Plantskydd protects tree seedlings all year
I am able to protect my trees all year for less than a $1 per tree.
David Hague,
Coyote Run Farms
While combating invasive species, I’ve planted over 2,000 seedlings since 2007. Any planting failures were mostly due to my inexperience and deer predation. Beginning in 2008, I switched to larger 4-5 ft. stock.
The species planted are: red oak, shumard oak, swamp white oak, redbud, burr oak, sycamore, box elder, red maple, sweet gum, chinkipin oak, black gum, yellow birch, staghorn sumac, black oak, mountain oak, shingle oak, pin oak and river birch. All are indigenous to central Ohio.
Planting of above species:
2008 — 16
2009 — 14
2010 — 50
2011 — 735
2012 — 100
2013 — 800 this fall.
I noticed deer browsing and tree-rubbing beginning in 2008. By October, the rubbing was getting quite severe and I was losing several trees a day. My ‘planted tree’ cost was around $20 and getting expensive. I tried using plastic tree-trunk guards but the deer would rip them off the tree. A number of trees were also pulled out of the ground by bucks, who would spear the guard and jerk upwards, taking the sapling with it.
When I first heard of Plantskydd™ Deer Repellent, my losses were mounting and my goal of reforesting parts of our property were slipping away. I bought 10 kg (22 lbs) and applied it to about 850 trees in late October 2011. I was skeptical of repellents in general, and was surprised hardly any of the sprayed trees (less than 10 !) were being touched by the deer.
In early October 2012, I sprayed 100 newly planted trees; as well as the 850 from the previous year. In general, I mix about 1 kg of Plantskydd to 2 gallons of softened water. I wait until the leaves are off the trees or have turned brown, then use a 20 liter ( 4 gal.) backpack sprayer to coat the trunk and leaves. I spray each tree from 3 angles to make sure I have good coverage. A gallon of solution generally is enough to do 60-80 saplings 4-5 ft high. I probably use more than is necessary, but so far my results have been good.
Planting so many trees each year is hard work and I would prefer to do it once. The application of Plantskydd does not provide 100% protection, but I am so close to 100% that I am thrilled with my results. I am able to protect all my trees for less than a $1 per tree, per year—which to me is a good deal. Most importantly, I’m able to move ahead with my reforestation project—without losing much stock.
I’ll respray the trees each October until they are of sufficient height so as to be an unlikely target for deer. I realize this means I’ll be spraying for several years, but not to spray them will be to invite the deer predation problem I used to experience.
Sincerely,
David Hague
Coyote Run Farms
Pickerington, Ohio
January 2013
Update — November 2013
Plantskydd is a cost effective method of protecting my trees.
I planted another 315 trees this year and applied Plantskydd the day after planting. I also reapplied Plantskydd to previous year’s plantings. Of note, I did not get to a couple of areas until today and they suffered rubbings from deer. I am convinced that if I had applied Plantskydd a little earlier they too would have been protected. While I cannot say the application of your product is 100% effective I can confirm that rarely do the deer bother a tree so treated. I remain a believer that Plantskydd works well and is a cost effective method of protecting my trees.
I am sending you this as an unsolicited endorsement of your product for you to use as you see fit.
David Hague
Coyote Run Farms
Pickerington, OH USA