Very sorry for your loss. Starving deer will eat these Juniperus species and die with a full stomach. The chemicals kill the millions of microbes that help the deer turn cellulose into sugar. Blue rug has spikey foliage, similar to what is found on immature red cedars, so it might have hurt their mouths. Some individuals are idiosyncratic in their choices and no one follows their tastes after that individual has died. If the blue rug was not pulled up I suppose it will resprout. If it does, try a repellant spray. They seem to work for me,but starving deer will eat almost anything. Hunting seems more humane to me.

Bogturtle, are saying the deer will get very sick and possibly die from eating the blue rugs? thats crazy. I did end up pulling some of the blue rugs out (there are probably 40 more that were damaged. So do they get sick from eating any type of juniper? thanks
thetman

Those must have been some hungry deer!! Deer will eat junipers (and no, it doesn't kill them) but they tend not to be on the top of their menus unless there is not much else to browse or they are very hungry. White tail deer commonly browse on native junipers throughout the southwest and the Rockies and there have been numerous online reports of deer browsing more ornamental species as well. Prickliness has nothing to do with it - deer will browse all manner of conifers (including monkey puzzle or Araucaria) with very prickly or sharp needles. They do tend towards those with less terpenes however, if given a choice.

basically thats all I have been planting due to the deer- junipers (skyrockets, bluestar blue rug, witchita, etc.) along with various spruces. was going to plant some green giants but now I'm not so sure.
thetman

Deer ate mine blue rug juniper for the first time in 15 years. It was SO gorgeous, but now has bare wood bases and looks awful even though there is growth on the ends. Should I cut it back to the base or replant?

Deer have recently eaten my blue rug junipers and I am seeing signs of dead spots/branches. How can they be saved?