Do Deer Eat Hedge Apples & Are They a Good Repellent?

The hedge apple, from the Osage orange tree, is a peculiar sight with its large, lumpy, yellow-green appearance. Known botanically as Maclura pomifera, this softball-sized fruit is a member of the mulberry family. Its unique look and surrounding folklore lead to questions about its role in the wild, particularly as a food source for animals like deer.

Do Deer Eat Hedge Apples?

White-tailed deer do not prefer hedge apples. The fruit has a tough, fibrous rind and contains a bitter, sticky latex sap that makes it unpalatable for most animals. This sap can also cause skin irritation in humans and some animals.

In times of extreme food scarcity, such as during harsh winters, deer may resort to eating them. Observations suggest deer will stomp on the fruits to break them open to access the inner pulp and seeds. The nutritional value offered is minimal, making it a last-resort food.

Some accounts indicate that mature bucks are more likely to eat hedge apples than does or younger deer. This may be because they are willing to consume less desirable food to remain in secure areas. While deer may browse on the leaves of the Osage orange tree, the fruit itself is an uncommon meal.

What Animals Eat Hedge Apples?

While deer largely bypass the hedge apple, it is a valued food for other wildlife, especially squirrels. Fox squirrels will tear apart the tough fruit to get to the nutritious seeds inside. They often leave the majority of the fleshy fruit behind.

The Osage orange fruit is an evolutionary anachronism, meaning it outlived its original seed dispersers. Biologists believe the large fruits co-evolved with extinct Ice Age megafauna like giant ground sloths that could consume them whole. Today, besides squirrels, very few animals eat the fruit, though Northern bobwhite quail may eat seeds from an already broken one.

Using Hedge Apples to Repel Deer

Folklore suggests that placing hedge apples around a garden can repel deer and other pests. This belief stems from the observation that animals avoid eating the fruit. This avoidance is due to the fruit’s inedibility, not because it emits a repelling scent or compound.

There is no scientific evidence that hedge apples work as a deer repellent. While studies found that concentrated extracts can repel some insects in a lab, the amount in a whole fruit is too low to be effective in a garden. Placing hedge apples around your property is not a reliable method for deterring deer.