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United States Department of Agriculture 

 Bureau of Biological Survey 



TTildlife Research ar;d Management Leaflet BS-117 



Washington, D. C. 



U. S. F. S. rtECL . 



librAry 

 JUL 2 4 1938 



iiinc 1938 



PROTECTING- ORCHARD TREES PROM DEER 



By E. M. Mills, Assistant Biologist! Amherst, Mass., Division of 



Predator and: Rodent Control 



Contents 



Page 



Introduction, 



Habits of deer 1 



Repellent devices and sub- 

 stances 2 



2 



1 Rene lie nts — Continued. 



i 



Naph th ale ne f lake s . 



Automatic flash gun 

 Tar-paper conns • . 

 Traps 



Scaring devices 



Sprays Electric fences 



Standard "deer-proof" fences 2 \ Conclusion. . . . 

 Asafetida 3 i 



Page 



3 

 3 



4 



4 

 4 

 5 



IKTBDDUCTIOK 



To determine methods of protecting orchard trees from deer, the writ- 

 er conducted experiments for throe seasons testing different repellents on 

 a number of New England farms. The results were not uniform. some repelr- 

 lcnts being 100 percent effective, others of little value. Because t] 

 cost of treatment is relatively small and there is a chr.nce of success, in- 

 terested orchardists are invited to give these control measures further 

 trial. Additional study will be necessary to determine the cause of vari- 

 ability of results. 



HABITS OP DEER 



Early dawn and dusk arc the chief feeding periods for although 



occasionally the animals may be active throughout the night. ] of 



year when they injure trees varies from place to place. Deer nsu- 

 to feed on new growths as soon as the tender sprouts appear, 

 tinue to do so through June and July. In some localities th Li In- 



jure orchards during the summer months only, while in others their - st 

 tivencss continues throughout the year. 



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