How to keep deer out of the orchard?

Glenn9643 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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 · Jan 9, 2005

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.

DUMBDOG · Jan 9, 2005

We have a small garden (40 acres) that had a 3 wire fence around it. Every third post had a metal conduit put on it. Moved the three wires up at 54, 62 and 70 inches. Put up a 47 inch woven fence at the bottom. Kept most of the deer out. The few that got in during the growing season came in through the three wire gate.

We will have to do some more work in the spring, like wire to space out the barbed wire, and repair areas where trees came down but it will work again. We are next to a large game management area.

The downfall is that a turkey can fly over the fence and they do, they like to take a taste out of each item like tomatoes and cucumbers.

DocHeb · Jan 9, 2005

An intriguing fencing method is described at: Low-Cost Slant Fence Excludes Deer from Plantings .

MossRoad · Jan 9, 2005

The downfall is that a turkey can fly over the fence and they do, they like to take a taste out of each item like tomatoes and cucumbers. 

Well, that's not what I wanted to hear. The last time I was out at our property, there were 30-40 turkeys standing across the road waiting to cross into my woods... maybe I'll switch from vegetables, to wild meat! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

MMM · Jan 9, 2005

I've had fair success running a top and bottom conductor on fence. I chased one doe around the orchard that refusedt to jump out. I guess she got a taste of juice crawling in or jumping over.

DocHeb · Jan 10, 2005

( The downfall is that a turkey can fly over the fence and they do, they like to take a taste out of each item like tomatoes and cucumbers. )

Turkeys and pheasants will peck holes to get at the juice of the vegetable/fruit as a substitute for water. My grandfather used to have problems with birds until he put pans of water around for the animals to drink.

DocHeb · Jan 10, 2005

( but let's be realistic... how many $$ worth of produce will you have to produce over your lifetime VS the $$ of a huge fence )

If we had to do a strict financial accounting I don't think many of us could ever produce anything for a profit, huge fence or not. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

DUMBDOG · Jan 10, 2005

It should be better than this year as the irrigation system should be up and running. Hate to leave out water that is not moving as it promotes the skeeter population.

As far as producing for profit, we are trying, once all of the equipment depreciataion is figured in, it makes it tough to do. However the appreciation of the land would also figure into the computation. Sometimes it is better that I forget about my accounting background. Besides minimum wage is not to bad once you figure the fresh air and exercise. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Glenn9643 · Jan 10, 2005

Mac,
I think I'm going with a 2 conductor fence as described at this site, to keep deer out of purplehull peas. That and the added peanut better might work.

PBMAX · Jan 12, 2005

no problem glenn, when reading the post it popped in to my cell that they had been studing deer repelling solution.... As much for some ritzzy parts of town as for farmers. trying to find a soltion for folks that like to watch the deer but also like having flowers on there plants....

Penut butter on an electric fence... hmmm that has some great possiblites... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If anyone is really curious as to just how good deer are at getting thru/over a fence. I followed a doe down the road a couple a yrs back at 15mph. After running a good half mile ahead of the f150. She swirved left and jumped 6' (the 1st 4' was to clear a small hill the fence was on) in the air and at the same time laid flat on her side.(head to the left and 4 hoves to the right). While diving between the upper 2 rows of a 3 row barbed wire fence. Never slowing up... still whishing today I had a camcorder.....

Glenn9643 · Jan 12, 2005

Paul,
You're absolutely correct about the deer's ability to get through or over a fence. The link above says "Perhaps the deer perceive the fence as a barrier of ever increasing height that they cannot breach. But that's speculation. The important thing is that is seems to work." about the design posted there, and I've seen others similar.

I talked to some friends about the rotten egg based repellent and learned that some local farmers have been mixing their own to keep deer out of their soy bean fields. They mixed the whites from four eggs to one gallon of water and from I hear it works well. The yolks must be removed because they'll stop up the sprayer nozzles. I'll probably try this because it's surely cheaper than the commercial mixes available.