Capreolus Capreolus

My advice to the original poster would be to udse tree guards 1.2mtrs on his broad leafs create open areas where the deer can be controlled by rifle ,and set a managment program in place where stalkers in a DMG are placed in control and request an attendance and performance record in a set deer management control plan, Make a provision to view and monitor the plantings regular and if further control operations are reqd incorperate it into your system and keep in contact regular with your deer managers, that way your aware of what is required and adjust your plan accordingly. Cheers stu

I accept your point of view to some extent especially as the area involved being planted is small but even so carefull wildlife planning can still be incorperated in its design which will help to control damage by deer. Fencing is expensive even fencing in areas of this size costs a considerable outlay and probably non economic on return investment ,not knowing the nature of the particular situation i cant comment but fencing would need to be 2 mtrs high to stop deer getting in and as we all know when the winter conditions prevail and snow banks up these fences prove useless, and infact can trap deer in a compound environment, and if there are no open areas of possible control with a rifle they can do extreme browsing damage to the plantings because no other suitable food exists inside the block,even in areas where the trees are well underway some 2 meters get browsed, so in some circumstances fencing is not the answer. Especially in Scotland were adverse conditions exist. Deer by their very nature are margin feeders/browsers especially roe deer. kind Regards Stu

Cheers Stuart

I offer my opinion based on many years of wildlife control based around Plantings of Norwegian spruce in blanket situation and re generation areas. You would be correct in protecting broadleaf saplings with 1.2m tree guards especially were Roe deer are present, obviously if red deer or sikka are present you would need guards of a greater height. It would be a pointles excercise, as well as being costly in providing 0.6 guards on Norwegian spruce and Scots pine in my view. As you are aware deer browse of the growing tips of all species of trees, however Spruce and Scots Pine are far from being their main source of food. I have seen numerous times where damage to growing saplings has been directly accountable to voles especially in times of endemic proportions. I am not saying roe deer do not browse sikka spruce because they do, but certain habitat methods can be employed in reducing damage to growing saplings. More deer glades can be created were more fescues suitable to the deer can be planted, and if these are created in areas of the best suitable soil type, deer will frequent these areas more often to feed these areas and can be used as culling zones by proficient and competant deer stalkers with high velocity rifles. If the deer can be encouraged into these cull zones and numbers controlled then the saplings get away quickly without to much loss , but everything needs to be in place for it to work in a proficient controlable manner.. Should you require further assistance or advice in respect to deer management please feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] Cheers Stuart

Hello Geoff Thanks for pointing me in direction of this thread of which I will give an honest opinion based on my years of experience within Deer management and wildlife Control. cheers stuart