Trees/Deer

Ellis Kinney · Mar 17, 2020

I have about 35 acres of woods on my farm in Northern Ky. I am slowly replacing the Ash trees with Sweet Gum and Sycamore and a few Ginkos. My choice of trees to plant is because these species either are hardy or grow fast. I am having a really hard time protecting new seedlings from the deer. I usually plant about 50 seedlings/year and have done this for the last 5 or 6 years. The number of trees planted makes it impossible to protect them like you would a tree in the yard with a cage or plastic drain pipe. Any quick and easy suggestions??? Thanks, Ellis

MI-Bill · Mar 17, 2020

Raise Deer!

jdr1943 · Mar 17, 2020

30.06-270-30-30.

Married2Allis · Mar 17, 2020

What else can you do but use the plastic tube protectors. If you're going to all the trouble and expense of planting saplings...? Maybe you could find them cheap somewhere. Deer eat everything in sight around here including shrubs.

rrman61 · Mar 17, 2020

Find something they like more,or something that will repel them.is human hair a repellent or is that a myth? Last resort shoot shovel shut up.borrowed that from someone on here

jal-SD · Mar 17, 2020

6mm, 243, 250-3000, 223, & several other of similar persuasion will help protect small trees in the right season. I'm sure friends & neighbors will aid in the protection process if asked or invited to participate.

Greg1959 · Mar 17, 2020

I put up "No Trespassing" signs".

Seriously though, you ain't gettin' rid of the deer. When I lived in Kentucky, for every deer I killed, 5 more would replace it. It got tothe point of just gut shooting them so they'd run off and die so I wouldn't have to drag them off my hay fields.

'Bout the only suggestion I could think of is.....if you want 50 trees to grow.....plant 1000 saplings.

That's about it.

Goose · Mar 17, 2020

I've heard bath soap will repel deer.

I've wondered if mixing a solution with liquid body wash and spraying the trees would help, with that many at risk.

We had the same problem a few years ago when we were trying to get some pine trees started. The deer would eat them as fast as we could plant them.

BIG RUH · Mar 17, 2020

I use to work for a local fruit orchard and we would hang motel size bars soap from the young trees until they got big enough

Jim in NC · Mar 17, 2020

Some gardeners here use a very fragrant bar soap, cut into half or thirds, drill holes in the pieces and use a corded string to tie the soap piece to tomato stakes, etc, in and around their garden. Irish Spring is used a lot but we went to the dollar store and used one with the strongest scent. The soap will last for weeks, and it helped us.

Janicholson · Mar 17, 2020

If you cut the 10 ft pieces into 1 foot lengths, each will cost about 70 cents. If you plant 50 trees, you would need about 35 to 40 bucks worth. If you slice up some scrap wood into lath about 1"X1/2" maybe 20 inches long, you can stake the tubes over the seedling and tape them on to prevent them from blowing over. They would be reusable every 2 years or so. Figuring how much labor you put into the seedlings each year, I think it would be cost effective. Jim

Farm/Fleet source Genova 4 In. PVC Sewer & Drain Pipe - 10 Ft.
Product #: 0000000232863 SKU: 004798252 Model #: 9155789
$6.99

Geo-TH,In · Mar 17, 2020

I dug up many walnut saplings from garden. Planted them in gravel pit. Next day something eat not only the tree, but dig up the nut.

After planting many walnuts I gave up. Got tired of feeding the critters.

jhwis · Mar 17, 2020

venison sausage....

Russ from MN · Mar 17, 2020

We have planted some Eastern White pine, and have some volunteers on our tree farm. If you don't protect them from the deer they won't survive. There are sprays available to make them unappetizing to the deer, but if your not there to spray them when the snow starts to melt, they will be gone. I have about 100 wire cages around trees, I buy 2x4 welded wire, 6 feet tall, and make 40 inch diameter cages. The MN DNR will cost share $10 per cage.

Trees aren't even safe when they're 20 ft tall, a moose walked this red pine down and ate everything green on it, killed it.

mdm1 · Mar 17, 2020

I talked to our forest about the same thing. We have planted seedlings without much success. There is a method called enveloping. The way I understand it you staple a common envelope on the leader of the tree so the deer don't eat it. I really don't care for the tubes. The common survival rate for seedlings is only 10%. Good luck.

kencombs · Mar 17, 2020

Don't know if it works, or if it available to you, but: I've read that manure gathered from the zoo's big cat exhibits will repel almost any prey animal when used as a garden fertilizer. If it works at all, it should work for trees too.

Now, to find some big cat doo.

Russ from MN · Mar 17, 2020

We have tried enveloping, and it works, we do some of the smaller ones that I don't have cages for. As the trees mature we take the cages off
and put them on smaller trees. We have seen cases where the deer pull the envelope off. Use stiff paper and at least 3 staples!

