How to keep deer out of the orchard?

[Glenn9643]

OK. It's time something's got to be done about these deer. I don't really want to kill them because I'd have to dress and eat them, and I prefer pork or beef.
We live about a half mile from a 10,000 acre game preserve and until this year haven't really had any problem with the deer. Always seeing tracks and sign where they're about the place, but no damage. This year started with finding the terminal buds nipped off all the branches on one of the fig trees. A few days later three loquat trees were reduced from promising branches about 7' high to a stick about 4' and the size of a hoe handle. No branches left. I've got three young apples about 7' and found that they've been nipping off branches on the one furtherest from the house when looking about this morning. Does anyone have any remedies that would keep them back short of shooting them?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Don't ask me, I planted 2 small orchards (about 20 to 25 trees) two years in a row. Now it is lawn. Rats with antlers at them down to the ground!!!

I've been told 2 7' tall fences spaced about 10' apart running parallel will do the trick, but now I just buy my apples at the store.

 

[PBMAX]

Gleen, the AU (Auburn) has done lots of studies on deer here is a link. It has several links just on he this page. Maybe one will work for you. AU deer studies

 

[JimR]

Here's what my farmer friend does to keep the deer out when he remembers to do it. He puts up a single strand of electic fence wire at 3 foot off the ground. He ties aluminum strips to the wire every 10-20 feet. on the strips he puts peanut butter. He said you ought to see what the deer does when they lick it. He said it is just like kicking them in the head. They run like crazy and don't return. lately he has been forgetfull about putting up the fence. This year they destroyed his crops.

 

[Glenn9643]

Thanks for the link Paul. Seems that Havahart makes a repellant from rotten eggs that’s mighty good and there’s also a product called Theram XP-20. Another paper mentions Woodstream DeerAway powder and spray that are made from rotten eggs also and rated first in that test. I’m off now to see if I can find some locally.

Jim,
I’ll probably try the electric fence with my garden this summer and may resort to fences around my fruit trees too if this repellant thing doesn’t work out.

The only product I could find locally was "Deer Off" at $16 per quart of spray. I'm trying that for now but will probably get started on that peanut butter fence pretty quick.
I also noticed that dial soap hanging in the trees was rated better than some of the commercial repellents. Who knows what'll work!

 

[YanmarFever]

I put in 2000 western red cedar trees in the back 20 acres
in 2 years I was down to less than 300 trees.
Cedar trees are like cotton candy to a kid when your a deer !

Next year we planted ponderosa pines, so far no problem
they dont eat that species of tree, out of 400 we have lost only a handfull.

Ernie
Ernies imports

 

[PBinWA]

Yes the dear do like the cedar's. They don't seem to like the Douglas Firs, spruces, and pines. They'll nibble on Leyland Cypress if they are hungry enough.

The sprays and repellants are expensive and you need to re-apply them too often. I think a lot of the other options (human hair, urine) are basically old-wives tales.

The only thing that works for me is fencing and a scarecrow sprinkler.

Around Fruit trees I stick 3 6ft T posts and make a triangle frame and then run 1 or 2 inch chicken wire around the tree about 1 foot up from the ground so it extends at least a foot above the T posts. This keeps the dear from doing any serious damage other than pruning the lower branches.

Otherwise you need to build an 8 foot fence around anything large areas you want to protect. I have a Scarecrow Sprinkler

http://www.bird-x.com/products/installation.html

That works well for a small garden plot.

I wish my dogs didn't sleep so much otherwise they would be good deer chasers.

Hope this helps

 

[SPIKER]

that scarecrow thing looks interesting for a garden! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif just the thing then send the old woman out there and umm just happen to FORGET to turn it off hahaha /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I'm sure the cat would HATE it too /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I had the deer problem bad last year in the early spring garden, then I took a regular old white string nylon and strung it around the garden they didn't come back only one time after that! I think they already KNEW what electric fence was lol. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I do love the penut butter idea though hehehe I have some fruit trees growing and so far they are only new and up close enough that the buck stays away mostly. last year I lost a BUNCH of pines to him and smaller hardwoods too. this year he must got shot as no new scrappings. one was is dead up in the back field apparent hit or shot and got away it's back leg was mangled (maybe caught in fence?) anyhow it is decaying pretty fast hopefully gone and no smell from it prior to spring.

I lost tons of trees so far form ice this winter and will have months of cleanup just to get back to where I was this year... so not going to be much time to worry about deer & the pines much. they ate my white pines bad last winter so far the snow has kept off enough that they have food out in back plots enough to stay away form the white pines that are up close to house.

Mark m

 

[MossRoad]

There was a guy around here that used lion poop from the zoo. He said it worked very well. I think the zoo stopped giving away the poop, though, and started composting it.

Our local airport has 8 foot fence topped with barbed wire and they still have deer in there.

I, too, have heard the two fences, 8-10 feet apart will work because the deer can't get a run at the second fence, but let's be realistic... how many $$ worth of produce will you have to produce over your lifetime VS the $$ of a huge fence? A small area just to enjoy a garden might not be too bad, but a large area wuould be very $$$.

I like the idea of the peanut butter electric fence. I may try that when we move out to our property.

 

[rozett]

My property abutts a large apple orchard that has been in town for over 200 years. The farmer goes to the local barber shop and gets the hair clippings a couple of times a month. He ties bunches of hair together and hanges it on the apple trees around the edges of the orchard. The scent keeps the deer out of the orchard.