Deer are common garden foragers. These adaptable animals are known to browse on a wide variety of vegetation, including cultivated plants. Understanding their dietary preferences, especially concerning fruit trees like apricots, can help gardeners protect their valuable harvests. This helps maintain healthy trees and ensure a successful yield.
Deer’s Appetite for Apricots
Deer consume apricots, targeting various parts of the tree, not just the ripe fruit. They readily eat tender new leaves, shoots, and buds, particularly on young or dwarf trees that are easily accessible. During periods of food scarcity, such as dry conditions or harsh winters, deer may also strip bark from trees as an alternative food source.
Deer are drawn to apricots due to their natural sweetness and nutritional content, which includes sugars and vitamins. Signs of deer damage on apricot trees are often distinct, differing from that caused by other wildlife. Deer lack upper incisors, so their browsing leaves branches and leaves with a ragged, torn, or shredded appearance. Missing fruit or gnawed buds are also clear indicators of their presence. Male deer, especially in the fall breeding season, may rub their antlers against young tree trunks, causing significant damage by scraping away the bark.
Keeping Deer Away from Apricot Trees
Protecting apricot trees from deer requires a combination of consistent and varied strategies. Physical barriers are generally the most reliable method for deterring deer. An effective perimeter fence should be at least 7.5 to 8 feet tall to prevent deer from jumping over. For individual young trees, constructing cages from chicken wire or concrete reinforcing wire, approximately 6 feet tall, can provide a robust defense. It is also important to secure any fencing firmly to the ground to prevent deer from crawling underneath.
Various deer repellents offer another layer of protection, working through taste or smell to discourage browsing. Commercial options containing ingredients like putrefied egg solids or dried blood can be effective. Homemade solutions, such as mixtures of eggs, milk, garlic, and cayenne pepper, or even hanging bars of strong-scented soap, can also be used. For optimal results, repellents should be applied at the first sign of damage, on dry days above freezing temperatures, and rotated regularly to prevent deer from becoming accustomed to a single deterrent. Some repellents can last up to two months, reducing the frequency of application.
Scare tactics can also be employed to startle deer away from apricot trees. Motion-activated sprinklers, which release a sudden burst of water when triggered, are particularly effective. Wind chimes, pinwheels, or spinners that create movement and noise can add to the deterrent effect. Combining these auditory and visual scare devices with repellents tends to enhance their overall effectiveness, as deer are less likely to habituate to multiple, unpredictable stimuli.
Integrating certain cultural practices, including planting deer-resistant companion plants, can further aid in protecting apricot trees. Herbs like rosemary, sage, mint, chives, garlic, and lavender emit strong scents that deer tend to avoid. Other plants such as blue false indigo, borage, daffodils, or thorny berry bushes can also act as natural barriers or deterrents. Implementing a multi-pronged approach that combines physical barriers, varied repellents, and strategic planting offers the most comprehensive defense against deer damage to apricot trees.