What are some ways to prevent deer destroying a new tree?

Question

We live in the country and have just planted two new trees. The trees are about 8 feet tall and about 3 inches in diameter around the trunk. Our problem is that it is deer season and deers then to destroy our trees but eating them or rubbing up against them.

Do you have any ideas or tips on how to prevent this?

Answer 1

Here is what we do on several hundred 2.5-3.5" trees each year, to prevent the bucks rubbing on the bark. We wrap the trunks with a corrugated plastic tube, available at the hardware store.

Purchase the 4" size, and grab a saw. Next, you'll cut a length of the tube to the same height as your bottom branches. Now cut a slit along your tube. (We actually use a table saw for this part)

Carefully open one end of the tube, sliding that end around the tree trunk. Move your hands down a bit, opening the tube there, and wrapping it around the tree a bit further. Continue until you reach the bottom.

This may take you as much as ten minutes start to finish if you're handy with a saw. Very worth the effort.

You can paint the black tube a light color and leave it all winter if you like, if you suspect bark browsing by the deer or any other animals.

Your tubes can be re-used for at least a couple of years, as long as they fit most of the way around the tree trunk. After that, most bucks aren't interested in the tree - they're too big for them, if there are other, smaller trees around.

Good luck!

Answer 2

We live in the mountains and have the same problem. We tried the hair bit, soap, and urine--but you have to keep putting stuff out every two or three days--because, as you know, those devils are nibblers. What we finally did, and it worked as to get hogwire (which you can get at a hardware center 6' high and circled the trees. ) Even then a couple of the bucks stood on their hind legs to try to get to the leaves. However, that was the best deterrent. Since I have an orchard, along with roses (another word for deer delicacy), we gave up and enclosed the side yard in a $7,000.00 chain-link fence. I've been told that, if they are really hungry, they could jump that-but they haven't in the two years that we've had the fence. Deer are wonderful creatures to look at --on someone else's property. I've even in the past run after them to scare them off--not wise in rutting season however!

Answer 3

I have heard that if you put human or dog hair around the area the deer will not go near because of the smell. Go to your local barbers and ask for the hair they have at the end of the day. Then bring it home and put in pantyhose and tie to the tree. I do not have personal experience with this, but it would be a better solution then barbed wire that could hurt the deer.

Answer 4

You could put some chicken wire on the trunk of the tree, about 4 to 5 inches around, attached to 3 posts in the ground, you can go to a hunting store, and buy some wolf urine and then tie a couple pieces of rags on the chicken wire and spray some wolf urine on it, that should defenitly keep them away, and it will give your tree a chance to get stronger

Answer 5

I just read that wrapping the tree with aluminum foil will deter deer and hanging irish spring soap in the branches. They don't like the smell.

There are some other remedies on this site:

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/county/ramsey/hort/trees/general/repellents.htm

Here is another site loaded with info:

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/deercontrol.html

Answer 6

we put up a wire fence all the way around the trees about3-4 feet from the tree. and we put a few solar motion lites near the house, it did the trick. our dogs bark when they hear any sounds, and that is a help also good luck.

Answer 7

Tie soap on a rope on the tree

Answer 8

fence the two trees with barbed wire.