Good advice on wildlife-resistant landscaping. Another thing I've found helpful is putting in temporary fencing around young trees or shrubs—nothing fancy, just some basic wire mesh. It doesn't look amazing, but it keeps deer and rabbits from turning your investment into breakfast. Once the plants mature a bit, they're usually less appealing to wildlife anyway. Learned that the hard way after losing a whole row of saplings overnight...
Temporary fencing is definitely a smart move, especially if you're planting young trees. I've seen deer strip saplings bare in just one night—it's pretty frustrating after all that effort. Wire mesh isn't glamorous, but hey, it's practical and relatively inexpensive. Another thing I've tried is using wildlife-repellent sprays on vulnerable plants. They're hit or miss, but sometimes they can buy you enough time for the plants to toughen up a bit.
Funny story, I once had a client who insisted deer wouldn't touch his new shrubs because he planted supposedly "deer-resistant" varieties. Well... the deer didn't get that memo. A week later, his fancy shrubs were chewed down to twigs. Lesson learned: "resistant" doesn't mean "proof."
Anyway, good call on the fencing—better safe than sorry!
Temporary fencing is definitely worth the hassle, even if it doesn't look great. Learned that the hard way myself. A few years back, I bought a small piece of land with plans to build eventually, but figured I'd get a head start by planting some fruit trees early on. Thought I was being smart—give them a few years to mature before we moved in. Well, turns out deer and rabbits had other plans.
I tried those wildlife sprays too, and you're right, they're pretty hit or miss. One brand seemed to work for a couple weeks, then suddenly the deer decided they didn't mind the taste after all. Another one smelled so bad I couldn't stand being near my own trees, let alone imagine eating fruit from them later. Eventually, I bit the bullet and put up some wire mesh fencing around each tree individually. Not exactly pretty, but it did the trick.
Funny enough, I also fell for the "deer-resistant" plant marketing once. Planted a whole row of supposedly deer-proof shrubs along the property line thinking they'd be safe. Nope... within days they were chewed down to sad little stumps. Lesson learned: never trust marketing hype when it comes to hungry wildlife.
Honestly, if you're buying land and not building right away, it's easy to underestimate how quickly nature takes over. Temporary fencing might seem like an unnecessary expense at first, but it's way cheaper than replacing plants or dealing with erosion issues later on. Plus, protecting your investment early just makes sense—kind of like checking your credit report regularly instead of waiting until there's a problem (sorry, couldn't resist the analogy). Better cautious than regretful later.
I feel your pain on the deer-resistant plants. I once planted a whole bed of "guaranteed deer-proof" hostas, and the local deer herd treated it like an all-you-can-eat salad bar. Temporary fencing isn't pretty, but you're right—it's effective. I've also found that combining fencing with some strategic planting (like thorny bushes or prickly shrubs) can help discourage wildlife. Not foolproof, but every little bit helps...
Temporary fencing might work short-term, but honestly, deer adapt pretty quickly. I've seen them jump surprisingly high fences or even squeeze through gaps you'd think impossible. Maybe investing in repellents or motion-activated sprinklers could be a more sustainable solution long-term...
