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Deer damage and what to do?

 
Citrus Growers Forum Index du Forum -> In ground citrus
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Tropheus76
Citruholic
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Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 71
Location: East Orlando FL

Posted: Tue 01 Oct, 2013 9:18 pm

Well I was closing up for the night and was wandering through the yard looking at trees and got to my favorite Shiranui Orange tree and was horrified to find deer had been there and were sharpening their horns on my precious tree. Grrrr, aside from a 7.62 x54R for the deer next time I see it, what can I do for the tree, there is quite a bit of bark missing? Maybe hit it with some of that pruning spray stuff?

_________________
42 trees and growing as fast as I can clear palm scrub.
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jbclem
Citruholic
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Joined: 13 Aug 2008
Posts: 34
Location: Topanga Canyon, Ca 9b

Posted: Tue 22 Oct, 2013 9:50 pm

If it looks like the tree will survive, you might want to put a cylinder of chicken wire (or hardware wire) around the trunk asap since your tree may now be part of the deer's nightly rounds. If the tree is severely damaged, bridge grafting (inarching) is a way to repair the damage.
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elsedgwick
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Joined: 26 May 2012
Posts: 137
Location: Thomasville, GA (8b)/Tallahassee, Fl (9a microclimate)

Posted: Fri 25 Oct, 2013 12:36 am

I've faced the same problem in Georgia and Virginia with stone fruit trees (they seem to prefer soft-barked trees of small diameters - i.e. three inches or less).

As jbclem noted, wire wrapped around the tree will work. You can also make ring-arounds with woven or welded wire fencing. For deciduous fruit trees, this also has the advantage of allowing you to size the ring to keep the deer from browsing the tree, but I've never heard of or experienced them eating citrus. An electric fence will also work, although you have to space the bands appropriately and make sure it is grounded adequately. Typically, you can take the fencing down for the summer. Around here (N. Florida/S. Georgia) you typically start to see rubs in mid-to-late September and the last ones are seen in March. In Virginia, by contrast, those dates were early September and late March or early April. For deciduous fruit trees in areas with lots of deer, though, its best to leave the fencing until summer is well underway to avoid browsing on tender twigs and young foliage.
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Tropheus76
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Joined: 14 Feb 2013
Posts: 71
Location: East Orlando FL

Posted: Fri 25 Oct, 2013 4:31 pm

Fencing would be prohibative since its about 2 acres and I am at almost 50 trees, soon to be 70 once some palm covered land is cleared. I think the tree will be fine though, the fruit on the section that was rubbed looks ok and the leave look like the rest.

Deer love citrus, especially eating new leaves. I have heard they do not like fencing but my peach tree has some branches going out of the fence I built around it and they ate all of it right up to the fence. Tried the human hair trick, worked for about 3 months. Some trees I have are not affected by it as much, they completely cleared my jujube and pomagranite trees and within a week they were bushier than they were before. Citrus and lychee does not recover near as fast unfortunately.

The biggest wooded lot of land near me is getting cleared next week so maybe the deer wont range as far from the saftey of other wooded areas down the road with this 5 acres of cover making way for a horse farm and shooting range.

_________________
42 trees and growing as fast as I can clear palm scrub.
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jbclem
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Joined: 13 Aug 2008
Posts: 34
Location: Topanga Canyon, Ca 9b

Posted: Sat 26 Oct, 2013 7:00 am

Black plastic deer fencing is relatively inexpensive and almost invisible. If you have regular trees (non fruiting) surrounding your acreage, it can be attached(stapled/nailed) to the trees. If the deer decide to start nibbling on your young trees, you'll quickly be faced with a choice...fruit trees or fence.

Young(newly planted) trees can survive one or two years of being nibbled back to the main trunk, but more than that and they seem to give up.

Also, have you seen the motion detector water sprayers. That's something inexpensive that you could use to protect small groups of trees. Here's a link to one popular brand:

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-CRO101-Scarecrow-Activated-Sprinkler/dp/B000071NUS

Still, if the shooting range operates at night maybe you won't have a problem at all.
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Citradia
Citruholic
Citruholic


Joined: 24 Feb 2013
Posts: 86
Location: Old Fort, western NC, 7a

Posted: Sat 26 Oct, 2013 8:52 am

I spray my fruit trees and ornamentals with solution of eggs to keep deer and Danita from eating plants and imagine deer wouldn't rub on stinking tree either. I've had to put electric fence around orchard to prevent bears from tearing apples and crabapples to the ground. I just don't spray eggs on ripening fruit but enough on leaves to deter deer at their height. Egg solution lasts even with rain for about a month:
3 blendered eggs to gallon of water
Add some Texas Pete sause for extra stank. Wink
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