Protecting young trees from white-tailed deer is crucial for successful establishment. Newly planted trees with tender bark and reachable foliage risk fatal injury or severely stunted growth without intervention. The necessary duration of protection is not a fixed timeline but depends entirely on the specific threat and the tree’s physical development. Understanding the two distinct types of damage deer inflict helps determine when a tree is truly safe from harm.
Understanding the Primary Threats
Deer damage falls into two main categories, each requiring a different protective strategy and timeline. The first is browsing, where deer feed on buds, leaves, and the tender tips of branches. Browsing occurs year-round, but it becomes particularly damaging during winter when other food sources are scarce.
The second, and often more immediately destructive, form of damage is rubbing, performed by bucks. Rubbing involves scraping their antlers against the trunk to remove velvet or to mark territory during the breeding season. This activity strips away the bark and the cambium layer, which is the tree’s vascular system for transporting nutrients and water. If this living tissue is removed entirely around the circumference, the tree becomes girdled and will die. Rubbing damage typically occurs between late summer and mid-winter.
Protection Duration Based on Tree Age
Protection against browsing is a matter of height, not strictly age. Deer generally browse on vegetation from ground level up to about six feet high. Therefore, a tree is considered largely safe from browsing when its lowest permanent branches are above this six-foot threshold. Until this height is attained, the tree’s terminal buds, which control upward growth, must be shielded.
The time required to reach this safe height varies significantly based on the tree species and its growth rate. Fast-growing species like maples or sycamores may reach six feet in as little as two to four years after planting. Slower-growing species, such as certain oaks or conifers, might require five to seven years of continuous protection. For browsing, the most common and effective protection involves creating a wire-mesh cage or tube around the tree that extends to at least six feet.
Year-Round Protection for Trunk Rubbing
Trunk protection against buck rubbing is a separate concern from browsing and must continue even after a tree is tall enough to be safe from feeding. Bucks target young trees, especially those with smooth bark and a trunk diameter between one and six inches. This rubbing usually damages the trunk from the ground up to three or four feet.
Protection against rubbing should be installed by late August, before the start of the rutting season, which peaks in the fall. This protection is necessary until the tree’s trunk is substantial enough to deter the behavior, typically reaching a diameter of four to six inches. For many landscape trees, this means a protective barrier must remain in place for eight to ten years. Specific protection methods include rigid corrugated plastic guards or hardware cloth cylinders, which must be secured loosely to allow for trunk expansion.
Leaving certain plastic wraps on for too long can create habitat for pests or restrict the trunk’s growth, potentially causing girdling. To avoid the risk of forgetting re-installation before the late-summer rut begins, using a durable, breathable barrier like a wire mesh cylinder is often the safest long-term solution. The protection should extend high enough to cover the typical damage range.