Deer, small tree damage & Alberta spruce?

[Fuddyduddy1952]

In our yard I've always liked islands with a tree, few bushes, flowers. I like Dwarf Alberta Spruce and they're healthy except a young one that had some brown spots (spider mites?). It's the small one with white arrow pointing to dead area.
I got Monterey insect control, sprayed it and the next day deer ate it to the ground!
I can't understand why?
Also other small bushes & especially fruit trees deer destroy. Even putting steel T posts around with netting doesn't seem to help, neither does expensive spray "Deer Off", it's like garlic and peppermint.
Any ideas are much appreciated!

 

[dodge man]

I’ve got some evergreen bushes the deer eat on every winter also. The spray never helped for me. You can surround them with steel fence posts but that’s not a great answer.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

They'll get some lead if I can catch them at it.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Since others have never been eaten like that apparently that Monterey Insect spray must taste good to deer.

 

[kenmbz]

It must smell good to attract them?

I have some pines surrounded by T-posts to stop the bucks from rubbing. They seem to bypass everything else and make for the smaller pines.

They do actually eat my Asian white pine, weird as they have never eaten any other pines.
They also eat the holly bushes, that must be painful.
They ate my Forsythia down to the ground, of 25, I think 3 or 4 might still be alive.
Up the road, they don't seem to eat the fully grown forsythia.

unpredictable to say the least, sorry about your tree. When I get mites on trees/bushes I use insecticide soap.

 

[bigtiller]

I took about 15' of concrete 5"x5" wire mesh and rolled it into about a 5' diameter circle and set it around this spruce tree. I was going to drive the fence post in to hold it down but never got around to it.

I did this to 4 trees this spring and so far so good.

 

[CliffordK]

In our yard I've always liked islands with a tree, few bushes, flowers. I like Dwarf Alberta Spruce and they're healthy except a young one that had some brown spots (spider mites?). It's the small one with white arrow pointing to dead area.
I got Monterey insect control, sprayed it and the next day deer ate it to the ground!
I can't understand why?
Also other small bushes & especially fruit trees deer destroy. Even putting steel T posts around with netting doesn't seem to help, neither does expensive spray "Deer Off", it's like garlic and peppermint.

How did you apply the insecticide?

On the label, it says "Systemic Insecticide is absorbed through the roots and carried up into the plant"

"Easy to use. Mix in water and pour around the tree/shrub"

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

How did you apply the insecticide?

On the label, it says "Systemic Insecticide is absorbed through the roots and carried up into the plant"

"Easy to use. Mix in water and pour around the tree/shrub"

I applied by directions.

 

[CliffordK]

You had said "Sprayed" in your initial post. The directions seem to indicate pouring on the ground. Although that tree may be difficult to pour stuff on the root ball without getting it on the tree too.

Ok look up the MSDS.

https://www.montereylawngarden.com/product/monterey-once-a-year-insect-control-3-concentrate/?attachment_id=35439&download_file=5ba671708a1fb

1.4% to 1.54% Imidacloprid
0.68% to 0.72% Propylene Glycol
97.5% Mystery Ingredients.

Propylene Glycol is sweet, but not as sweet as Ethylene Glycol.
Imidacloprid is supposed to be bitter and unpleasant.
And the Mystery Ingredients are a Trade Secret. Not that a good chemist couldn't do a reasonable job at isolating them. But we don't know if they could attract the deer. I presume it has a fair amount of water in it.

 

[RayIN]

I'm having small tree damage from rutting bucks now, and in the spring from bucks rubbing velvet from their antlers. I have 43 walnut trees on the

You had said "Sprayed" in your initial post. The directions seem to indicate pouring on the ground. Although that tree may be difficult to pour stuff on the root ball without getting it on the tree too.

Ok look up the MSDS.

https://www.montereylawngarden.com/product/monterey-once-a-year-insect-control-3-concentrate/?attachment_id=35439&download_file=5ba671708a1fb

1.4% to 1.54% Imidacloprid
0.68% to 0.72% Propylene Glycol
97.5% Mystery Ingredients.

Propylene Glycol is sweet, but not as sweet as Ethylene Glycol.
Imidacloprid is supposed to be bitter and unpleasant.
And the Mystery Ingredients are a Trade Secret. Not that a good chemist couldn't do a reasonable job at isolating them. But we don't know if they could attract the deer. I presume it has a fair amount of water in it.

1.5A where the house and garage are located. Any walnut tree shorter than 5' is badly scarred where the bucks knocked all the bark off and broke small limbs. The eventually grow large enough the bucks don't bother them, but where the sap wood is exposed the wood appears to be rotting.

Patent law requires any chemist dealing with a proprietary formula to keep the formula guarded/secret.