaws.
The caging systems we install are specifically engineered to be tall enough to protect plants even when snow depth raises the effective browsing height for rabbits. For deer protection, we use appropriately scaled barriers that prevent access to vulnerable plants without creating an unsightly fortress around your landscape. When spring arrives, we return to remove the protective structures, allowing your plants to grow freely through the growing season.
While physical barriers provide the most reliable protection, several complementary strategies can enhance your landscape's winter resilience. Proper fall preparation strengthens plants' ability to withstand any damage that does occur. Adequate fall watering ensures plants enter winter dormancy fully hydrated, making them less attractive to browsing animals seeking moisture as well as food.
Applying anti-desiccant sprays to broadleaf evergreens in late fall serves double duty. These sprays reduce moisture loss from winter winds and sun, helping prevent winter burn while also making foliage less palatable to deer and rabbits. Strategic mulching around shrubs and trees insulates root systems from vole damage and temperature fluctuations while reducing the attractiveness of the area to rodents when applied after the ground freezes.
For homeowners considering new plantings, selecting deer-resistant and rabbit-resistant species provides long-term protection. Certain evergreens like juniper and Eastern red cedar naturally resist browsing. Native plants adapted to Minnesota's ecosystem often possess characteristics that make them less appealing to wildlife. Our design team can recommend species that balance aesthetic goals with natural pest resistance.
The investment in professional animal protection pays for itself many times over. A single mature evergreen specimen can cost several hundred dollars to replace. Newly planted trees that suffer severe winter damage may require replacement after struggling for years. Entire hedgerows damaged by deer browsing lose their screening function and uniform appearance, sometimes permanently.
Beyond replacement costs, animal damage delays your landscape goals. A hedge that should reach mature height in five years might take eight or ten years if repeatedly damaged each winter. Specimen trees meant to anchor your landscape design remain stunted and asymmetrical. The cumulative effect of several winters without protection can turn a thriving landscape into a collection of struggling survivors.
Winter arrives quickly in the Twin Cities, and wildlife begins browsing as soon as natural food sources decline in late fall. Planning your animal protection strategy now ensures your landscape investment remains safe through the harshest months. Our team at Minnesota Landscapes schedules protection installations throughout late fall, working with your timeline to have barriers in place before the first heavy snow.
Don't let this winter be the one where hungry wildlife destroys years of careful landscape development. Contact Minnesota Landscapes today at 651-457-0000 or email info@minnesotalandscapes.com to schedule your animal protection assessment. Our nearly three decades of experience serving White Bear Lake, Woodbury, Eden Prairie, Edina, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and communities throughout the Twin Cities means we understand exactly what your landscape needs to thrive through Minnesota's challenging winters.
