The ABC's of Tree Service: Tips for Everyone

The ABC's of Tree Service: Tips for Everyone

Work With Your Tree Service To Protect Your Trees From Wild Deer

Roberto Palmer

If you live in an area where wild deer can access your land, you may find that they do damage to your trees.  Male deer remove the velvet from their antlers by scraping them against the tree's trunk.  During the deer rut in the autumn months, bucks use trees to mark their territory, again by scraping the bark with the antlers.  This not only spoils the look of your trees, but it can also provide an entry point for pests and diseases and can even kill young trees by disrupting the flow of nutrients and water via the trunk to the branches and leaves.

Fortunately, your local tree services contractor can help you to protect your trees against attack by wild deer.  Here's how.

Protecting your trees

Deer like to eat the lower branches of some species of trees, and an experienced tree services company will be able to advise you on which trees are most at risk.  One way of protecting vulnerable specimens is to have their lower branches lopped during your annual tree maintenance visit.  This prevents further damage and can be very effective in dissuading deer from revisiting the trees.

You can also apply deer repellents to the bark of your trees or to their immediate vicinity, which can help to keep them away.  These can be obtained from good garden centres or your tree services people will also be able to provide them for you.  Some repellents are designed to taste bad, but these don't prevent damage to the tree from rubbing.  Other types of repellent smell foul and when applied to the area around the trees, can keep deer away.

Deer fencing

Although it's the more expensive option, fencing your trees is by far the most effective in preventing deer damage.  Your tree services contractor can fit woven wire fencing around the tree trunks to provide a physical barrier up to about three metres.  Plastic tubing is also effective, but must be replaced periodically on young trees in order to allow for trunk growth.

The most expensive option is to fit metal tree guards, which are supplied in two halves, placed around the tree and bolted into place.  These are designed to be a permanent fixture and can be adjusted to accommodate the growth of young trees. 

In conclusion

If you have a problem with wild deer damaging your trees, you can work with your tree services contractor to find an effective solution to the problem.  Ask them for more information about the methods of deterrent outlined above, such as tree lopping, and keep your cherished trees safe from further damage whilst still enjoying the sight of wild deer visiting your land.


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About Me
The ABC's of Tree Service: Tips for Everyone

Taking care of trees can be challenging, and sadly, there is a lot of misleading information on the Internet about the best ways to take care of trees. To try to shed light on these shady organisms, I have decided to start a blog. Hi, my name is Mandi, and I have always loved trees. Through the years, I have built tree houses, travelled to the woods to chop firewood for the winter and trimmed trees to help them survive. It is one of my favourite hobbies and something I have devoted a lot of time and research to. If you want to learn about trees, explore this blog, and thanks for reading!