Deer destroyed my Asian pear trees last night

MadScientist · Heavy Crude Joined: May 19, 2004 Posts: 418

dog. urinate on the tree. put up random human noise makers.
not to say fences aren't good cause they keep out more than just deer.

Where I live their solution to deer herd overpopulation was to reintroduce the Wolf. It has reintegrated quite successfully and the population is growing aggressively. Wolves like to kill dogs so get a big one if you live up north. HOWLLLLLLLLLLLLL
_________________
"The future power is manpower"

Heineken

My system for keeping deer away from fruit trees is as follows (I've written about this before here):
Buy a roll of welded (not woven!) wire four or five feet high, depending on how low your fruit tree sends out branches. It's not cheap but a 100-foot roll will protect quite a few fruit trees (you can also buy 50-foot rolls). You can buy either the lighter or the heavier gauge wire, as your budget permits. Heavier is harder to cut but lasts longer.
Cut the wire into a length that when rolled will make a circle about six feet in diameter (exact dimensions depend on the individual tree). Arrange the wire around the tree and use two wire plant ties to secure the ends. You now have a circle of wire around the tree that's easy to get in and out of through the "door." There's no need to stake the wire to the ground. It will stand on its own indefinitely.

Now cut off the top strand of wire all the way around, and bend the sharp ends outward all the way around at 90 degree angles.

A deer won't be able to jump over a fence that is so close to the tree, and it won't be able to browse the foliage because of the sharp ends of the wire. At worst, you might have occasional MINOR damage from very aggressive deer.

This system is fairly foolproof. I've never had deer damage to any of my trees I've protected in this way, and we're swimming in deer here.

Always wear eye protection when working with wire. And watch out for those sharp "palisade" wire ends when watering, picking fruit, etc.
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

oxj

My suggestion is to not buy dwarf trees or trees on M111 stock. Get trees on, for example, sturdy Antanovka stock which will produce healthy, non-starved trees. Such trees are available from greenmantlenursery.com .

The size of the tree and its productivity is determined by the root stock, not the scion wood.

A tree on vigourous stock will grow taller than any deer could ever imagine, and they could not possibly eat the fruit, and pruning could protect the bounty from them by raising it higher. Vigourous trees produce an abundance of fruit, usually over 300 pounds per tree per year. Finally, the vigourous root stock will harden the tree against insects and diseases.

My trees on Antanovka grew from two inches this year to three feet, and I have been able to mitigate any pest and disease with three light sprayings of neem oil.

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

allenwrench · Intermediate Crude Joined: Apr 23, 2008 Posts: 893

gonfishn

I have deer in my yard all the time and they never bother my trees at all. On the other hand I have to pick all of my fruit as soon as the temperatures start to drop or the bears will shred my trees.
Last year I made the mistake of leaving a box of Green Gage plums on the patio table over night.The next morning all that remained were a paw print on either side of the box and about 10 Lbs. of bear crap on my deck.

PeakOiler

Ludi

DomusAlbion

aflatoxin · Heavy Crude Joined: Jul 31, 2005 Posts: 265

In our neck of the woods, you can legally shoot any wild/stray animal that is damaging your property. Deer/orchard, dog/chickens, dog/goat, elk/alfalfa field.

I've personally shot both stray and feral dogs in my chicken coops with a .22, and had Animal Control come and get the corpses.

Wifey got a German Shepard that was in the process of killing our pet goat with a 7mm Mag. (she used the first gun she found with shells to match, Good Girl).

Same neighbor, different dog went after my 5 YO kid, and I rolled it at 30 yards with a single shot from my .40 glock. He was pissed, but the animal control officer told him to F--- off, he was lucky he just lost a dog instead of a house. I'm lucky that I just happened to be working in the yard with a gun tucked in my pants.

A rancher in Northern NM shot something like 50 elk that were destroying his alfalfa field. No charges.

Talk to your local animal control officer, and find out what you can do.

And, if you want some asian pears, I've got several thousand pounds (kiefer) on my trees this year, and I'll send you a box of good ones if you PM me. I like to make wine out of them, but my liver can't keep up with the trees.

smallpoxgirl · Moderator Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 6485