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	American Conifer Society, 2001 The Buck Stops Here By Richard and Susan Eyre We planted our first crop of conifers during the drought of 1988. The following winter the deer damage was extensive. The Pinus strobus, Thuja occidentalis and Picea abies ‘Cupressina’ were the hardest hit. We think they used the Pinus sylvestris as breath mints. Chub Harper observed the devastation and urged us to try a single strand wire electric fence for our second winter. Our system is a low cost electric deer fence consisting of 4’ steel posts (15’ apart) connected by a wire charged with pulses of high voltage at very low current. The wire is baited with peanut butter on aluminum paddles hung along the wire. Deer love peanut butter and after they take one lick-the buck stops here! It is effective because the system is low in maintenance, low in cost and removable during the summer months. The fence is low and pets can move freely underneath. With appropriate gates installed along the walking path, humans have little risk of a shocking experience. Since we instituted the electric deer fence, deer damage has been reduced 95%. It is important to check the fence for effectiveness and keep baiting the paddles with peanut butter. Also check for shorts in the wire. Downed branches from storms or heavy snowfall need to be removed to keep the fence on line. Whitetails prefer Skippy! (Just joking, generic peanut butter works well). By the way, the deer pruned Pinus sylvestris ‘Fastigiata’ have filled in quite nicely since the deer don’t chow down on a regular basis. The following list from The American Nurseryman on what the white tailed deer love the most. Taste Tested A list of ornamentals white-tailed deer favor most (97) and least (0) during the winter foraging activities. SPECIES                                           RANKING           Euonymus fortunei                                                       97 Taxus baccata                                                        84 Taxus cuspidata                                                     80 Taxus X media                                                 77 Taxus brevifolia                                             77 Thuja occidentalis                                         68 Rhododendron spp. (evergreen)                  47 Ilex crenata                                                     40 Ilex X meserveae                                           38 Viburnum carlesii                                    26 Juniperus virginiana                                            22 Rhododendron X laetevirens                            20 Pyracantha coccinea                                              18 Rhododendron maximum                                17 Rhododendron ‘Exbury Hybrids’                      17 Ligustrum spp.                                         16 Rhododendron carolinianum                           16 Malus domestica                                            14 Cotoneaster spp.                                         13 Euonymus alata                                        10 Juniperus chinensis                                             09 Elaeagnus angustifolia                             08 Acer palmatum                                            07 Rhododendron spp. (deciduous)                 07 Enkianthus campanulatus                          07 Tsuga canadensis                                          06 Pinus nigra                                                     06 Ilex glabra                                                       05 Prunus serrulata                                             05 Betula papyrifera                                           04 Tsuga caroliniana                                          03 Chamaecyparis pisifera                                 03 Philadelphus spp.                                         03 Viburnum tomentosum                             02 Magnolia spp.                                                 02 Ilex cornuta                                                     02 Spiraea spp.                                                    02 Betula Pendula                                                01 Leucothoe fontanesiana                            01 Kalmia latifolia                                                01 Rhododendron spp. (evergreen hybrid) 01 Syringa vulgaris                                               01 Pinus strobus                                                  01 Cornus sericea                                     01 Picea pungens                                                 01 Pieris japonica                                                01 Amelanchier spp.                                           0 Forsynthia spp.                                           0 Cornus kousa                                                    0 Pseudotsuga menziesii                                   0 Buxus sempervirens                                         0 Ilex opaca                                                          0 Abies fraseri                                                      0 Cornus florida                                                   0 Crytomeria japonica                                                0 Hisbiscus syriacus                                                 0 Picea abies                                                        0 Picea glauca                                                      0 Pinus mugo                                                       0 Pinus sylvestris                                               0 Pyrus communis                                              0