New Saplings and Deer Damage...

[ultrarunner]

A little over a year ago I panted 36 trees around my place... 25 Aptos Blue Redwoods down by the creek and 11 Coastal Oaks on the Property Line.

The trees adjusted fine and lots of healthy new growth... I was very pleased even with having to draw water by bucket from the creek during the hottest months of summer.

I'm in the city limits so Deer are not normally a problem...

A few months ago, a 4 pointer moved into the area and each and every tree now has the branches and bark skinned-off from about 18" to 48" above... just my luck.

Any ideas short of installing individual fencing around each with T-Posts and Wire...

Deer are never in season within City Limits...

 

[ultrarunner]

Forgot to mention... everytime I have come across the Buck he is fearless... really doesn't seem to care who is around...

When I run him off... he just looks for awhile and then will slowly turn and lazily walk away... never seen him on the move...

This year I have counted 7 plus the Buck...

For years... there has not been any... also have large flocks of wild turkeys... 25 +/-, Gray and Red Foxes, Skunks, Possums, Racoons and Red Tail Hawks...

There have also been reports of a small Mountain Lion...

Seems city living suits these guys just fine.

 

[Pete Judd]

I have had to put wire cages around my fruit trees to keep the "rats with antlers" from chewing them down to nothing.

 

[creekbend]

As strange as this sounds, this works on protecting your garden from deer feeding. I do not know about using this method in regards to trees. Horse manure works with gardens. An Amish farmer introduced me to this method many years ago. He put it on his garden. I tried it once in the beginning to find out if it worked or not. I spread horse manure on one half of my garden and left the other half untouched. The deer rarely fed on the half that was supplemented with horse manure, but ate everything in sight on the other half. It is not 100% effective, but it does act as a viable deterrent. Try not to have much straw or hay in the manure when spreading. Just a thought. Good Luck.

 

[Locoweed]

Just wrap a layer of fence around the tree trunk, make it a few inches too big. They are afraid of getting their antlers stuck in the mesh.

 

[clemsonfor]

Tree shelters if still small, you can split them lengthwise and wrap around as well.

Go to Ben Medows, online and look at the stuff they have.

 

[CJBOTA]

I have an orchard in northeast Ohio. I hang a bar of regular scent Irish spring soap in every tree. I drill a hole in the soap and put a plastic tie thru and attach as close to the center of the tree as possible. When it rains you get a soap film on thr trunk of the tree. I have had fantastic results doing this.

 

[300UGUY]

I made barriers out of small pieces of fence. Looks a little redneck, but stops the chewing. I had some fruit trees simply eaten up before I started protecting them. One night, I walked outside about 1 am. Less than 20 feet from the house was a big 10 or 12 point buck, chewing on the landscaping. That sucker cleared a 4 ft fence like it was nothing!!! Around here, deer are mostly nocturnal. You rarely see them in full light. They come out in the evening and the morning to feed. They bed down during the day.

 

[ultrarunner]

So far no evidence of chewing... just a pile of branches at the base of each tree with one side of the bark rubbed raw on the trunk.

 

[Tollster]

Depending on the diameter, I have always had luck using some sort of hose or flex pipe, 2.5" 0r 3.0" wrpped around the trunk to about 4' or so in height. Slice it lengthwise. I used to used fencing, but the hose is much cheaper. Check underneath it for fungus or molds twice a year if your in a wet area, ya want it to be kind a loose.

I bet there could be a market for tree trunk grey!

Evergreens you could wrap in burlap for the fall and winter so they don't brouse.