Deer eating my small apple trees

[ponytug]

I was thinking about that-- good idea. Also considering 4 braces from center-center, like a diamond inside the square. That might add stiffening and dissuade jumping. Trying to figure out access though-- I don't pick apples but do need to knock weeds down. When we irrigate the small trees *everything* else wants to use the water to grow.

How about putting down some sort of tarp/mat to keep the trimming to zero? I know that they make them commercially for landscaping, but I was thinking more like a few pieces of old conveyor belt.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Jstpssng]

Every electric fence design that I tried did not work. Only my solid 8 foot fence worked.

The style electric I saw years ago when I was working in the orchard was different. I believe that it's called a "New Zealand deer fence", but couldn't find it with a search engine. A three strand electric fence at a 45 degree angle from verticle (or horizontal ) They can be pernicious little buggers though... I've seen them go over an 8 foot fence, but that was in a 50 acre orchard. Not often though, the guy I was working for said that when the fence was first erected they would hear it when deer ran into it.
(A moose on the other hand, might go right through it. )

 

[jyoutz]

The style electric I saw years ago when I was working in the orchard was different. I believe that it's called a "New Zealand deer fence", but couldn't find it with a search engine. A three strand electric fence at a 45 degree angle from verticle (or horizontal ) They can be pernicious little buggers though... I've seen them go over an 8 foot fence, but that was in a 50 acre orchard. Not often though, the guy I was working for said that when the fence was first erected they would hear it when deer ran into it.
(A moose on the other hand, might go right through it. )

I even tried a baited electric fence.

 

[plowhog]

How about putting down some sort of tarp/mat to keep the trimming to zero?

Good thinking. I did that for the first time last year when I went to the 3-post arrangement. Then put wood chips from the chipper on top as an added barrier.

You're not supposed to put wood chips up against the tree trunk/bark, instead leaving an open buffer. So there was always a 6-12" bare hole in the center. Once weeds started growing there-- look out! Things spread quickly.

I bought the "landscape fabric" at Lowe's, but learned a lesson. Theirs is cheap and thin. One of my contractors in Nevada advised me about a much better fabric. So I will use this in the future.

I used gopher cages before planting the bare root apple trees. But somehow, something got into some of the trees and tore up the landscape fabric. So I had pieces of that blowing through the pasture-- some large, some small.

 

[RalphVa]

They won't jump the double fence, even only 4 ft tall.

 

[jaxs]

Thousands of cattle are contained out fenced out by electric fence every day. Brahman cows can't buck electric fences so it's a sure bet deer can't either. Cost is 10% of net fence and can be rolled up and moved or stored in a fraction of time. One hot wire plus some string or sorry fence wire equal's a fortress. One thing is for sure,it wouldn't take much expense or labor to try it out.

 

[PILOON]

Deer played havoc with our Hostas, and they periodically razed them all.
Guess it was like desert to them.
We heard of a solution that worked for us.

I made up sachets of shredded green soap, Irish Spring, and that scent did the trick.
Maybe it tickles their noses, it does mine.
Have been doing that successfully for the third year now.
LOL, I even stapled little hats over my sachets to ward off the rain that would dissolve the soap.

Another thing I observed was removing wind chimes helped as deer are curious and the chimes would attract them.

Another that a gardener suggested was to urinate wherever I wanted to deter deer, but then I am not a beer drinker.

 

[jyoutz]

Thousands of cattle are contained out fenced out by electric fence every day. Brahman cows can't buck electric fences so it's a sure bet deer can't either. Cost is 10% of net fence and can be rolled up and moved or stored in a fraction of time. One hot wire plus some string or sorry fence wire equal's a fortress. One thing is for sure,it wouldn't take much expense or labor to try it out.

Deer jump fences, cattle don’t.

 

[mike02557a]

Try this:

Put up some fence posts....they don't have to be heavy duty....4 foot electric fence posts will work.

Then take an old 1/2 inch VCR tape and string it from post to post.

The tape is mylar (I think) and will twist and turn with every breeze. It will reflect light and vibrate making noises that spook deer...

Let me know if this works for you...

 

[oosik]

We began living on my 80 acres in 1982. We began, immediately, planting fruit trees. It took a couple years to learn - but soft fruit didn't do well here. The spring killing frosts went too far into the year. The apples did well.

However - the pocket gophers were a nightmare. We didn't learn about "root cages" until much later. We lined our planting holes with broken glass and did a lot of "wishing/hoping". One out of four plantings reached maturity. We went thru many plantings to get an "orchard" of a dozen apple trees.

I never remember the deer being much of a problem. Might have been because we had outside dogs. We never used any type of repellent.

It was a wholly different matter as the apples ripened. Deer, raccoons, birds - the harvest was shared with MANY.

What finally killed all the apple trees. It's a condition called - southwest damage. Initially it's not a disease. It's the fact that all our weather comes out of the SW. After years of exposure the bark on the SW side of the fruit trees begins to peel and expose the inner layers. It's only a matter of time. The exposed inner layers are subject to all forms of disease.

You could either wrap the trunk and all limbs or build some sort of barrier between the trees and the SW weather. The orchard was in a protected location. It proved to not be adequate.

However - all the trees lasted twenty years. Some lasted 25 to 30 years.

 

[Jstpssng]

My father tried about everything to keep deer out of his garden; cds hanging on dental floss so that they would spin in the breeze, coyote urine, soap, human hair... the only thing he found that worked was a two strand electric fence. It depends on how much other delectable food is around, and I suspect size of the area enclosed might be a factor.

 

[lman]

Deer jump fences, cattle don’t.

We had a steer that would jump a 5' woven wire fence without touching it. It wouldn't come close to an electric fence.

 

[jyoutz]

We had a steer that would jump a 5' woven wire fence without touching it. It wouldn't come close to an electric fence.

I don’t doubt what you say, but my steers stay in my 5’ woven wire fences. The deer jumped every electric fence around my garden/orchard. My land is perimeter fence with 5’ woven wire. The only fence that stopped deer was the 8’ woven wire fence.

 

[Spindifferent]

Try a 3D electric fence design like this around the perimeter of the orchard:

3D Anti-Deer Fence (3 to 5 strand) for Deer - Premier1Supplies

An effective anti-deer electric fence with width, height, and depth. Deter deer from jumping into gardens, vineyards and tree plantings.

www.premier1supplies.com

Or, for each individual tree, build a heavy wire fence between 5-6 feet tall several feet beyond the outside of the tree dripline. With newly planted small trees, plan for growth and place the fence well beyond the dripline.

Good luck! The "wildlife tax" can be substantial...

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

Cattle that jump fences go to the freezer or to the auction yard.

 

[dirttoys]

1/2 inch rebar driven in in 4 corners. 6 feet above ground 6 feet apart in a square. Weld rebar as top rail to all four posts + cross posts diagonally. wrap with chicken wire. Throw 6X6 chicken wire over top, wire tie the mess, should be deer proof and cheap.

Best,

ed