Three deer worked down my back border at dusk. Their heads dipped into the hostas and the young coneflowers, one plant after another. Then they reached the silver mat of Big Ears by the kitchen window. They paused, stepped over it, and nibbled the plant beside it instead. That fuzzy gray groundcover makes lamb's ear deer resistant, and the woolly leaves are the whole reason they skip it.
It also ranks among the better rabbit resistant plants in my yard, for the same reason. Rabbits browse low and fast, yet they leave that felt-like foliage alone. So lamb's ear repels two of the most common garden grazers, deer and rabbits. It does it by feel, not by smell.
The reason is simple once you touch a leaf. Each one is coated in dense, woolly hairs that feel like felt under your fingers. That texture is dry and unpleasant in a browsing animal's mouth. So deer and rabbits learn to pass it by. NC State Extension and UW-Madison both list the plant as deer- and rabbit-resistant, and they note it has few serious pests of its own.
Think of it as a texture defense rather than a chemical one. Plenty of deterrent sprays work by smell or taste, and they wash off in the rain so you have to reapply them. Lamb's ear carries its protection in the leaf itself, all season long. You do not spray it, refresh it, or fuss over it. The fuzz is always there, which is part of why it makes such a low-effort barrier in a browse-prone yard.
Here is where you need to clear up a common myth. Some sites claim lamb's ear repels insects, or even keeps mosquitoes off your patio. There is no solid evidence for that. When you ask what does lamb's ear deter, the honest answer is browsing mammals, not bugs. The fuzzy leaves do nothing to push away a mosquito, a beetle, or an aphid in your beds.
That difference matters when you plan a planting. If you want a living barrier against deer and rabbits, lamb's ear earns its spot in your border. If you want to keep mosquitoes off the deck, you need a different plan. This one will not do that job for you, no matter what a product page tells you.
Lamb's ear deters deer and rabbits through its woolly leaf texture. It is not a proven insect or mosquito repellent, so treat any claim that it keeps bugs away as garden folklore.
I like to run a lamb's ear deer resistant edging along the front of any bed the deer reach first. It fills in as a soft silver border, and that fuzzy front row slows them down before they get to the plants they really want. Pair it with other low-appeal choices like catmint or Russian sage, and the whole stretch turns less tempting to a hungry doe. You get a defense that also doubles as a design feature.
The silver color does some quiet work here too. It cools down a busy bed and makes your brighter flowers pop against it. So you are not giving up looks to gain protection. You get a groundcover that knits together, holds a clean edge, and shrugs off drought once it is established. For a spot where deer and rabbits are the daily problem, that combination is hard to beat.
One honest caveat keeps you from getting burned. Resistant is not the same as proof. In a hard winter or a long dry spell, hungry deer will eat plants they normally ignore, and that can include your lamb's ear. I have watched them sample a leaf in a lean season and then move on. The plant is a strong first line, not a fence.
So plant it where browsing is your real problem and you want a tough, drought-friendly groundcover that pulls double duty. It deters deer and rabbits well, asks for little once it settles in, and looks good doing it. Just skip it if your goal is bugs. And keep your expectations honest in the leanest, hungriest part of the year.
Read the full article: Lamb's Ear Plant: Care, Growing and Tips
