Top 10 Critter-Resistant Plants

Notable for its irresistible soft and fuzzy leaves, lamb’s ears are an evergreen groundcover for sun to part-sun that is avoided by most munchers because the texture irritates mouths.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, and squirrels
• Similar plant ideas: Cerastium and flannel bush

Most pesky plant prowlers avoid strong aromas like lavender, so add a few to a sunny spot in your garden. Sun exposure and excellent drainage is required for all lavender varieties.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, squirrels, and gophers
• Similar plant ideas: Salvia and thyme

These stately towers of flowers stand tall and proud because their toxic-to-critters properties keep them off of animals’ preferred list. Plant these beauties in a woodland or cottage garden.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, squirrels, and gophers
• Similar plant ideas: Daphne and delphinium

These well-known fleshy succulents come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, from groundcovers to upright types, and are fuss-free and drought-tolerant.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, and squirrels
• Similar plant ideas: Aloe and agave

Attractive leaf colors, textures, and unusual flowers attract gardeners to these diverse perennials, but it’s their poisonous milky sap that keeps euphorbias off animals’ preferred menus.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, squirrels, and gophers
• Similar plant ideas: Poppies and oleander

No doubt that this plant’s prickly presence will keep eaters away. Grow this 5-foot-tall evergreen shrub that sprouts bright yellow spring flowers followed by blue berries.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, and squirrels
• Similar plant ideas: Holly and globe thistle

A member of the mint family, fragrant bee balm grows in clusters with dynamic red flowers blooming on 3-foot stems in mid-to-late summer.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, and squirrels
• Similar plant ideas: Catmint and hyssop

This classic spring charmer with ruffled trumpet flowers contains lycorine—a bitter alkaloid that’s toxic if eaten—that keeps this bulb safe in sunny, well-draining garden locations.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, squirrels, and rodents
• Other ideas: White snowdrops and snowflakes

When choosing a bamboo species, make sure the variety planted is a non-invasive, clumping variety unless this evergreen is planted in a container. We especially like Bambusa ‘Alphonse Karr,’ growing 8-10 feet with brilliantly striped yellow and green stems.

This pollinator-attracting annual grows 3-4 feet tall with festive, colorful flowers. Luckily animals rarely feed on this plant because of its disagreeable taste and odor.

• Avoided by: Deer, rabbits, squirrels, and gophers
• Other idea: Artemisia