Battling Bambi: My success story

» 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