Monday, February 7, 2022

Appreciating Fences

 This is the time of year when we see many, many well-established deer trails in our woods.  Going in or out of our quarter mile driveway through the woods requires a sharp eye because we almost always encounter one, two or several deer along the way.  There are other areas around our living area where we can easily spot a deer or two a few times a day.

Anyone who lives in an area where the buffalo deer roam knows that those pesky herbivores will quickly destroy most any planting, bush or tree that they can get access to.

That's why we've enclosed our entire growing area with a 7' high deer fence.


This is a partial view of our older apple trees I snapped a day or so ago.  They're planted within the fenced in area.  (The tracks you see in the snow are made by a squirrel bounding over to stuff his cheeks with sunflower seeds in the pole feeder.)


And here are our smaller, dwarf apple trees also within the fenced area.  They are doubly protected by a cage-like enclosure of their own which has a covered top.  This double protection is because we've had so much damage done to the developing fruit on the trees in the fall by invasions of blue jays (and sometimes robins) who love to take big, ugly bites out of the ripening fruit and spoil it for us.

We learned the lesson of how deer can quickly destroy an unprotected planting of fruit trees in a very short time.

On our first homestead here in the north woods, one of the first things we did when getting settled on our piece of land was to plant eighteen small fruit trees.  We (with a great deal of ignorance) felt we didn't have the time or money to put fencing around these young trees.  And I had read that hanging cloth bags of human hair on the branches of the trees would deter deer from coming near them.

So I collected copious quantities of hair from a local hair salon, and carefully made pouches of hair to hang on our little trees.  And you know what?  It worked!

Until.

Until one fall night when we had a freezing rain which completely coated all my bags of hair with ice.  The hungry deer moved through the area shortly after dawn the next day and totally destroyed each and every young tree.

Lesson learned, and we've never again planted anything we didn't fence in to keep the deer out as they will always assume we've provided them with succulent goodies to get their greedy little chompers on.

15 comments:

SmartAlex said...

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. Human or otherwise.

Mama Pea said...

SmartAlex - Well said!

betty said...

That was interesting about the human hair being a deterrent for deer (provided of course it didn't freeze). Learned something new today! That squirrel made pretty big tracks in the snow I thought!

betty

Mama Pea said...

betty - Our snow is getting deep and it's all been light snow with no crust on top so our little squirrel had to take bounding leaps in his attempt to get to breakfast at the sunflower seed feeder!

Rosalea said...

Our deer are slowly heading to the big yard. Because of the lack of real snow depth, they are taking their time, being able to still paw the snow away and access acorns. So interesting to read of your experience on the journey to your anti-deer fortresses!

Mama Pea said...

Rosalea - I continue to be surprised that you don't have much of a snow cover at this point of the season. One just never knows how different our little pieces of the earth can be! Along with a lots of deer we're seeing, there are also quite a few shots of timber wolves showing up on our trail cams. But then, I guess they do go together in nature, don't they!

coffeeontheporchwithme said...

That must have been devastating, losing those trees all in one go! I can just imagine you asking for hair at the salon and making little bags. We don't get deer in our yard, thankfully. Just bunnies. -Jenn

Mama Pea said...

Jenn - No deer? Lucky you! Although I realize that those cute little bunnies can do their share of damage, too. :o)

JustGail said...

I wonder if fruit trees taste better? Fruit tree wood is used for smoking foods, so it seems to make sense. The same with maple trees or any other wood used for smoking. Black walnut trees don't seem to be favored by deer, not to say they won't be eaten if pickings are slim.

I'd say dogs are the only repellant that works without deer getting used to them, or needing to be reapplied frequently, except for the memory of a peeved deer stomping up our driveway and our beagle cowering, looking for a place hide.

Mama Pea said...

JustGail - Very sound reasoning (to my mind) about certain trees tasting better to deer than others. Yes, I do know people who say they don't have to fence in their gardens, etc. because they have two big dogs who parole the area, leave their scent and keeping the deer away. But I'm not sure I'd trust the dog patrol under any and all circumstances! ;o)

Leigh said...

I read that about the hair, but never tried it. I do know that deer-b-gone spray works, but it has to be reapplied after rain (or snow). In the end, the best solution is exactly what you did - fence everything in! (Now, if only I could do that for slugs).

Mama Pea said...

Leigh - Slugs, voles, chipmunks (who LOVE strawberries), cabbage moths, potato beetles, hungry grasshoppers, pesky birds from above . . . yep, the list goes on when trying to garden! Why is it that we do this?? ;o)

Tim B. Inman said...

Where I live, it is sort of like having a home a the end of the runway, and complaining about the noise. Deer, coyotes, bob cats, fox, raccoons, opossums, owls, hawks, Oh My!

But I love where I live, so everything is living in 'maximum security' prisons with high voltage watch guards. And we keep on going....

Mama Pea said...

Tim - The deer, coyotes, bob cats, fox, raccoons, opossums, owls, and hawks like being around you because of your great sense of humor! ;o)

Rosalea said...

re the snow cover here. It is very unusual. I was talking to an 80+year old friend who has lived in the area forever, and he says that, yes, this is the least snow he can ever remember seeing in a winter. Two years ago, I remember slipping off the packed trail to the bird feeders, and being incapacitated up almost to my waist. I was thinking I'd need a hoist to get me out of the snow! I do hope we get some more. And yes, the wolves are here also.