Deer Damage on Apple
Return to Wildlife
Deer can cause problems in a number of ways: By using young flexible trees to rub the velvet off of their horns, causing trees to be destroyed in the process; feeding on young shoots and foliage making it very difficult to train and develop a productive tree structure; and their presence in the orchard during summer and fall causes fruit E. coli contamination concerns.
Deer horn rubbing damage.
(Photo: Dwight Wolfe, University of Kentucky)
Management:
- Repellent for low populations
- Hunting
- High-tensile electric fences for high populations
- The most effective deterrent is a 10-foot tall woven wire fence
