This information on deer is from many published articles in Western Canada, the United States and Europe and my own personal experiences in Parkland County (Spruce Grove). My most recent information is from the October 1998 issue of Consumer Reports, a two page article rating "Deer Repellents".

When we mean problems involving deer we usually mean white tail deer but in Western Canada, depending on location, severe shrub, tree and crop damage may be from mule deer (black tail deer), elk (red deer in Europe) and moose (elk in Europe). All are members of the deer family and are both browsers (woody material) and grazers. All deer species can be equally devastating on orchards of apples, plums, pears, cherries or saskatoons - they seem to have a particular fondness for all these members of the rose family including rose buds.

About the only fruit that members of the deer family dislike or leave alone are black current, sometimes red and white current and those that are thorny enough to protect themselves such as hawthorne, gooseberry, thorny blackberry and raspberry cultivars and sea buckthorne. On these shrubs they will just nip the upper thornfree shoots and leaves.

Deer are more problematic in semi-urban acreage situations or national parks where they don’t get hunted. Often around our larger cities they may be hand fed as fawns by well meaning but unthinking people. Acreage people around Edmonton often talk of leaving out food for deer. They’ve handled the food and they often have non-aggressive dogs on their acreage so both scents become very familiar to them. Dogs are really wolves (dogs, coyotes and wolves are perfectly interbreedable) so why should wolf or coyote urine or hair work as a repellent. In essence deer, particularly white tails have become the free roaming goats in our suburban and acreage areas. Don’t let anyone in the central prairies from Edmonton to Winnipeg tell you that deer were here first - they weren’t. On the prairies we had buffalo, antelope and occasionally elk. All others of the deer family were confined to the foothills, swamps and forests. The first white tail deer was recorded at Camrose in 1935 and the first moose in 1955. Our province 100 years ago was a grassland with very few stands of deciduous trees with little or no cover or habitat for deer.

We know that elk have become hazards to people in our national parks, elsewhere our high deer population is a significant cause of automobile accidents leading to injuries and death. Two people in the Ryley (Beaver County) area alone have lost their lives in collisions with moose, in separate incidents, in the last year. White tailed deer aren’t in fact the timid bambis of our childhood beliefs. The only coyote interactions that I’ve witnessed with deer are does with young fawns that have attacked nosy coyotes, both coyotes had to run for their lives from slashing hoofs. White tail stags will in the rutting season even attack cougars and wolves without hesitation if they get in the way of their short term objectives. Have you seen what rutting stags can do to small fruit trees.

So how do we keep deer away from our orchards and ornamental plantings of young trees and shrubs? What doesn’t work are lights (spot, flood or motion) nearness to the house, non- aggressive dogs, " rattling" pond fish pumps, radios, low wire fences (below 7') smokey fires, white cloth and hanging plastic bags - I’ve tried them all.

In the case of wolf or coyote urine deer are constantly aware of these scent marks in the wild - the only time they note the scent of both these animals is when the hunt is on. When wolves or coyotes are not hunting for food, deer know instinctively that they can ignore them - just like lions and zebra on the African plains.

According to Consumer Reports sprays containing egg solids, hot peppers, garlic and a list of other ingredients were not effective for a once per season application. Bars of soap (including Irish Spring) hung on favourite shrubs were effective for a few feet either way but they must be high enough to avoid being carried away by coyotes or other small animals. A 1992 Cornell University study found that the scent of the soap was not the repellent but the tallow (animal origin) fatty acid in the soap. Coconut fatty acid was much less effective. Weekly sprays of fatty acid were effective but not any better than a homemade spray of red pepper sauce, eggs and chopped garlic that was blended and strained (4 eggs, 2 oz. red pepper sauce, 2 oz. chopped garlic) in 1 quart (US) of water. This was good for 16 shrubs sprayed once per week. Perhaps in our cold climate the sprays could last much longer.

So what really works?

Eight foot game fencing available at around $350 for 300', in Edmonton (Phoenix Fencing) although deer will NOT jump a 6' board fence if they cannot see what’s on the other side.

Electric fencing (the kind used for cattle) available at UFA stores can be very effective. The wires must be 2 ½ feet (75 cm) off the ground. The whole wire should be wiped with peanut butter monthly. They sniff - they get shocked - they learn.

Three foot fencing and higher with 2 or more aggressive dogs such as border collies or German shepard dogs with long cold resistant winter coats. Working in pairs they will drive-off and intimidate most deer.

For some gardens, landscaped areas and orchards, in and around our cities licensed bow hunting is legal. This may reduce the population if you know enough people with bow hunting licences.

If none of the above are feasible what are our alternatives.

1. If you grow raspberries, strawberries or perhaps black currants then deer problems are generally minor or non-existent.
2. If you grow saskatoons, choke cherries, Evans cherries or apples you can:

a) live with the damage until the trees grow above deer feeding levels.

b) spray periodically with repellents or products such as Skoot (not mentioned in Consumer Reports).

Skoot is a 10% Thiram formulation - Thiram is a fungicide commonly used for seed treatment but it is also a very good animal repellent. (Thiram is sold medicinally as the drug Antabuse). Thus if you handle Thiram (Skoot) improperly you will get very sick if you drink any alcoholic beverage within 24 hours. Read the product label.

c) wrap the trees individually in 1" mesh chicken wire.

d) Evans cherries graft very readily to the wild pincherry. On an acreage at Beaumont the owner has very good crops of cherries grafted 6 to 8 feet up on pincherry trees in a deer infested wood lot.

e) On a long term basis consider planting a "deer belt" a shelter belt of trimmed white or Colorado spruce dense enough to keep out deer. Chicken wire on the inside or outside of this belt at about 3 foot will stop deer movement.

There are of course many plants, trees and shrubs that deer do not eat, usually those that are considered poisonous, such as poppies and lupines. Trees and shrubs generally left alone are green ash, eastern red cedar (shrub), oak, spruce, older pine, cotoneaster, lilac, potentilla and sumac.

I hope that this article on deer damage will help you sort out the myths from the facts, so that you may better protect your fruit orchards.