So the pumpkin plants are being eaten I can deal with that it is by the food plot and the deer go there to eat. I planted trees this spring 75 crab apple and 75 wild plumb trees and 75 gray dogwood trees. Seems like every single planted tree and bush has been browsed. I am feeding 20-25 pounds of feed a day on top of natural browse and mowed pasture and 18 other apple trees to provide browse and ground fall apples. I can only shoot 1 deer a year do I need to take out more deer? Is it over capacity or are the deer just being jerks?
You really need to protect those young trees. The deer love the fresh shoots. Also, and I could be wrong, but isn't baiting illegal in MN?
They found out you are a deer killer and are retaliating, I am sorry but there is nothing that can be done at this point.
The baiting is fine as long as it's removed at least 10 days prior to season. I had the same issue with planting trees and even shrubs and flowers and garden stuff. They just seem to want to browse around and snack on anything you want them not too. With 20 acres of alfalfa and still had a fawn grabbing hot banana peppers last year off the bushes. That and some flowers get hit each year. My silver maple trees are finally for some reason getting left alone for a bit now. I think their desire for variety keeps it all fair game if it's not horrendously protected
You can actually feed during season, you can not hunt over the feed site for 1o days after the feed is removed. I do not have the time or energy to fence in all those tress, I was hoping that by sheer volume some of the trees would make it.
Thanks for the clarification. Every state is so different in regards to baiting it's hard to keep track. I've heard of people spraying their food plots with Cayenne Pepper to keep the deer away, that might work on the trees too.
You HAVE to protect young trees and plants .,... deer will hammer them....Thne Amish sell these little soap bars that turn the deer off ..they work too!
I was at the NRCS office and they had some info on some commerically available product that kept deer away from plants. I cant remember what it was, but stop in there and check it out.
It was an experiment I planted the trees along a fence in an area that I have as open oak savanna, I didn't mow the area I planted the trees hoping the taller grass would camo the seedlings. I guess I will just mow it flat now. That or I am going to go with fewer bigger trees and fence them in next year.
I did have some luck with some smaller trees in my yard with a spray for deer. You spray it like every few weeks and it stinks horribly like rotten eggs for a day or two. I guess it gives a bad smell and taste to deer so they get conditioned to leaving it alone. Didn't cost much, maybe under $20 for enough for a jug that lasted me a year. Maybe worth a shot if you retry.
Mossy Oak Nativ Nursery sells plastic tubes very cheaply to plant your seedlings in . They protect the tender leaves and bark until the seedling can get some growth. There is something about fruit trees that makes bucks want to rub on them, and frequently, that will kill the tree.
