Fencing for deer and white pine

[ahlkey]

Well one thing I know for sure is that the old farmer expression that a good fence should be "horse high, bull strong, and pig tight" doesn't apply to deer.  I am amazed what vendors are getting per foot to keep deer out and even if it works who can afford to do it?.  If you have to pay 10 times or more than the purchase value of the seedlings is that really a successful solution?  Of course not but what if you were willing to donate your labor, it was easy to install and the materials cost you only a third of the cost of the trees you are trying to protect?  Well, for me that would be a winner but as I mentioned previously success is measured in years not months.

[Timburr]

Clark, here's a deer control notion to consider.

Certain areas of the UK have undergone successful tests with brash/slash boundaries.   When a patch of conifer plantation is clearfelled/clearcut, the last job of the fowarder is to collect up all the brash and with carefull building, windrow it into brash boundary walls about 8 to 10 feet high.   Branch ends face outwards on an almost vertical face and the inner face is sloped.  In the event of entry, the deer can easily escape up the slope......if you will, a 'one way deer valve'!   Just got to make sure the deer are not already there before it's barricaded up. 

Plots of 1 to2 acres have been relatively deer free for years, enough time for the trees to get away.   I suspect larger areas could be successful using this method, but may require periodic maintenance.

And the good thing about this system, the costs are considerably cheaper than fencing  and become part of the forest in time.