Apple Trees

bdw593 · Apr 20, 2011

Just planted 20 apple trees and the deer seem to love two of them in particular. I have read all over the Internet about homemade sprays to keep the deer away by smell and taste. Anyone have a tried and true method to keep the deer away?... I've just put up bars of soap, plastic bags, and looking for a homemade spray... Any one help me?

beenthere · Apr 20, 2011

Don't know of a spray that works. I tried the rotten egg stuff and ruined a $100 back pack sprayer plugging it up .

I've heard that hanging out a fresh deer hide every day will eventually stop the problem.

Robert_in_NY · Apr 20, 2011

The only sure fire way to keep the deer away is to fence the trees so that the deer can't reach them. Everything else just seems to be a waste of time and money

SSdoxie · Apr 20, 2011

I haven't treid this yet but am going to as soon as I can get the graden in. TSC sells Deer Repellent (blood meal packs) 6 for $20. Can be spaced around the area on stakes on hung on wire. In your case, hang one in each tree.

inveresk · Apr 20, 2011

Try blood meal sprinkled around the base up to a few feet outside the canopy. Here' the deer give it a wide berth.

outinthetalgrass · Apr 20, 2011

I had the same problem last year with 3 small fruit trees I planted. I tried all the sprays, moth balls, stake out items, and sprinkle powders to keep the deer off the trees.
The powder-granuals seemed to work, but only for 2 or 3 days, then would have to reapply. This year I decided it was a war, and I was gonna win, So I browsed Craigslist, and the local "trader" paper and bought used dog kennel panels. the trees all have
6'X6'X6' cages around them. In 4 or 5 years when the trees are tall enough to be out of the deers reach, then the kennels can be taken down. So far this spring I am happy to report... no deer damage.

fbson395 · Apr 20, 2011

I agree with the post that a fence is the only way to stop them. That being said , you might try Deeroff. It's a spray and it does work but rain will wash it off. Also it cost about $18 for a quart bottle. if it's true or not I have head that Human urine will also keep deer from eating your trees.

BruceWard · Apr 20, 2011

I fence mine.

My barber says human hair works well.

Knight9 · Apr 20, 2011

I fenced mine too. It's worked great. Kept the deer out nicely. Sadly, our snow has receded here enough that I can see it didn't keep something out. I think it must have been a porcupine. All the bark is gone from the lower couple of feet. I fear I will lose them all.

Kind of defeating to constantly battle the wild critters to try to have a few decent non-native trees.

bilrus61 · Apr 20, 2011

Go to Home Depot or Lowes and get some Alaska Fish Emulson. Smells awful and I've never had a deer eat something sprayed with it. It does come off in the rain but seems to still protect the trees somewhat.

Western · Apr 20, 2011

I have 3, 8' t-post with 6x6 concrete mesh (5') tied to them. It's what I had laying around and works great. I did have to raise the wire up about a foot to get height and it also allows me limited weed eater access.

My grandfather used to make a Cheyenne pepper spray, he would mix the pepper, water and about 1/4 or less of dish liquid to 5 gals of water, then us kids got to spray the bottom half of the trees. Seemed to work some, but it sure made some good bubbles!!

godaddy · Apr 21, 2011

Western, I had a old farmer friend that made the same mix here. He would put a couple of drops of dawn with pepper sauce per gallon and it worked. I have talked to a couple of more people at work and they say it works for them to.

keegs · Apr 21, 2011

I bought polypropylene deer fence this year to extend a metal garden fence up 4'. It looks awfully light weight so I have my doubts. It comes in 3-4-6-7 foot wide rolls.

MossRoad · Apr 21, 2011

Robert_in_NY said:
The only sure fire way to keep the deer away is to fence the trees so that the deer can't reach them. Everything else just seems to be a waste of time and money

I'm gonna have to agree with you. Unless you are there to reapply sprays, baits, repellents, etc.... every time it rains, putting a small fence around each tree until it grows large enough to fend for itself is about the only way.

MossRoad · Apr 21, 2011

bdw593 said:
I have read all over the Internet about homemade sprays to keep the deer away...

Seriously, I am considering switching tactics... instead of raising a garden I should raise squirrels, woodchucks and rabbits. I am apparently quite good at it. Spray some lead in their direction! :laughing:

Western · Apr 21, 2011

MossRoad said:
Seriously, I am considering switching tactics... instead of raising a garden I should raise squirrels, woodchucks and rabbits. I am apparently quite good at it. Spray some lead in their direction! :laughing:

Moss, you may have found your "special purpose":laughing:

Chuck52 · Apr 21, 2011

I put a 5' fence circle around each tree and keep it here for at least three years. After I take the fence down, I protect each trunk either with a loose wrap of the same 2x4 welded wire fencing or with a piece of corrugated drain pipe. When I didn't protect the trunks a buck killed two trees and damaged three others. If you go to the Fruit & Orchards forum of GardenWeb, you will find reference to a product called Plantskyd (sp?) which is a tankage product that can be sprayed or painted on tree trunks. Some of the experienced orchardists there say it works very well.

Chuck

studor · Apr 21, 2011

+1 on the fence -- I also wrap the bases in the fall so that rodents don't chew off the bark and girdle the tree. I tried the human hair, dog hair, sprays, pepper, moth balls, blood meal etc. Blood meal seems to keep away squirrels but not much else. Really persistent critters seem to catch sudden onset lead poisoning at my place:thumbsup:

schoolsout · Apr 21, 2011

We are going to fence around ours when we plant them, but we are about to plant some food plots and use Poconite (mainly for repelling deer first 3 or so weeks to establish growth)