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Battling BambiRead the article this discussion is about
This archived discussion is "read only".
» Howie - Ban Bambi A most heartfelt article that is so very appropriate. Living next to a state park I am most familiar with the predations of deer. The only difference between my herds and your deer resistant plant list is that mine also eat Euonymus fortunei. I applaud your perseverance in the mighty fence you built. I am convinced that that is the only way to deer proof a garden. I have tried other methods only to have the deer look upon plant additives as a condiment after at the most, one year. Unfortunately I have not been able to have them partake of Datura, Foxgloves, Monkshood, Brugmansia nor Papaver somniferum seed heads. Local code forbids the keeping of mountain lions so my deer win. -- posted by Howie » Marge_Talt - Re: Ban Bambi In response to message posted by Howie:LOL Howie...your traveling tag - eat venison - totally cracked me up! Well, like I said, there is no definitive list. And, deer change. For years they left my Pulmonaria and Ajuga alone and then, when I managed to keep them off the azaleas and yew, they started mowing that in winter. They will eat different things in winter, depending on how much other food they'd rather eat is available. For instance, we've got icy snow cover right now and I just looked out the window a short while ago to see a doe on the bank outside the fence eating Christmas fern fronds. They never touch ferns during the growing season, but those fronds were about the only green items showing on that bank...even though they are technically dead fronds at this point. She didn't look like she was enjoying them; kept tossing them around like she was hoping for something tastier, but she did eat a few of them. Yeah...mountain lions and wolves are critters non grata around here, too; pity except you can't train them not to eat pets and small children as well:-) -- posted by Marge_Talt » biogardener - My success story I have a lot of deer on my 20 acres of country property where I have been planting trees. Three years ago, they discovered my willows which I had grown in the low-lying areas by simply sticking branches in the ground in the spring. They were just getting to be nice-sized trees, and in one winter, the deer totally destroyed the main trunks, because they like to eat the tender bark. There are plenty of trees around, and I wouldn't mind the deer eating the branches. Destroying the trunks, however, causes the trees to collapse.I don't visit the property in the winter, so I was not aware of the damage until spring. In autumn, I bought 6' rolls of 1" wire mesh and wrapped them around each tree after first tying each tree up with bailing twine to reduce the circumference. The 2" mesh would probably have been all right as well. I am leaving the mesh on the trees, and the branches now are growing through the mesh. All the deer can eat now is young branches, and that I don't mind. The purpose of the trees is for wildlife shelter to begin with. -- posted by biogardener » Marge_Talt - Re: My success story In response to message posted by biogardener:Yes, Traute, wire mesh will keep the blighters from eating trees. You may have to keep an eye on them if the branches are growing through the mesh because they may get bigger than the holes in the mesh and you'll need to cut it so the branches don't get damaged. Deer love tender young plants - whether leaves, twigs or buds...or, as in your case, trunks! Bucks will also do great damage to smaller tree trunks by rubbing their antlers on them, I think to remove the downy covering. -- posted by Marge_Talt » biogardener - Thought about it Yes, I have been watching the wire mesh and snipping it where necessary to make sure that the trees can grow normally. I have even pulled some of the wraps off and used them on younger trees. I got the mesh on sale for a ridiculously low price, so I have lots left for future use.I have lots of poplar trees in another area of the property. They regrow easily from roots which travel underground, so I am not worried about any damage the deer do there. I am always thinning the poplars out anyway. The willows are more tender, though. Around Lake Winnipeg, where the soil is sandy, the deer even destroy my friends' spruce trees, because that is all there is there. And those trees are not tender at all. I sure hope they don't ever attack my spruce trees, because planting and raising them was a lot more trouble than planting the willows, and they cannot be wrapped. They need cages, and that is more trouble than I care to undertake. -- posted by biogardener » Marge_Talt - Re: Thought about it In response to message posted by biogardener:Good; you're ahead of the game there, Traute. Once your willows get mature, the deer shouldn't be able to do really significant browse damage; only the antler type damage from the bucks. I believe some people have to keep 5' tall wire circles around their trees forever because of the bucks. My herd have never touched any of my conifers, but I know that where there is nothing else, they will eat them. Spruce have particularly prickly needles, so, hopefully your herd will leave yours alone....but there's no guarantee where deer are concerned; they have leather mouths and will eat anything if they're hungry enough. -- posted by Marge_Talt
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