Russ from MN · Mar 17, 2020

Our solution, but we can't keep up, but we get to use the tractor!

sourgum · Mar 17, 2020

A deer repellent - Milorganite comes in 40 lb sacks, is a processed organic fertilizer. W M may have it in garden department. Put a hand full in old socks on stakes around the trees. Puts out a strong scent that deer do not like to be around. For small areas. Has to be replenished after 30-45 days.

GordoSD · Mar 17, 2020

What are those trees planted in rows?

Dave H (MI) · Mar 17, 2020

Without cages or hot wire, they will get them eventually. Just when you think they are too big, a buck will strip them. Just happened to me with an 8 year old 15 foot tall willow.

MarkB_MI · Mar 17, 2020

> 30.06-270-30-30.

You gonna stand guard on your trees 24x7?

Ultradog MN · Mar 17, 2020

Whatever you do, keep at it, keep trying.
I bought a 40 in 1987 and for the next 4 years planted a total of about 500 seedlings. All coniferous - red, white and jack pine, white, Norway and black spruce, etc.
The deer devastated them as did a couple of dry years and I gave up.
Today 40, perhaps 50 of them have survived and are now trees maybe 25-30' tall and 12" - some even 14" at the stump that are very impressive. I've long since sold that place but I still see the survivors along the side of the road when I go by. I'm proud of them, glad I did it and wish I'd planted more - half my life ago.
I'm nearly 67 now and realize how quickly trees actually grow.

cjunrau · Mar 17, 2020

hang your dirty socks up every day
get a dog that doesn't like deer
put electric wire 6 ft high 16 inch between strands
multiple radios or speakers around the perimeter, (works to keep out coyotes)

mdm1 · Mar 17, 2020

I guess in all reality we plant trees in the deer's backyard and expect them to not do what they do. My land is to far from me to really manage alot of seedlings. So my plan is to do what I can to improve what I have. As per a previous reply-we planted 100 swamp oak and got 15 trees to survive. Some of them had acorns on them this last year so it can be very rewarding but you need to have realistic expectations also. Best time to plant a tree-today or 20 yrs ago.

Russ from MN · Mar 17, 2020

Hybrid poplar/cottonwood, we planted 20 acres 25 years ago, 5 years ago they were harvested and went to the paper mill. Some of them were 20 inches in diameter, some only 5, it was an experiment. 25 years ago there was a concern about running out of pulpwood, now with so many paper mills shutting down it's not an issue. We have replanted most of the ground to spruce, there will always be a market for that. Don't know if we made any money on them or not, but I got to buy a nice tractor!

JD Dave · Mar 17, 2020

As others have said, - the absolutely strongest scented/perfumed hotel bars of soap that can be had and tie one or two on a tree. We drill the bars and string-through them, - hundreds at a time, and place them in the Fall. It seems to help. This with shooting every deer we see seems to be the formula.

BillinCentralMO · Mar 17, 2020

How tall are the seedlings ? Up to about four feet , you can use a tree shelter. It?s a tube. We use them for Pecan trees. You also get a greenhouse effect that extends the growing season. We bought 300. They?re a buck a piece or so. Reusable and resellable. Let me know if you try it.

centash · Mar 17, 2020

How about this tree? Over 250 feet tall, probably 14 feet in diameter at the base and over 800 years old. Biggest tree in BC, so likely the biggest tree in Canada....hard to take a picture of it.

Ben

urbancase · Mar 17, 2020

my neighbor to my north side our woods join and he planted apx 25 white oaks and had some white tubes around the seedlings. so far the deer have not messed with them. if need send message and I take a pic of them for you.

Traditional Farmer · Mar 18, 2020

Don't have to plant trees in central VA as a lot of different varieties come up on their own.Hickory,Scyamore and Persimmon are three that are rarely bothered by anything, Deer and about every other animal love to eat the Persimmon fruit.

ss55 · Mar 18, 2020

Rabbits and voles might be doing more damage than the deer. The attrition rate for small trees is high (75 to 95 percent loss without physical protection?). So keep planting, eventually some will survive.

Eddie Jefferis · Mar 18, 2020

(quoted from post at 09:01:50 03/17/20) Find something they like more,or something that will repel them.is human hair a repellent or is that a myth? Last resort shoot shovel shut up.borrowed that from someone on here

t does work they smell the hair and sense people are nearby so they do not bother with it

TerryB Illinois · Mar 18, 2020

You are giving anti hunters just another reason to justify their position.

Trees/Deer

Well-known Member

Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

Member

Well-known Member

Well-known Member

New User

Member

Similar threads