"He that plants trees loves others beside himself" Thomas Fuller
Advice & How To's » Articles
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 |
Copyright © 2010 Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Phone: 815-338-7442 • Fax: 815-338-7446 • Email: coniflora@richsfoxwillowpines.com
Home | Gallery | Catalog | Calendar | About | Contact | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy
www.richsfoxwillowpines.com
Web Design & Development by Intersites, Inc.