This year my husband and I planted two Ana apple trees in the back yard. Both trees were growing like weeds until a mother and baby deer came for dinner. They nibbled on one of the trees and left 5 leaves. That's been at least a month ago and the tree looks just the same...no new leaves. Will it die? Is there anything I can do to help the tree? Below is a blurry photo (taken through the kitchen window) of the nibblers. I now spray the trees with the deer resistant spray and leave corn for the deers.
I hope you don't mind Daph but I lightened you piccie a bit so that we could see you apple tree nibblers more clearly. Let's keep our fingers crossed that both of your trees survive. One of mine got eaten by some kind of bugs last year and nearly all the leaves were stripped from it. Thankfully they haven't come back this year and it now has new leaves and about a dozen or more apples on it.
Hi Eileen, We were worried about the apple tree if all the leaves were lost. It's good to know that they will comeback. The little limbs are not brittle, so it's still alive Thank you for lightening the photo. I took the photo late afternoon through a screened window. I'm suprised it came out. On to my next issue......fire ants in my lemon tree and all over the yard!! thank you again
Your tree should be fine as long as it is not continually defoliated. We usually put up circles of the green garden wire (the one with squares) with 2 or 3 posts far enough away from the tree that the deer can't stick its head over it and eat.
We have the same problem with deer where I live. I keep a cage of some sort around the trees for several years before I take it off. If I find that the deer are bothering the tree, I'll put it back up. I've heard that deer are animals of habit, so you have to break their habit. Our local gardening expert says that barriers are the only sure solution. If deer are hungry enough, no amount of deer resistant spray, repellent, etc. will work.
We don't get deer in our yard too often, but I'm battling with rabbits throughout the winter months. I, too, spray on a bad-tasting repellent, and it does seem to help. They've gnawed down two shrubs already, though. That's part of living in the country!
The old aluminum pie pans that shine and rattle hanging from the tree doesn't work for long and garden shows say to hang pantyhoses with scented soap bars, but I bet the best bet is wire because once they find a good snack they return.
I have loads of deer rabbits turkey and wildhogs around my property. However I also have 4 cats that are outdoors so their is not a rabbit problem. I also have 5 dogs. One is a catahoula bred for hogs and deer so that is not too much of a problem. And not to offend anyone but if they keep coming they end up as dinner. The bigges problem I have is gopher turtles. Those little buggers are everywhere in Florida.
