Roe deer in the gardencan do a lot of damage. Desolate flower beds and bitten trees and shrubs are a common sight. Thedamage caused by roe deeris most often reported by owners of gardens and plots of land located near forest areas. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with this effectively without harming the animals. See,how to discourage deer from gnawing treesin the garden andhow to help trees damaged by deer
Roe deer in the garden
Fig. pixabay.com
How to scare deer from the garden?
1. Electric Shepherd
The most effectivemethod of scaring deer from the garden is to install an electric shepherd , i.e. a live wire fence. Such a fence consists of three parallel wires stretched on posts. The lowest wire should be 25 cm above the ground, the middle - 60 cm, and the highest - 110 cm. When a deer touches such a fence, it is gently electrocuted, which causes unpleasant sensations. Remembering this,the animal will avoid this type of obstacle in the futureA well-built electric fence creates a magnetic field that deer can sense from a distance, which discourages them from approaching the fence.
2. Barbed wire fence
In addition to the electric shepherd, it is worth investing in a sufficiently high fence in the garden, whichwill prevent the deer from jumping over it The fence should be 2-2.5 m high. Shorter ones will not be effective, especially in snowy winters, because the roe deer, using the high snowdrifts, can easily get into the garden.For fencing the plot in protection against deerfruit growers and foresters recommend a forest net, but an ordinary fence mesh will also work well. The top of the mesh can be additionally secured with barbed wire.
Roe deer and deer most often appear in gardens in winter
Fig. forum.PoradnikOgrodniczy.pl
3. Sound scarers
Roe deer are skittish by nature and this can be exploited.To scare the deer away, you can install a metal tini, plastic rustling bags or bells on the fence, which will make noise when the wind blows. You can also buy theultrasonic deer and deer repelleremitting 22 kHz waves that are inaudible to the human ear and at the same time unbearable for forest animals.Such a device has a working range of up to 150 m. The range can be increased to 300 m by installing the device in a plastic tube.
Roe deer can gnaw the bark of trees
Fig. depositphotos.com
4. Lubricating trees with deterrents
Roe deer can be scared away by using fragrances , i.e. repellants. You can get professional products such as, for example, Pellacol 10 PA or Repentol 6 PA available in garden centers. In autumn, these preparations are applied to the trunks of young (2-3 years old) trees. They are used on dry bark, on rainless days and at a positive temperature. The trees should be covered with the preparation every year. There are also some repellants in the form of granules (e.g. Arox series), which are spread on the ground in the garden.
A simple and good idea is to paint trees with HANTUS . It is a tree paint that has 2 functions at the same time:
- prevents animals from gnawing trees and seedlings,
- protects trees against bark cracking as a result of frost.
Painting trees with HANTUS can therefore replace the traditional whitewashing of fruit trees with lime, and at the same timewill protect the trees from being gnawed by deerFor the treatment to be effective, the trees should be painted up to a height of 1.8 m Roe deer and deer can reach this height.
Importantly, HANTUS does not contain any chemical poison. It issafe for people and the environment
We can also prepare deer repellentfrom what we have at home. Roe deer don't like the smell of raw eggs. Therefore, plants in the garden border can be sprayed with a preparation made of 2 liters of water and 6 eggs. The treatment must be repeated after each rain. Another way is to hang toilet soaps over the fence.The smell of soap will associate animals with humans and they will stay away.
5. Tree covers
Sometimes, despite appropriate safeguards, deer still find a safe way of food offered by the garden. Trees can be protected from damage by using appropriate covers.The simplest method of securing tree trunks against deeris covering them with a straw or wicker mat, straw mulch or thick corrugated cardboard. Metal and plastic nets or plastic tubes are much better and more durable protection. Special self-winding perforated casings can also be used to cover the trees, and spiral casings to protect thin twigs. The tops of the trees should be protected with a light cover with spikes. All of these products can be purchased at larger garden centers or online stores.
How to save a tree damaged by deer?
Cut the twigs of the trees bitten by the deer at an angle just below the damage site , and smear the cut wound with garden ointment.
If the trunk has been debarked over the budding site, then we remove the entire damaged part. From the spring bouncing shoot we form a new guide and crown.
In case of extensive damage , in order to save the tree, we can perform bridge graftingIt consists in implanting one or several one-year-old shoots above and below the wound. For this, we can use young shoots that are reflected from the lower part of the trunk (rootstock) or slips.
If we can use the rootstock for grafting, cut its top at an angle to about 3 centimeters. Just above the wound, we make a T-shaped incision and we graft the top of the regrowth into it. Protect the vaccination site with raffia or grafting foil and smear it with fruit ointment.
"In the case of bridge grafting with scion, the shoot from both sides is cut off in the same way as for the application grafting method.Depending on the date of vaccination, we make the incisions on the bark in a different way. Before the beginning of vegetation, cut the bark so that it fits exactly into the cuts on the scion, and during the growing season in the T-shape. Attach the scion tightly to the trunk on both sides of the wound, then bind it with raffia and coat it with orchard ointment. In this way, a bridge is created, through which the sap will flow freely after fusing, avoiding the diseased part of the trunk, and the tree will completely regenerate over time. Thoroughly clean the wound under the vaccination site and apply a protective agent (e.g. Dendromal-2 paste).
MSc Eng. Agnieszka Lach
