Pine-Sol dipped Tampons keep the deer away
I have been a subscriber now for many years and have read many great and numerous tips for the gardener and farmer in your publications.
Here is one that I put together myself to try and protect my seedling fruit trees from deer damage. On the edge of a small bush and corn fields I have about a three acre plot out of my 27 acres where I garden and planted the small orchard, consisting of 18 trees like apple, pear, plum and sour cherries. The apples and cherries seemed to be the only trees bothered by the deer.
Having planted the seedling three years ago when they were about 2-3 yrs. old, I soon found that the deer in my area liked to munch on the young newly sprouted leaves when the corn in the field was not available to them.
The trees would grow about 3 - 4 inches then all of a sudden the tips of the branches were bare and the whole growing process would have to start over again.
This year I went and bought some cheap Tampons and I soaked them in Pine-Sol or similar type cleansers for about a week. I then hung them on a lower branch of the fruit trees, so that the solution would not drip onto the leaves or branches below it. After a few heavy rains I would go around with more of the solution in a jar and soak the tampons for about 15 seconds.
Now after four weeks I have noticed only about 12 to 18 leaves were chewed off the branches, so I figure that my idea worked just fine.
I hope this helps for other readers.
Dave Thornton, Belleville, Ont.