Deer Barriers

[Mean Machine]

The one fall chore I did not follow through on was creating deer barriers around some new, young cedar trees we planted. We have ten of them. Are there some inexpensive materials I could use for this?

 

[JDgreen]

The one fall chore I did not follow through on was creating deer barriers around some new, young cedar trees we planted. We have ten of them. Are there some inexpensive materials I could use for this?

I have used lightweight metal fence posts, about 3 feet high, painted green, pounded into the ground around a young tree, with a wrapping of chicken wire qround the posts, with excellent success for 20 years. You can use taller posts, or more heavy gage wire, but for a quick and dirty fix this works great. just be sure to overlap the wire over the top of the "cage".

Hope this helps. At a distance, you have a hard time even seeing the thin wire, but I have some that has been up for 15 years and it hasn't rusted thru yet.

 

[173abn]

MeanMachine,I 've got cedars and pleanty of deer.Do deer eat cedars?I planted around 50 of them yrs ago ,they were about 6" and every one made it with no protection. russ

 

[grnspot110]

MeanMachine,I 've got cedars and pleanty of deer.Do deer eat cedars?I planted around 50 of them yrs ago ,they were about 6" and every one made it with no protection. russ

I haven't had trouble with them eating cedars, but the bucks will tear them up rubbing their antlers on them. Pines they will eat! ~~ grnspot110

 

[KennyV]

They don't seem to eat cedars around here... They do like to damage trees...:smile:KennyV

 

[RobertBrown]

I haven't had trouble with them eating cedars, but the bucks will tear them up rubbing their antlers on them. Pines they will eat! ~~ grnspot110

You have to look for a cedar that hasn't been rubbed in these parts. It seems that they stop rubbing on them when they get to be a few inches in diameter and a young one, they will knock it over. Big bucks rub big trees and small bucks rub small trees. If you have a young cedar, keep a fence around it the last months of the summer when the bucks are shedding the velvet for the first few years. After that if he rubs it, it won't kill it. It won't ever look the same but it will survive.