Deer eating my young trees

[farmgal]

Ok fellow Ht'ers, I want your secrets to stopping the deer from eating your young tree's. They either rub them to death or eat them up. I want to grow a lot more trees this year but sick of my money being wasted.

Building a fence would be expensive as I want to do quite a few acres if possible. The home I built is in a hay field and needs lots of trees as wind breakers and more fruit trees.etc so its a pretty big area. But any suggestion will be appreciated.

I read they wont go near things they feel but can't see. Not sure how true this is. I thought if I posted a few metal fence posts then strung some fishing line on it, that would be easy and cheap fence system. Not sure if it would work. I tried hanging noisy things, shinny things, dog hair. good grief. I look out the other day and theres one eating the dormant buds off a freshly planted tree right in my yard, I open the door and yell and she just looks at me and kept eating, I had to go out and chase her off...lol My cattle dogs useless unless its warm outside, she lives by the heater.

Any anti deer spray stuff?

How about individual fences? anyone have an easy way to make them? I just see it difficult to mow and mulch and care for the tree if its in a fence, uhg! I've had it with the deer.

Ok give me your best idea's.

[Jennifer L.]

Have never tried it, but I've heard some perfumed soaps will keep them away. My problem is with rabbits more than deer and for that it has to be 1/4 hard ware cloth. Trouble is, the snow gets really deep some years and then the rabbits are up in the tree chewing it up. I'll be glad to hear what others do to protect trees, as well!

[Molly Mckee]

We "caged" our young trees with 6 foot fencing. Fencing is the only thing that really works. The spray on liquid fence does work as long as you spray every time it gets wet.

[Nimrod]

My individual fruit trees get fenced in with the deer fencing.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Deer-X-7-...X-7/202871745#
I rip 2X2s from 2X4s and hammer in 3 around each tree then staple the deer fencing to the 2X2s. There is a corregated plastic sleeve aroung the bottom of each tree that protects against rabbits.

When Potlatch plants pines around here, they put a little paper covering over the growth bud of each tree. It keeps the deer from snacking on them. If a deer eats the growth bud the tree doesn't get taller, or so I've been told. By the time the paper covering deteriorates, the tree is tall enough that the deer can't get at the bud.

[farmgal]

I had a bad rabbit issue on the other spot on this land until I cleared the land of all the previous owners junk.. Then the hawks came in and cleaned most of them up. They no longer had hiding places. I did wrap the bottoms in whatever I had available, corrugated and I found some plastic too.

They rubbed a 10 foot apple tree I planted down to about 18 inches, it took back off this summer grew about 20 inches and I just went out to check on them and they ate every new bud off that poor thing. We are getting a little melt down here for a few days, I'm putting up some individual fencing like nimrod has. I do have a few rolls of metal fence left over, I'll use that for now.

How do you weed or mow around the fencing?

[fishhead]

Geese. They love to pick grass from around fencing but they will also nibble at the small limbs near the ground.

You could also put up an electric fence. It's not too expensive compare to physical fencing.

[TnAndy]

Rats with antlers.

We individually fence as well. Four 7' metal T posts with 6 or 7' tall plastic deer fencing ( takes about 15' per tree ) from Tractor Supply.

[farmgal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0VJ2iNK_Yw#t=21

[wy_white_wolf]

Pee on the trees.

Repeat as often as possible.

WWW

[bowdonkey]

The deer are browsing your trees because they lack mineral in their diet. Lead being the primary one! I have found the best spray was a commercial product called Plantskyd. Nothing else worked, NOTHING. But fencing is the only permanent solution. Just make sure fence it is strong enough when they lean on it. Up here I also have frost to contend with. That means straightening and pounding some of the posts in every spring. Make sure to use the rabbit guard and cover all the bases. Trees are a long term investment.

[whipsaw]

Fencing and dogs are pretty much the only things that work that I am aware of. I remember years ago planting a beautiful young dogwood, then walking outside one morning shortly thereafter and feeling something was a little off. It was then that I realized my new dogwood was reduced from a 4' whip to a barely above ground nub. Those bastages!

[farmgal]

Ok for now I just went outside and added a few things to the tree's. (Nothing ventured, nothing gained)

I placed inside of used onion bags a chunk of the nastiest smelling homemade soap I have ever had. It was a Christmas gift from a few years ago. Think my skin fell off when we tried it, this along with a piece of material soaked in Gain laundry soup. I never buy that. It was given to me when my friend passed away this year in a box of his belonging. This stuff has to be the most toxic smelling compound known to man. Then I soaked the end of a strip of material in Gain and tied it in the tree.

Here's the poor Green apple tree, that survived an eating 2 years ago, the year she was planted.


But here is the apple tree that was rubbed and miraculously survived only to have all her new growth munched few weeks ago. You can see her abuse.


Please dont call the tree police on me...I'm doing my best...lol

I also hung a bunch of bags all around the area and strips of toxic gain on poles, as I have blueberry, gooseberry and currants there also. Couldnt pound a post now to do fence, ground frozen.

[paradox]

Pee around the trees.

[spblademaker]

I have not had to try this yet, but I read that laying fence panels on the ground around the tree would bother the deer when they stepped on it.

[ronbre]

I buy chicken wire..4 or 6 ' high..and bamboo stakes..by the bundle from the cheapest place I could find them online.

I stick 2 or 3 stakes out from the tree on opposite sides and I wind enough wire around loosely just enough to prevent rabbits or deer from getting to each tree..and then I use zip ties or bend the wire from the fence cuts to attach it together into a cylinder around each tree..

I found rolls of chicken wire at garage sales so I got mine really cheap..but it lasts for a long time so just leave it on until the trees are large enough to remove it..usually about 7 to 10 years

[Darren]

I've used both chicken wire tied to T posts and deep sea fishing line crimped and strung on T posts. Either works. If you're thinking of fishing line, you'll need something stronger than the normal line used in freshwater.

[Nimrod]

Please dont call the tree police on me...I'm doing my best...lol

It's not the tree police you have to worry about, it's the Tree Protective Services.

Wouldn't be suprised if there was such a thing in Califunny.

[po boy]

Has anyone used Milorganite?

[haypoint]

The mesh that is used in concrete, comes in a 50 foot roll. Make a circle of it, 4 or 5 foot diameter. Place around each tree. . I've seen 8 foot tall fences built to protect trees. If there was a cheaper way that worked, they would have done it.
A few years back, I potted a thousand apple tree rootstocks. Then I successfully grafted over a hundred different varieties to them. Being in pots required a lot of extra watering and weeding. They were coming along nicely, in rows, on black plastic, inside a 5 foot fence. Early in the fall, a herd of deer jumped the fence and ate the tops off nearly every one. Killed them. I didn't get a second chance to build a deer-proof fence.

[am1too]

Originally Posted by Molly Mckee

We "caged" our young trees with 6 foot fencing. Fencing is the only thing that really works. The spray on liquid fence does work as long as you spray every time it gets wet.

Use urine. It free and there is plenty of it. I sprayed it bout waist high. No deer. Sure made the hunter mad.