Keeping deer out?

[warners point]

What works to keep the deer from chewing on the tubing in your sugar bush? They are chewing through the lines between trees. Has anyone experimented with spraying fox or coyote spent around there sugar bush to keep them out? We will be thinning the herd this fall.

[steam maker]

multiple tree stands , and a good scope

[Road's End]

I know your pain. I think I replaced nearly half my tubing last season from being chewed, and then once it was on the ground the squirrels really destroyed it! This spring we made sure after cleaning to slide the drops as far up the tree as we could reach so that all the lines were around 6ft off the ground give or take. So far I haven't found anything on the ground from a couple quick walks along the main line, which is a huge improvement from last season. I kind of expect a handful of breaks before this spring but so far so good. We run all 3/16".

[maple flats]

Are you sure it is deer? I have had tubing for over 15 years and I have a lot of deer in my area. In fact my woods seem to be a wintering ground for the local deer herd. Only once did I suspect deer chews and that was on a line that got missed when cleaning after the season. I do however get squirrel chews, but they are almost always at a tree.

[Tweegs]

I don’t have much trouble with deer. Squirrels are another story.
There is a section of woods, and several trees in particular, that I could always count on having to replace tubing due to chews.
In these areas I started using the hook end fittings and at the end of the season I drop the lateral, coil it up and tape it to the main.
That seems to slow them down some.

Salt. Both deer and squirrel love salt.
If it is on the lines, they’re going to go after it. You can wear gloves when handling any lines, but I’m not sure how much good that will do when you consider every pair
of hands that have been on the tubing between the time it was produced and when it was hung in the bush.
Still, wearing cotton gloves that are changed often and washed regularly will help minimize your own contribution to the problem.

You could wash the tubing prior to hanging or after it is hung, but who has the time for that?

Spit-balling here, but maybe a salt lick placed in the area might give the ne’er-do-wells something better to go after than the tubing.
Upside is it will last a while and it may work.
Downside is you risk attracting more vermin and exacerbating the problem.
<shrug> your call, just don’t get caught hunting over it. In my State, that’s a huge no-no.

The problem with deterrents like scents or pepper spray is that most only last until the first good rain.
Eventually, the deer will get used to it and ignore it anyway.

One product that I have firsthand experience with is called Plantskydd.
It will last for several months and deer absolutely hate it. Great for ornamental plants and shrubs.
I would be really hesitant to apply it directly to the tubing, rather, I’d apply it to the foliage near the tubing.
This stuff ain’t cheap and I’m not sure it wouldn’t be more economical to just replace chewed up tubing, but desperate times require desperate measures.
I’d restrict its use to only the most problematic areas.

I don’t think there’s a silver bullet that will fix everything. It’s going to take an “all of the above” approach.
Get rid of the salt, reduce the targets of opportunity, maybe an application of repellants and an appropriate amount of more lethal means.
And even with all of that, you’re still going to have to replace tubing.
Hopefully though, not quite as much.

[Haynes Forest Products]

There is a large wholesale nursery up in the county and they have solved the Deer problem. They have a 10 fence around the entire place with gates. They can shoot whatever when ever any season. I don't clean my lines or ware gloves and suffer a few chews a year.